Reclaimed Wetlands at Sunset Beach


Wetlands Visible from Sunset Beach Dunes

A group of us hiked a section of our Walk the Bay trip yesterday, Manresa Beach to Palm Beach.  One of our detours took us off the beach to the paved road and parking area for Sunset Beach.  Clean restrooms and cold water for our water bottles were worth the short detour.  When we continued south on the road, we came to a path that was blocked to traffic.  Following this path we discovered it was formerly a paved road.  Mother Nature had filled in most of the roadway and native plants and birds had reclaimed the scenic pathway.  Standig water stopped our progress in about 1/4 mile and we hiked up the dune to return to the beach.  It was then we spied some gorgeous wetlands below, right next to our path.


How wonderful to see a paved road become a wild path and eventually a protected wetland for migrating birds!

About Author

Margaret Leonard
Adventure Guide in Santa Cruz, California