Morro Bay State Park - California
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 35° 21.194 W 120° 50.363
10S E 696324 N 3914359
The most famous rock along the California coast
Waymark Code: WM3JJ6
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 04/12/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member wilkintj
Views: 58
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 As the name suggests, Morro Bay State Park is located along Morro Bay in Central California. Its outstanding feature is Morro Rock, a spectacular 23 million year-old, 576 foot tall volcanic plug.

The rock is one of the sacred sites of the Chumash People, the only people who are allowed to climb it once a year. During their solstice ceremonies, a small, selected group will spend the longest night of the year on top of the rock.

For everybody else, the rock is off limits, mainly to protect the Peregrine Falcons that have their nest on top of the rock but also because climbing it is actually very dangerous due to a lot of loose rock.

The Breakwater for Morro Bay Harbor is made entirely from rocks that fell off the big one. That should really show how dangerous it would be to try to climb it.

We didn't see a Peregrine Falcon, but we spotted some nesting holes, a nesting seagull and some kind of buzzard circling the rock.

Looking up to the top of Morro Rock


The first European to describe and map the rock was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, "discoverer" of the California coast in 1542. He called it "El Morro", Spanish for Pebble. The first Europeans to actually set foot on the rock were Miguel Costanso and Father Juan Crespi during the 1769 Portola expedition.

Today, the rock is a popular tourist spot. One can get pretty close to it, but it looks more spectacular from a distance. We recommend Morro Bay harbor as the best place to see it in all its beauty.

Trying to catch the sun while it rests on top of Morro Rock

Park Type: Day use or overnight camping

Activities:
camping, hiking and - yes - golf.

Park Fees:
50.00 a night

Background:
A huge volcanic rock and one of the oldest named features along the North American coast.

Link to Park: [Web Link]

Date Established?: Not listed

Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed
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