The thermometer read 82º when I got out of my car at Skeggs Point. This was only 8:30am! Heat was predicted for the day but didn't expect it would be that warm so soon. Still, I wanted to get a bit of riding in El Corte de Madera Creek OSP before heading out to the coast for cooler temps so I spent ~3 hours there hitting such trails as Blue Blossom, Giant Salamander, and a time-consuming out-and-back on South Leaf.
The temps stayed in the 80ºs until I left ECdM and started dropping down to the coast....a totally different climate!
The Wavecrest tree tunnel photographed well in the soft light:
I went back to Quarry Park. On a clear day the ocean would be visible in the distance:
After Quarry Park, I headed south along the coastline. It was 2:30pm and I now faced 12 miles riding into a headwind. (Normally, the wind would be at my back but the unusual weather had reversed the wind direction.) I intended to ride the newish
The Cowell-Purisima Trail. Its northern end is accessed through Cowell Ranch Beach:
Sometimes there are Harbor Seals living on the rocks below but today there is just white-water.
The Cowell-Purisima Trail was opened on July 21, 2011. This is one of the 3 bridges which had to be built:
From the photo, you can get a sense of the "trail". Wide and coated with railroad gravel. Every 50 feet there is a sign saying "stay out of the neighboring farmland" or "stay away from the edge of the cliff" or "stay out of the sensitive area".
Well, it continues the Coastal Trail 3 miles further along the ocean-side so that's a good thing. At the southern end, there is another over-look. This is the view:
And this is the view of the Cowell-Purisima Trail access road at 4:30pm as I begin the long return journey to Skeggs Point:
Roughly 13 miles and 3,250' uphill to go.
To change things up, I took the Lobitos Creek Road:
Nice quiet, remote road. I expected the climb but on top of that there was a lot of rolling resistance over the chip-seal surface. I thought I was getting weak and tired but once I was on Tunitas Creek Road the bike rolled along nicely. I suspect that car tires burnish a well-traveled road to a smooth finish.
I rode up the Resolution Trail to get through El Corte de Madera Creek OSP—happily, temps were in the 60ºs now—and was back to my car at 7:30pm.
Start Skeggs Point » CMØ1 » Fir Trail » Sierra Morena Trail » CMØ3 » Skyline Blvd Hwy 35 » Bear Gulch Road » CMØ5 » Spring Board Trail » Blue Blossom Trail » Spring Board Trail » Gordon Mill Trail » Crossover Trail » Crosscut Trail » Timberview Trail » Giant Salamander Trail » Methuselah Trail » South Leaf Trail out to CM1Ø and back » Methuselah Trail » North Leaf » CMØ7 » Star Hill Road » Tunitas Creek Road » PCØ4 » Borden Hatch Mill Trail » Grabtown Gulch Trail » Purisima Creek Trail » PCØ5 » Higgins Canyon Road aka Higgins Purisima Road » Half Moon Bay » Highway 1 » Wavecrest Road » Coastal trails along the bluff; north to El Granada » Coronado Street » Avenue Cabrillo » Palma Street » Santa Maria Avenue » Quarry Park » Coronado Avenue » The Crossways » Santiago Avenue » Coronado Street » Coastal trails along the bluff; south to Redondo Beach » Redondo Beach Road » Highway 1 » Cowell Ranch Beach » Cowell-Purisima Trail » Highway 1 » Verde Road » Lobitos Creek Road » Tunitas Creek Road » Star Hill Road » CMØ7 » El Corte de Madera Creek Trail » Resolution Trail » Fir Trail » CMØ1 » Skeggs Point. 57.92 / 8:19 / 11:05 / 6,794’
Link to
Open Street Map.Kings Mountain:
Half Moon Bay:
