Backroads: Cayucos to San Simeon
By Bennett Barthelemy
Photo by Bennett Barthelemy
Rolling hills dotted with oaks stand between the summit and Morro Bay far below Old Creek Road.
The Path Less Traveled “Slow the f-* down! Get out of the car and pee — feel the earth,” my partner Rita admonished me. Her words were softened by her relaxed bright smile as I dove the van aggressively into the well-crowned twists of Old Creek Road out of Cayucos. She then challenged me to find three bird species and to identify them. I listened to her, and looked for the birds, and even stopped periodically. The drive was exponentially enhanced.
is somewhat contentious. Some believe, due to the historical record, that it is a Spanish word for crowned hill and so named by the 1542 exploration by Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo. Spelled historically with a missing R, moro means Moor/Muslim, and the shape of the rock is said to resemble a Moor with a turban. In the local language of the Northern Chumash, they call it Lisamu. I would argue that this is the best way to identify it.
If you’re driving Highway 1, consider this detour. Running inland from Cayucos, it takes just 20 minutes longer than Highway 1 to get north to Cambria and San Simeon. Clocking in at 37 miles total, Old Creek Road will surprise you; live oaks hang heavy with Spanish moss kissed by tendril caresses of coastal fog. This mini sojourn meanders past Whale Rock Reservoir, ranch lands, avocado orchards, nascent vineyards, rolling oak savannah, and epic views from the crest of the Coast Range to Morro Rock. Coastal grasslands give way to this route’s terminus, San Simeon’s beaches, where 5,000-pound mating-fartingfighting elephant seals haul up on the sand — sometimes by the thousands, depending on the time of year. We start our drive at the junction of north Highway 1 and Old Creek Road. If we look in the rear-view mirror, we can see the hulking Morro Rock. The history of the naming of Morro Rock california101guide.com
Photo by Bennett Barthelemy
The summit affords spectacular southerly views of Morro Bay and Morro Rock (aka Lisamu). Fall 2021
29
