This trail is a spectacular bluff top trail recently completed by volunteers to add fantastic ocean access for all of us. This is the closest State Beach to the Coast Guard House and is always recommended to those who want a "quick hike before breakfast". The trail from the parking lot leads either up to the headlands or along Highway One. Each joins Bowling Ball Beach a mile and a half to the south. Below is the trail as it drops into Bowling Ball Beach.
This is the parking area closest to the beach. Look for a sign that says "PARK FACING SOUTH ONLY" and then do as it says. There are two trail heads here about a hundred feet from each other, the southern one leads to the beach along the babbling Schooner Gulch, through a dense forest.
This is a very short hike, perhaps a quarter mile and once you get to the beach there is really nowhere to walk. It is, however a nice way to return to your car from the hike described next.
Bowling Ball Beach is a fantastic beach with much to see. The trailhead is the northern trail head that leads you over the headlands and down a spectacular display of man-made stair building to the beach that bears its name.
