I took a walk across POST’s coastside lands this past August, exploring both the California Coastal Trail’s current connections and future possibilities. Here’s what I found and what one day you too will be able to experience by following in my footsteps.

Pillar Point Bluff (c) Karl Kroeber

Part 1 – Pillar Point Bluff

A red-tailed hawk greets me as I park on Ocean Boulevard. She does not move from her perch while I gather my backpack.

Red-tailed Hawk (c) Peter LaTourrette

A walk out on POST’s Pillar Point Bluff these days shows terrain in transition—well-worn walking paths are now updated with a new section of the California Coastal Trail, named for former POST employee, Jean Lauer.

Delicate birds take dust baths in the earth, and brown pelicans glide by at eye-level over the ocean. The sound of the sea follows me across the bluff, and a careful peek over the cliff edge reveals sleek, plump seals bobbing in the waters of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve below.

Gulls at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve (c) Karl Kroeber

Walking back to my car, I watch neighbors greet each other on their way to the bluffs, and the red-tailed hawk, still patiently waiting for her mid-morning meal, takes flight when I get just a bit too close.

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For more information on hiking the Jean Lauer Trail at Pillar Point Bluff, visit the outings page on POST’s website: http://openspacetrust.org/activities/tour_pillar.html

Return next week for part 2 in the series, a hike along the bluff top at Wavecrest.