ENJOY hiking, camping, horseback riding, shore fishing & diving!

Located 2 1/2 miles southwest of Los Osos, this 8,000-acre, mostly undeveloped park offers visitors a wealth of natural beauty and excellent opportunities for hiking, camping and horseback riding, as well  as shore fishing and diving.

Acquired by the State of California in 1965, the park was originally part of a large land grant, and in later years the property became part of the Spooner Ranch. The park office and Spooner Ranch Visitor Center is housed in the Spooner home, built in 1892. This white frame structure stands in a grove of graceful cypress trees, and overlooks a secluded cove bearing the ranch family's name. The calm water and isolated location of the cove proved to be an ideal port for smugglers during the Mission period, and for prohibition-era boot-leggers.

The Spooner Ranch Visitor Center is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays year round, and daily during the summer.

Although the property has been used for cattle grazing since the late 1800's, it is virtually unspoiled, supporting lush natural vegetation and providing a primitive habitat for a variety of wildlife species.

The park's name, meaning "Mountain of Gold," comes from the  abundant fields of poppies, fiddlenecks, wild mustard and other golden wildflowers that blanket the landscape each spring. Deer, fox, weasel, and mountain lion are among the animals that roam the chaparral-covered foothills and plains that once were the dominion of the now-extinct California grizzly bear.

The park's 2 1/2-mile rocky shoreline and ocean waters sustain an abundance of marine life. The area is a haven for over 100 species of native and migrating birds, including the brown pelican, black oyster-catcher, and the elusive pigeon guillemot, which nests in accessible holes along the steep sandstone coastal bluffs.

Over 50 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails provide access to the park's back-country, wooded stream canyons, tide pools, and hidden coves and beaches. Trails following the edge of the coastal bluffs provide spectacular views of the tilted and twisted strata of the rocky shoreline and, in the distance, Morro Rock, and the Morro Bay sandspit. Sea otters are often seen feeding here in the pounding surf, and during winter months, migrating California gray whales can be spotted near shore.

One of the most popular trails runs through Hazard Canyon. Like many of the park's trails, it begins along Pecho Valley Road, the paved road leading from Los Osos, and on through the park. The 1/2 mile trail starts in a dense stand of eucalyptus trees, and meanders through the canyon next to a small, intermittently flowing stream to a rock-strewn beach. Tide pools are plentiful here, and a short distance to the north begins the long sandspit that protects Morro Bay. Each October, swarms of migrating monarch butterflies, seeking the milder temperatures of the southern coastal regions, are attracted to the aromatic eucalyptus trees in the canyon. The butterflies feed during the day on the nectar of the flowering trees, and at night cluster on their branches for protection from the elements. In February, the monarchs begin their long flight northward.

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