Garrapata State Park

Rancho San José y Sur Chiquito was a 8,876-acre (35.92 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Big Sur, in Monterey County, California, given in 1835 to Teodoro Gonzalez and re-granted by Governor Juan Alvarado the same year to Marcelino Escobar. The grant, including Point Lobos, was located south of the Carmel River, extending inland along the coastal mountains, and south along the Pacific coast. It included San Jose Creek, Malpaso Creek, Soberanes Creek, Tres Pinos Creek, Garrapata Creek, and ended on the north side of Palo Colorado Canyon. A hand-drawn map created c. 1853 accompanying the grant indicated a road or trail was already present along the coast.Two of Escobar's ten children sold the land to Josefa Abrego, who may have been acting for her husband, José Abrego. She later transferred the title to a group of about 10 Mexican soldiers at no cost, who according to legend might have received it in payment of a gambling debt incurred by José Abrego. They gave it to José Castro, their superior officer. When Alta California was ceded to the United States government, Castro was required to prove his title. He submitted a claim in 1853, but he died before it was resolved. His successors were denied the patent claim and appealed the court decision. The other Escobar children attempted to claim their portion of the land, and do did many others. Thirty-two claimants eventually asserted that they owned a portion of the land. Thirty-five years later, in 1886, Castro's successors finally obtained clear title, forcing all other claimants out. The land was by then used by Chinese, Japanese, Azores, and Anglos for a variety of purposes, including ranching, dairy, farming, mining, whaling, a granite quarry, and an abalone cannery. In 1890, the owners converted their title into stock of the Carmelo Land and Coal Company. When the coal mine failed, the owners submitted a plan for a 1,000 lot subdivision. Alexander Allan bought Point Lobos in 1898 and began efforts to preserve the land against development. One portion was sold by successors to form the existing Carmel Meadows subdivision. In 1933, the State of California bought Point Lobos and formed a state park. Portions of the inland portion of the grant became Garrapata State Park. The A.M. Allan ranch across from Point Lobos was sold to the State of California and has been set aside as a possible future state park.

Malpaso Creek is a small, coastal stream 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Carmel in Monterey County, California, United States. It is generally regarded as the northern border of Big Sur in central coastal California. A low grade bituminous coal deposit was found in upper Malpaso Canyon in 1874. Actor and director Clint Eastwood bought 650 acres (260 ha) of land in the vicinity of the creek and named his production company Malpaso Productions after the creek.

The Palo Corona Regional Park is a 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) park owned by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District on land east of Big Sur Coast Highway and Garrapata State Park in California. The 9,898 acres (4,006 ha) property stretches southeast about 11 miles (18 km) from the near the Carmel River State Beach to the Los Padres National Forest. The park is long from north to south, bordered on the northwest by Highway 1 and across from Carmel River State Beach. It wraps around Point Lobos Ranch and abuts Santa Lucia Preserve to the east. In the middle, it is sandwiched by Mitteldorf Preserve and Garrapata State Park. Its southern border abuts Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve. Environmental interests were concerned that it would be converted to an estate-type development like that done for Rancho San Carlos (renamed as the Santa Lucia Preserve). In May 2002, the Big Sur Land trust and The Nature Conservancy joined to buy the Ranch. Overall, the park directly and indirectly connects nine conservation properties preserved for their biological, recreation and scenic values. The area includes the former Rancho Caňada Country Club and golf course in Carmel Valley.

The 5,887.31 acres (2,382.51 ha) Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve in Big Sur, California, is owned by to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is located between Big Sur Coast Highway to the west, Palo Corona Regional Park and Mitteldorf Preserve on the north, and Santa Lucia Preserve and U.S. Forest Service land to the east. It is only accessible through the Santa Lucia Preserve, a private, gated, community of about 300 homes on 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) in Carmel Valley, California. The Big Sur Land Trust purchased the 9,898 acres (4,006 ha) Palo Corona Ranch in 2002 and 2004 for $32 million from Craig McCaw. The southern portion comprising 4,300 acres (1,740 ha) was used to form the Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve. All ecological reserves are maintained for the primary purpose of developing a statewide program for protection of rare, threatened, or endangered native plants, wildlife, aquatic organisms, and specialized terrestrial or aquatic habitat types. Visitors are required to obtain "Daily or Annual Lands Pass for Authorized Uses other than Hunting".

