New Trails at Palo Corona Regional Park!

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Rolling hills, abundant wildlife and spectacular vistas await visitors at Palo Corona Regional Park, where new and improved trails were opened on the front ranch in early 2011, with more trails scheduled to open later this spring. With funds secured by The Big Sur Land Trust through the California Resource Agency River Parkways Program (Proposition 50), old ranch roads were improved, obsolete roads were retired, and new trails have been created. These improvements are part of the larger Carmel River Parkway Vision Plan, a community-based plan for restoration, recreation and education within the Carmel River Valley.

According to Alan Miyamoto, Operations Manager of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, one of the main goals of the project was to improve the Palo Corona Trail which travels from Highway 1 to Inspiration Point. “This section had significant drainage and erosion issues,” he says, “and extensive work was done to lessen the impact of erosion. Outsloping, rolling dips and other design features were installed which allow the water to flow its natural course during the rainy season and protect the integrity of the roads.” Sections of the route were also realigned, making the grade easier, and a decomposed granite surface was added. Obsolete sections of roadway have been converted back to their original condition as grasslands.

The 2.2-mile Palo Corona Trail takes the visitor from the gate at Highway 1 past the ranch’s historic barn and along the edge of a hillside to Inspiration Point, a glorious place to stop, picnic and soak in the generous view. The trail continues a short distance further to Animas Pond, a tranquil setting that feels far removed from the traffic of Highway 1 and Carmel Valley Road. Curious cows pause from their grazing to observe visitors to the Pond, where the only sounds to be heard are trickling water, the occasional red-tailed hawk, and one’s own footsteps.

“Park District staff went to extraordinary lengths to create the new 4-mile trail system in the front ranch,” Miyamoto says. “District Rangers Chris Reed and Ray Trabucco spent countless weeks developing the trails with a focus on accessibility.” All of Palo Corona’s new trails have been built to follow the natural contours of the land, at an average slope of 8% or less. Approximately 3 miles of new trails are surfaced with decomposed granite.

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The Vista Lobos Trail is currently under construction, but once open it will become a top destination for visitors and locals alike. Destined to be favored by artists and photographers, the trail concludes with a jaw-dropping view of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve that shows the beautiful meeting of land and sea from a new and stunning perspective. Park officials hope to open this trail to docent-led hikes by late spring, depending on this season’s rains.

Access to Palo Corona is currently limited to 13 vehicular permits per day on weekends only; Miyamoto estimates that the park will be able to return to a 7-day-a-week schedule soon, once the current phase of trail construction is completed. “The goal is to get people out here,” he says. “It’s their park, and we want people to come out and enjoy and appreciate it.” Trail enthusiasts can also look forward to summer 2011, when 30 additional daily permits will be available for hikers entering the park via the South Bank Trail, a project of The Big Sur Land Trust.

Eileen Cross, BSLT’s Carmel River Project Manager, says that the total costs of the road and trail improvements at Palo Corona Regional Park will probably be close to $1 million. “This is money that went into the local community to hire local contractors and use local materials,” she says. “We are thrilled with the work that’s been done. The trails are really gorgeous, and we’re excited that the public will be able to get out on the land again at Palo Corona.”

Miyamoto adds that this has been a satisfying project for everybody involved, from the MPRPD rangers who designed the trails to Miyamoto himself, who considers working to make these trails available to the public a career highlight. “We are fortunate that the Land Trust and the Park District had the vision and foresight to protect areas that would otherwise have been lost forever,” he says.

For information on visiting Palo Corona Regional Park, call MPRPD at (831) 372-3196, or go to their website.

Go to this link for a map of the trails.

You can help support trail projects.