Two miles south of Carmel, this reserve is widely considered the "crown jewel" of California's state parks. Highlights include Pinnacle Point, which you can reach through the Cypress Grove Trail; Headland Cove; Sea Lion Point Trail to Sea Lion Rocks, where you can see barking sea lions; and Whalers Cove, great for scuba diving as well as home to a history museum covering the commercial whaling the 19th century; you can still spot gray, humpback, and blue whales at certain times of year during their offshore migrations.

It's just one of the stops on Tripatini member Teresa Brashear's post A Fantastic California Road Trip: San Francisco to Carmel.

Brocken Inaglory