Cambria Rocks! LbNA #54809

One of our favorite things to do in Cambria is go to the beach and find beautiful rocks polished by the sand and sea. This letterbox is in our favorite spot, almost always quiet and loaded with beautiful stones. As of the planting date (7/2010), the path below is closed (the stairway ends several feet before the ground starts), but it can be accessed from beaches north and south. Low tide is the best time to go, both for accessibility and rock collecting, but there are plenty of rocks exposed at high tide too. Be sure to look for the milky-white moonstones that the beach is named for (although we’ve been told that these are not true moonstones).
Start off heading North on Highway 1, passing the village of Cambria. Before San Simeon, make a left turn onto Moonstone Beach Drive. Make an immediate right into a small parking lot adjacent to a picnic area. Park here facing the ocean with the picnic area on your left.
To your right is a bluff top trail (you’ll see the ‘no dogs’ sign). Take the trail to your right (heading north along the coast). Follow the trail a few hundred yards and you will pass a large clump of cypress trees very close to the trail on your right. As you come out of the overhanging branches you’ll find the trunk of the original tree lying on the ground. It has several ‘fingers’ pointing south and east. Follow the center-most branch. It will fork off, and under the left fork, where the branch lifts off of the ground you will find the box.
If you continue along the trail you’ll find steps down to the best rock beach we’ve found in Cambria.