Kay2

I've got 1.5 days in April after a business meeting in Monterey and am planning some fun. Has anyone visited Ano Nuevo after the bulls have left and you are allowed in with a permit from the visitor's center? Many seals? Crowded with people? All permits for the day given out by 10 am? I'll find the number and call the park for specifics, but wondered about your personal experiences in April.

Also, used to be a great place to visit tidepools north of Half Moon Bay--anyone been there lately?

I'm so torn--my other option is to go south. I've been down the coastal highway, Point Lobos, Big Sur, and Burns waterfall. Any other great destinations I've missed in that stretch? I understand there are redwoods, but I may visit my favorites at Big Basin on the way down to Monterey. I haven't been to Hearst Castle, so I could go there for the evening tour and visit the beach near Cambria people talk about on this board. However, I'm not able to find a cheap place in Cambria that will let me stay just one night on Saturday this April.

laurelt

I vote for hearst castle, especially if you haven't been there. you can stay in Pismo Beach which isn't too far. We stayed at a nice Best Western there called the shelter cove lodge that had a small pool (heated!) and a private beach (via steep staircase).

another great thing to do is to stay in Big Sur at the Big Sur Lodge which is in the Pfiffer State Park in the middle of the redwoods. Really beautiful.

Spike

The tidepool place is probably Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Montara, north of Half Moon Bay. As I recall, parking is free. Do a google search, I believe there is a website. They are fantastic tide pools which my children have enjoyed on a few field trips.

We are also headed to Ano Nuevo soon with a class field trip, but I don't know the answers to your questions. We are going with a docent and have made reservations well in advance.

viamar

I last visited Ano in May and most of the seals had left. It's a long pretty walk out to were the seals are and usually very windy.

Grasshopper

My two favorite places for tidepools are Point Lobos and Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz.

MichelleY

Dear Kay2:

We had the same problem in Nov.2001 with the one night stay. We called around and at one motel, the guy recommended we call his friend's parents' B & B. It was called the McCall Farm. It is a working avocado farm, not by the beach, but up a winding creek road. The place was a charming farm house. In April, the hills will still be green and I am sure here garden will be in full bloom. The website is : www.mccallfarmbandb.20m.com and the phone is: (805)927-3140. We highly recommend it. We also did an evening tour of Hearst Castle, where docents dress in 1930's garb and hang around the pool, living room and kitchen and roll play as guests of WRH. I reserved by phone. On our way home, we took Hwy. 1 north to Monterrey and right outside of San Simeon is an elephant seal beach!!! No crowds or permits required. We got so close you could actually smell the seals moldy fur. Only the teenage seals were there in Nov., the moms and dads hadn't arrived yet. Good luck on your trip.

MichelleY

Charlie41134

I live in San Francisco and I go to Ano Nuevo very often, it's one of my favorite places, any month of the year. I like the non-mating months -- such as April --better because you often can have have this beautiful place to yourself, one of the lovliest walks in California, very few tourists.
There will be seals ... mostly yearlings ... that you can get close to. And you'll certainly hear the seals, sea lions on the small island across the inlet barking like crazy. I also love Ano Nuevo for the Pelicans, sometimes there are thousands of them -- I'm unsure if they'll be around in April.
Be sure to bring a good pair of binoculars. To top off your day, stop at the town of Pescadero and get the cream of chili soup at Duartes, which is a pretty good seafood restaurant. Also, you can get delicious, hot from the oven bread at Archangelo's market. You can't miss these places -- Pescadero only has three streets.

Livesincali

Hearst Castle is is very nice, so by all means I would go there if you have not seen it. Make reservationms for Hearst Castle. It will be necessary to stay the night somewhere close to San Simeon. In addition to Pismo Beach, you may also want to look inot staying in Morro Bay. In Pismo Beach a nice place that i recommend is the Kon Tiki Inn. Other options closer by include the redwoods at Big Basin off of highway 17 north of Monterey or if you want more of a big city atmosphere you could head into San Jose for dinner and show or check out some of the interesting museums in the city.

www.hearst-castle.org
www.kontikiinn.com
www.siliconvalley.citysearch.com
www.sanjose.org

Kay2

Thanks so much for so many prompt and on-target responses!

I found the Ano Nuevo website and it had a link to a live videocam on the beach. Based on what Charlie said, I'm leaning toward heading up there and combine visiting the seals, Fitzgerald (thanks for the name) depending on tide schedule, and Big Basin to get my nature fix. I'll do a search for Fitzgerald--does anyone know an online tide schedule?

Although Hearst for the evening is tempting, I'd spend half the next day just getting back to the Bay area. If I hadn't been down to Big Sur before I think it would win out.

Kay2

To answer my own question--
I found this website for tides around the world:
http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/index.html

Kay2

Because of the tricky tide schedules and my requirement to actually work at certain times on my trip I had to compromise on my goals. I did make it to Big Basin on a cold, rainy weekday when it was deserted lovely (did Hwy 9 get longer and curvier in recent years?). I didn't see Last Chance Road, but I didn't have time for Ano Nuevo that day anyway.

I decided to try for as much nature as I could along the way to Hearst Castle for the evening tour. The state parks looked packed, so I just choose pullouts to lunch and find sea otters. I stopped at the beach north of San Simeon to see the elephant seals--what a great recommendation that was! I watched them scratch, roll, and move along the beach for a long time.

The evening tour of Hearst Castle was interesting. Because of my personal preferences, I'm glad I had just planned the one tour and other stops along the way. I agree with posters who say make a reservation for a tour if you are travelling along the coast, but don't go out of your way or give up a day in the redwoods or on the coast to see it.

I explored the tidepools at San Simeon. Certainly not as large as Fitzgerald (and I couldn't time it right to check out Point Lobos), but I still got to see starfish and a few other creatures before the tide started in.

The weather was improving and I didn't find driving Hwy 1 at all scary (just tiring), so I decided to drive back up Hwy 1 rather than down and around to 101 back to the Bay area. This time I did stop at Pfeiffer Big Sur for another walk in the redwoods and hike up for a great view. The redwoods provide a nice trail, but cannot compare with the groves in Big Basin, Muir Woods, Humbolt, etc. I also had time for Point Lobos, watching another sea otter and seeing the tide wake up the harbor seals on the rocks in a cove.

I missed the tour of the lighthouse. Looked like it would have been interesting. They were offering tours at 10 and 2 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday.

Although all the state parks looked crowded with lots of cars and people on the "main" trails, I found that the less popular trails were pretty quiet and I could find a spot to pull out my picnic lunch or water and just relax with nature for awhile. Still off-season, I suppose.

Thanks for all the help.