Why We Have These Safety Challenges

Point Lobos, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, has exploded in popularity. From coverage in the New York Times to TikTok videos with millions of views, this unique, fragile reserve for protecting nature has become an international sensation. And a catastrophic success.

In recent years, the number of visitors to Point Lobos has grown to thousands a day. People coming to the Reserve set a new record nearly every weekend. And holiday. And during Spring Break season (now about two months long). And every day during the summer travel season.

Add it all up: It’s about a million people a year walking all over the little 500 acre state park. Simply put, the supporting infrastructure of Point Lobos was not designed to accommodate, or protect, anything like that monstrous numbers of visitors.

Photo by Chris Gordon

There are only 150 parking spaces throughout the entire Reserve. Those spots often are completely filled well before 9 a.m.!

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve exists to protect its extraordinary natural environment; visitors do not want the beautiful habitat they came to enjoy paved over, sacrificed to additional parking.

So, visitors intent on experiencing Point Lobos park where they can. And that means they compete with hundreds of other vehicles to find parking on about a two mile stretch of Highway 1 near the Reserve. Cars park on every inch of available highway shoulder from Monastery Beach straight down to the Carmel Highlands.

Highway 1 was not designed to accommodate large numbers of vehicles parking along it.

That leaves drivers to jockey for position, often causing traffic to stand still as cars and trucks struggle to maneuver into a tight spot along a very active, very crowded highway.

There are solutions that public officials can implement immediately along with those that can take effect in just weeks.

Bottom line: Point Lobos has more visitors driving to it than it can accommodate. Visitors park their cars where they can. To their peril. We need public officials to work together, to integrate their separate pieces of the puzzle, to create effective solutions that protect the public they serve.