Big Sur road trip: Hotels, restaurants along Highway 1
The rocky coastline, twinkling tide pools, whale sightings in winter and the distance arc of Morro Rock should be enough to lure plenty of hikers to the waterfront trail of Estero Bluffs State Park just north of Cayucos. But some of us, I confess, are drawn by a bonus that state park people don’t even mention on their website or brochure: a shipwreck.
Well, more of a boatwreck, really. Since the summer of 2017, a rusting fishing boat, about 30 feet long, has been stuck in the shallows less than 20 feet from the bluffs. At low tide, brave or foolish people scramble around on the wreckage, which could give way at any time. Even at high tide (when I arrived), the vessel is well exposed, with seabirds swooping above and seaweed drifting nearby. Let’s just say it: It’s the best selfie op for miles around.
The state park is a narrow strip of oceanfront land, about 350 acres, and it only gained its protected status in 2002, after a community campaign blocked development. The wreck lies a mile north of Cayucos, about 500 feet from the parking area near North Ocean Avenue and Highway 1. I can’t explain why a hunk of rusting metal makes this raw landscape more compelling, but it does for me.
The story behind it? Apparently the boat’s name is Point Estero. Nobody was seriously hurt when it ran aground. And no government agency seems interested in dragging it away. “People love to check it out,” said Leah Corey, a Morro Bay science teacher who was collecting plankton samples on the morning I showed up.
The rocky coastline, twinkling tide pools, whale sightings in winter and the distance arc of Morro Rock should be enough to lure plenty of hikers to the waterfront trail of Estero Bluffs State Park just north of Cayucos. But some of us, I confess, are drawn by a bonus that state park people don’t even mention on their website or brochure: a shipwreck.
Well, more of a boatwreck, really. Since the summer of 2017, a rusting fishing boat, about 30 feet long, has been stuck in the shallows less than 20 feet from the bluffs. At low tide, brave or foolish people scramble around on the wreckage, which could give way at any time. Even at high tide (when I arrived), the vessel is well exposed, with seabirds swooping above and seaweed drifting nearby. Let’s just say it: It’s the best selfie op for miles around.
The state park is a narrow strip of oceanfront land, about 350 acres, and it only gained its protected status in 2002, after a community campaign blocked development. The wreck lies a mile north of Cayucos, about 500 feet from the parking area near North Ocean Avenue and Highway 1. I can’t explain why a hunk of rusting metal makes this raw landscape more compelling, but it does for me.
The story behind it? Apparently the boat’s name is Point Estero. Nobody was seriously hurt when it ran aground. And no government agency seems interested in dragging it away. “People love to check it out,” said Leah Corey, a Morro Bay science teacher who was collecting plankton samples on the morning I showed up.
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