Serene preserve with pine forests, fields & oceanside bluffs featuring walking trails & wildlife.
Unique beauty and solitude welcome you on the Central California coast. The Ranch extends from dramatic ocean bluffs that run more than a mile along the shoreline, through a grassy marine terrace, rising inland to a forested ridge with breath-taking views of migrating whales, birds, and playful otters, all accessed by miles of trails.
Open and free, 365 days a year from dawn to dusk.
Connect with nature and the Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve by helping conserve open space and enhance habitats through stewardship and engagement. Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve protects and sustains the beauty of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and its diversity of life for everyone to enjoy.
The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is an inviting, historic oceanfront sanctuary offering visitors a rare expanse of nature and solitude within walking distance of the California Central Coast village of Cambria. The Ranch features remarkable biological diversity with more than 150 different native plants and 430 birds, including some rare species. It is bordered on the north by a mile and a half of riparian habitat that encompasses tidal effect zones, seasonal freshwater marshes, and wetlands. The Monterey pine forest (one of five remaining native stands in the world) serves as habitat and cover for wildlife moving between the coastal range and the ocean bluffs.
The most outstanding natural feature of the preserve is the dramatic ocean bluff that runs more than a mile along the shoreline. The rocky coast rises to a 200-foot ridge with breath-taking views of migrating whales, birds, and playful otters before sloping southeastward to the willow-edged creek. Each spring, the meadows boast beautiful wildflower displays.
The Ranch offers a rare expanse of nature and solitude, almost a back-country experience, but within walking distance of inns, restaurants, shops, and neighborhoods. Featuring over eight miles of trails and regularly scheduled docent-led walks, the Ranch is free and open to the public every day from dawn until dusk. Discover your next adventure in nature – enjoy the Ranch and become a member of the Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve.
To get to the accessible trails, go west on Windsor Boulevard from Highway 1, and continue through the subdivision until the road dead ends in a small parking area. From there, take the driveway to the left to reach the accessible parking lot, which features level access to both the Bluff Trail and the Marine Terrace Trail.
The Bluff Trail begins as a boardwalk and transitions to a hard-packed dirt trail that hugs the coast and overlooks the rocky coastal bluffs. It offers the classic coastal view of waves crashing against the rocks, and there are several benches along the route if you’d like to stop and take a break. The one-mile trail ends in another neighborhood; and although most manual wheelchair-users will have to double back at this point; power wheelchair- and scooter-users can access the Marine Terrace Trail with a short — albeit steep — jaunt through the adjacent subdivision.
From the end of the Bluff Trail continue into the neighborhood and take the first left, on Wedgewood Street. Go up the road and then take another left on Marlborough Lane, which dead ends in a block at the Marine Terrace Trail. The wide level dirt road doubles as a fire road, and offers a totally different view of the coast. It’s an easy one-mile roll back to the Windsor Boulevard accessible parking lot, and as an added bonus, this trail sees less traffic than the Bluff Trail. Alternatively, manual wheelchair-users can do an out-and-back on the Marine Terrace Trail from the Windsor Boulevard trailhead. Either way, both of these trails offer a scenic accessible stroll along the coast.