Carmel Highlands is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Carmel-by-the-Sea (better known as simply, "Carmel"), at an elevation of 318 feet (97 m). Carmel Highlands is just south of the Point Lobos State Reserve, and serves as the northern gateway of the Big Sur coastline along California State Route 1. Carmel Highlands was laid out in 1916 by developers Frank Hubbard Powers and James Franklin Devendorf and the Carmel Development Company.

Highlands Inn is a historic resort hotel located in Carmel Highlands, California. Constructed in 1917 by Frank Devendorf, one of the early co-founders of Carmel-by-the-Sea and a real estate developer, the inn was built on land acquired in 1906 from local ranchers, south of Point Lobos. This establishment is part of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was a one square league (4,307-acre (17.43 km2)) Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California. It was given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Fructuoso del Real, a Native American from the Mission San Carlos. The land had been part of the pasture of the Mission San Carlos. The grant was located on the south bank of the Carmel River. As of current day, it is part of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a gated community and nature preserve.

Carmelito was a planned settlement, initially called Point Lobos City, on Point Lobos in Monterey County, California It was located just north of Carmel Highlands and about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Carmel on Highway 1. Located on the former Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, the Carmelo Land and Coal Company planned the subdivision in 1890 when their coal mine on nearby Malpaso Creek proved to be unprofitable. They subdivided the land into 1,000 parcels and began selling lots for $25 to $50. The lack of a bridge across the Carmel River and two national economic recessions during the 1890s combined to severely restrict sales. Only a few small cabins were built.

The Whalers Cabin near Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, is a historic building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located in what is now Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, four miles south of Carmel. The cabin was built in the 1850s to house Japanese and Chinese fishermen. Shore whaling was conducted here by the Carmel Whaling Company from 1862 to 1884 and by the Japanese Whaling Company from 1898 to 1900. The building now houses a museum dedicated to cultural history of the area. The museum also highlights the history of Point Lobos, including its cinematic appearances and plans at the turn of the 20th century to develop the area for densely packed suburban housing. It was listed on the National Register in 2007; the listing included one contributing building and one contributing site.

Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a state park in California. Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos State Marine Reserve and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area. The sea near Point Lobos is considered one of the best locations for scuba diving on the Monterey Peninsula and along the California coast.Point Lobos is just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States, and at the north end of the Big Sur coast of the Pacific Ocean. Point Lobos features a number of hiking trails, many alongside the ocean, and a smaller number of beaches. The historic Whalers Cabin, built by Chinese fishermen and later used by Japanese and Portuguese fishermen, is now a museum. Point Lobos nearly became the site of a town. In 1896, the Carmelo Land and Coal Company subdivided the land into 1,000 lots and named the new town "Carmelito". Engineer Alexander Allan purchased the land and over many years bought back the lots that had been sold and erased the subdivision from the county records. As of 2017, more than one million annual visitors from around the world visited Point Lobos, which is restricted by only 150 on-site parking spaces. The majority of visitors must park on the shoulder of Highway 1 and walk into the reserve.

The geological history of Point Lobos, regarding the Point Lobos headland on the Central Coast in Monterey County, California. The area's geology encompasses the last 80 million years. The oldest rocks exposed here were formed during the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth and pterodactyls dominated the sky. The area forms part of the Salinian Block, a sliver of continental crust caught up in the transform boundary between the Pacific and North American Plates.Point Lobos is the common name for the landform and area, which include Point Lobos State Reserve on land; and two adjoining marine protected areas: Point Lobos State Marine Reserve (SMR) and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area.

The 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) Palo Corona Ranch, also known as Fish Ranch, was once a private ranch located on the northern end of Big Sur, California, between Garrapata State Park to the west, Carmel Valley on the north, and Santa Lucia Preserve to the east. The ranch is now owned by Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (MPRPD) In 2002, the Big Sur Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy acquired the land and transferred ownership to MPRPD in 2004, which created the Palo Corona Regional Park. Key habitat and resources include coastal grasslands and woodland, ponds, and perennial creeks.