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Central Coast State Parks Association | CCSPA Central Coast State Parks Association | CCSPA
  • Who we Are
    • Mission and Vision
    • Board & Staff
    • Join Our Team
      • Job Opportunities
      • Board Service
      • Internships
      • Volunteering
    • Transparency
    • Partnerships
    • Sponsor Recognition
    • Contact Us
  • What We Do
    • Our Impact
    • Programs
      • School Groups
      • Traveling Museum Exhibits
    • Blog
    • Podcast
      • Press & Publications
        • Nature Notes Newsletter
        • In The News
    • Awards
  • Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Adventures With Nature
    • CCSPA Film Screening Event
    • Mind Walks Lectures
    • Butterfly Ball
  • Visit
    • Parks We Support
      • Cayucos State Beach
      • Harmony Headlands State Park
      • Hearst San Simeon State Park
      • Estero Bluffs State Park
      • Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve
      • Montaña de Oro & Spooner Ranch
      • Morro Bay State Park & Museum of Natural History
      • Morro Strand State Beach
      • Oceano Dunes & Oso Flaco Lake
      • Pismo State Beach
    • Nature Stores
    • Local Resources
  • Support
    • Become a Friend of CCSPA
    • Business & Corporate Giving
    • More Ways To Give
  • Store
  • Donate

CCSPA Blog

Central Coast State Parks Association | CCSPA / CCSPA Blog

Musings along Montaña de Oro’s Coon Creek Trail

Following a spell of hot, cloudless days, Montaña De Oro State Park seemed to have returned to its natural and most revered state with a thick fog hovering over the... read more →
  • April 24, 2025
  • Angie Stevens
  • No Comments
  • Education, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

The Butterfly Effect

In Ray Bradbury's 1952 short story, A Sound Louder Than Thunder, hunters of the future time travel to the prehistoric past to hunt T-Rexes. During the hunt, one hunter accidentally... read more →
  • January 7, 2025
  • Renne Gardner
  • No Comments
  • Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Health, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

Tri-Tip Challenge

I heard the high-pitched screech of the red-tailed hawk. Normally I would look up to catch sight of the hawk, but today I searched the sky below me. I was... read more →
  • July 4, 2024
  • Renne Gardner
  • No Comments
  • Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Health, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

Estero Bluffs State Park

Beautiful rock formations, intertidal zones flush with marine life, and long swathes of beach stretching along the coastline are just one of many reasons to visit the Estero Bluffs State... read more →
  • April 30, 2024
  • Ryan Del Rosario
  • No Comments
  • Beach, Butterflies, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

Hearst San Simeon; the Perfect Duo

California’s central coast is blessed with some of the best camping locations and the most beautiful beaches. A great way to experience both of these central coast glories is by... read more →
  • April 3, 2024
  • Julia Hershberger
  • No Comments
  • Birds, Botany, Camping, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, kayak, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

Truly a Harmonic Headland

Harmony Headlands State Park fully embodies its name. A headland is a piece of land with a sheer drop-off into a body of water. A harmony is an arrangement blended... read more →
  • March 11, 2024
  • Julia Hershberger
  • No Comments
  • Birds, Botany, Butterflies, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

Best Places to Visit with Kids on the Central Coast

Traveling with kids can be quite difficult, but it’s easy to find places to entertain them on the central coast.  1) Morro Bay Museum of Natural History Open 7 days... read more →
  • November 9, 2023
  • Caroline Kelleher
  • No Comments
  • Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, K-12, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation, Volunteerism

What Makes our Estuary Unique?

One of the beauties embedded in the central coast is the Morro Bay salt marsh and estuary. It is home to many different native plants and animals that use the... read more →
  • October 5, 2023
  • Violet Emerson
  • No Comments
  • Beach, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation, Species Identification

Truly a Sweet Spring

Nestled into Baywood California off of Ramona Avenue is a local gem where freshwater springs run into the salt water of Morro Bay, Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. Places where there... read more →
  • September 28, 2023
  • Violet Emerson
  • No Comments
  • Birds, Butterflies, Environment, Flora and Fauna, Habitat, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation, Species Identification

Music for the Heart – Running at Morro Strand

Photo by Renne Gardner Long distance running has been called boring and lonely and bad for your knees. Long distance runners have been called looney and one-dimensional and smelly. As... read more →
  • August 30, 2023
  • Renne Gardner
  • No Comments
  • Beach, Environment, Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation, Sports
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Recent Posts

  • Musings along Montaña de Oro’s Coon Creek Trail April 24, 2025
  • The Butterfly Effect January 7, 2025
  • Tri-Tip Challenge July 4, 2024
  • Estero Bluffs State Park April 30, 2024
  • Hearst San Simeon; the Perfect Duo April 3, 2024

Contact Us

202 Tank Farm Road (Suite H2) San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Phone: 805.548.0390 E-Mail: info@centralcoastparks.org Web: centralcoastparks.org

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© 2023 CCSPA (Tax ID #: 51-0198869). All Rights Reserved. Photos by Mike Baird and Highway 1 Road Trip