Molera Beach
Hike Review
We took a stroll from the Andrew Molera State Park parking lot to Molera Beach by the way of Creamadirondacks Trail.
The trail, for the most part, is a wide dirt trail that gets softer as one gets closer to the beach. The trail is lined with poison oak on both sides, but the trail is wide enough to easily avoid touching them.
At the beginning of the trail, there is a wooden plank walk over the Big Sur River. The plank is wide and easy to navigate over.
There isn’t much shade, so it’s a bit warm on the trail.
The beach itself is sandy to the west of where the trail meets the beach. We walked to the east, though, where there’s about a 1/3 mile of rocky beach that opens up to a long sandy stretch. There is a ton of beach wrack at the beginning of the walk, but it improves in a short time, and the smell and flies quickly dissipate.
When we arrived at the beach, there were only a few people—two surfers, Cassie, and I. By the time we were heading out, there were easily 20 people at the beach.
What I Learned
Beach wrack are things like driftwood and seaweed that the waves bring ashore—there was a whole lot of that at Molera Beach.
Cassie and I learned that the majestic trees that populated the area around the parking lot were called California Sycamore trees. We learned this from the ranger manning the parking lot booth, who was super friendly.
What Happened?
3.1 mile, 1 hr 22 mins, 257 ft of ascent
After a night at Trail Camp at Andrew Molera State Park, we decided to take a stroll to the beach after putting our stuff away in the car.
The walk to the beach started with a crossing over the Big Sur River. The wooden plank bridge was cute—the view of the river from the middle of the bridge was gorgeous. The rest of the walk was uneventful as we just enjoyed the warm sun and the easy movement of a walk like this.
When we got to the beach, Cassie took off her socks and shoes, and we walked on the rocky beach. Cassie commented that she felt like her feet were getting a massage—for me, I was happy that I had my adventure sandals on, as it allowed me to move at my favorite pace. We passed by the rocky section and got to a sandy beach, but we had a lunch reservation at Big Sur River Inn, so we headed back to the parking lot.
The walk back was as easy as the hike to the beach, and we made it back to the car with time to spare. We brushed off sand that had hitched a ride, and we headed down the road towards lunch, sitting in Adirondack chairs while marinating in the Big Sur River.
