and sagebrush highlight the hillside in spring. In 0.3 mile you cross a minor gully, head toward a minor saddle, then turn north across rolling grasslands and coastal chaparral. After crossing a gully choked with invasive blackberry and broom species, listen for water trickling from a nearby spring (0.9/700').
The grade steepens as the trail passes scattered yuccas, spiny testaments to the aridity of these exposed slopes. You next reach a ridge (1.4/1,000') offering spectacular views of the convergence of land and sea. Continuing, the trail quickly enters the Ventana Wilderness and reaches shade beneath a canopy of oaks, madrones, and bays. You follow the ridgeline through four gullies and past a dense band of redwoods, then climb steeply to a prominent ridge (2.9/1,610'), where exceptional views entice you to linger. To the east, 5,155-foot Cone Peak (Hike 3) and its neighbor, double-notched Twin Peak, loom over Hare and Limekiln creeks. Hare Canyon is one of the state’s deepest gorges; Limekiln Canyon boasts the steepest coastal slope in the Lower 48.
The trail now descends off the ridge, veering northeast through varied microclimates that support a range of drought-tolerant and moisture-loving plants. The contrast is stark—yuccas dot the arid slopes, while moisture-reliant redwoods cluster nearby in damp gullies. You next reach a short spur to Espinosa Camp (3.4/1,660'), marked by a large fallen redwood 100 yards past a major gully.
The spur leads 100 feet to several small campsites atop a minor ridge in the shade of live oaks, bays, redwoods, and rare, endemic Santa Lucia firs. Rock outcrops offer unobstructed views toward the coast. This is an excellent picnic or overnight spot, though the nearby gully is usually dry. The continuing hike contours inland along the slopes, rounds a prominent ridge, and reaches the first reliable water source, a creeklet cascading past redwoods and ferns. Open grassy slopes return as the trail tops out at 1,860 feet and begins a gentle descent to Vicente Flat.
You cross three rubble-strewn gullies (4.1/1,800'), their adjacent marble faces misted in winter by a seasonal flow. After the next dry redwood gully, the trail contours north and enters dense woods a quarter mile before reaching Hare Creek and several large redwoods. A few feet farther, a spur cuts upstream to a pair of sites in the open meadow of Vicente Flat itself. The main trail continues a short distance to the Stone Ridge Trail junction (5.2/1,620'); beyond lie many beautiful campsites in the redwoods.
Nearest Visitor Center Big Sur Station, 831-667-2315, just south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on Hwy. 1, is open daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Memorial Day–Labor Day; the rest of the year it’s open intermittently depending on staffing availability.
Backpacking Information No wilderness permit is needed, but a valid campfire permit is required. The established tent sites of Espinosa and Vicente Flat Camps are exceptional places to spend the night.
Nearest Campground Kirk Creek Campground (33 sites, $22) is located at the junction of Hwy. 1 and Nacimiento Rd. Eighty percent of the sites are reservable year-round; visit recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777.
Additional Information www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf, ventanawild.org
HIKE 3 Cone Peak
Highlight Unobstructed views atop the highest coastal summit in California
Distance 4.0 miles round-trip
Total Elevation Gain/Loss 1,400'/1,400'
Hiking Time 2–3 hours
Recommended Maps A Guide to Ventana & Silver Peak Wilderness by the US Forest Service, Big Sur and Ventana Wilderness by Wilderness Press, USGS 7.5-min. Chews Ridge
Best Times April–November
Agency Ventana Wilderness, Los Padres National Forest
Difficulty
THREE MILES FROM the ocean, Cone Peak rises a mile to the sky. In summer 1999, most of Ventana Wilderness burned. Cone Peak, the dominant mountain of the southern wilderness, burned with it. Life has since rebounded on these sheer slopes, yet does little to hide the seamless joining of ocean and sky, the towering coastal vistas, or the sweeping panorama of the Santa Lucia Mountains.
The Hike climbs to the fire lookout atop Cone Peak (5,155') on steep but short Cone Peak Trail. It’s important to time your visit correctly. The 5-mile dirt access road closes after the first heavy winter rains (typically in December) and usually reopens in March, though this varies from year to year; call ahead to check if you’re planning a trip in early spring or late fall. Crowds and coastal fog are heaviest in the summer. No water is available at the trailhead.
Looking south from mile-high Cone Peak
To Reach the Trailhead Take Nacimiento Rd. east from Hwy. 1—the turnoff is by Kirk Creek Campground 4 miles south of Lucia. Be aware that Hwy. 1 is subject to washouts and closures, especially in the winter. Follow sinuous Nacimiento Rd. as it climbs 2,800 feet in 8 miles to the divide, and turn north on rough and unpaved Cone Peak Rd. Low-clearance vehicles should have no problem making it to the trailhead, 5.2 miles down this road by a small turnout.
Approaching from the east, take Hwy. 101 to the Hwy. G14/Fort Hunter Liggett exit just north of King City. Follow G14 south for 19 miles and turn right (west) on Mission Rd., passing immediately through an always-open fort entrance gate. Bear left on Nacimiento Rd. 3.0 miles past the gate and left again 0.9 mile farther—be watchful as the intersection signs are not obvious. From here, it is 18 increasingly narrow miles to Cone Peak Rd., where you proceed as described above.
Description From the trailhead, the trail initially strikes west to quickly attain a nearby saddle. The cliffs of Cone Peak and the fire lookout are clearly visible to the northwest, and Hare Canyon can be seen slicing southwest down to the ocean. Far down the canyon is a dense patch of green, a stand of coastal redwoods very near the extreme southern limit of their range. Beneath them hides Vicente Flat (Hike 2). Briefly remaining on the ridge, the trail then drops inland and passes thickets of manzanita, wartleaf, and other regenerating shrubs before switchbacking up to a second saddle (0.5/4,030').
As the trail begins its long coastside traverse to approach the peak from the west, the devastation of recent fires is evident in the bare hillsides. Fires sweep through the dry chaparral about once every 20 years as part of a natural process of plant regeneration. Known as the Kirk Creek Fires, the 1999 blaze began during a dry lightning storm in September and eventually consumed 90,000 acres—more than half the area of Ventana Wilderness.
Only a few scraggly oaks survived the blaze and Coulter pine snags still protrude from the slopes like old burnt matchsticks. The exposed trail traverses below the summit cliffs before beginning a tightly switchbacking ascent along a steep and rocky spur ridgeline. A small patch of unburned forest grows below the trail as it climbs to a junction with the Gamboa Trail immediately below the summit (1.8/4,830').
The walkway surrounding the lookout is usually open to the public, though the views are equally tremendous on the summit itself. Looking southwest,
