Hiking Jade Cove Facts:

1.5 Mile Trail Loop

Level: Moderate/ steep incline

120 feet cove to cliff

No Parking Fee/ No Restrooms

Prospecting, mining or Removing an of the rock, mineral or materieals from the beach is strictly prohibited. 

The Jade Cove Trail is located off Highway 1 about 3 miles south of Gorda, about a mile south of Sand Dollar Beach, and about 34 miles south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State park. The entrance to Jade Cove is indicated by a sign “Jade Cove Beach Recreation Area” on the inland side of Highway 1. We opted to park futher south in a rather ominous ‘parking area’ so we pulled up behind a few other cars and then made our way across the highway to the main trail area.

The actual park area is rather large and extends from Plaskett Rock Point back south along the coast line to Jade Cove. The highlands trail was a litte over grown by beautiful sweeping grasses and flowers and there were amazing succulents galore. The trail was clearly marked and had several overlooking vantage points down toward the coastline cliffs. The path down to the cove on the south side was not as long as we expected but was rather steep and treacherous in a few places, it created a fun adventure and reminded us to go slow and take our time.  A few times we were not even sure we were on the right path since the path is a loop and there was no one else down there with us, but the cove area appeared to have a few access points and its not like we could really ‘get lost’ anyway. 

---

When checking out some of the vantage points be careful, there is only what we could think of as Soapstone Rock everywhere which is very slick and even in hiking books you can lose your foothing or slide right off. My friend experienced this while “mermaiding” up on the this awesome slice of rock. She makes a beautiful mermaid don’t you think?

---

 The VIEWS!

---

We spent some time just watching the ocean. How can you not when the views are this amazing!? We spent over an hour down on the cove iteself, there was no one there and we each split up exploring our own little slice or nirvana, playing with all the amazing colorful rocks, climbing around, listening to the ocean and staring off onto the horizon.

The Cove is very mysterious and sacred place, you feel like you’re on another planet, a secret stumble upon world made just for you. My husband set up his camera and tripod and slipped into serenity capturing the fabulous views surrounding him. The cove offers a safe place away from the wild winds of the NE coast and even in the summer it was still rather chily so be sure to layer up.

 

The ROCKS!

 

After a while we each shivered our way back to reality and hiked our way back up top. Jade Cove is a very special place and I hope you get to enjoy it as much as we did someday.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you have been and have a story to share please add a comment. Thanks for visiting and…

Adventure On, Y’all!