Directions: Coming from Salinas, take Highway 68 to the Laureles Grade. Turn left onto Laureles Grade at the light and go up and over the hill into Carmel Valley. Turn right onto Carmel Valley Road, go a mile or so and turn into the parking lot on your left. From Monterey, take Carmel Valley Road off of Highway 1 and drive 8.6 miles, park on your right.
Parking Fee: None
Facilities: Bathrooms at the Visitor Center, free maps and picnic tables, dog friendly
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Tree abstract
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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007, Garland Ranch hike with the Stanford Outing Club
ROUTE SUMMARY: Visitor center > Maple > Sage > Sky > Snively > Garza > East Ridge > Saddle > Vasquez > Spring > Gabilon > East Garzas > Via Las Encinas > Mesa > Waterfall > Lupine > visitor center.
National Geographic TOPO! software website:
GPS & TOPO! Stats
Distance hiked: 13.09 miles
Total ascent: 4078 ft
Trailhead Elevation: ~200 ft
Max Elevation: 1794 ft
Moving time: 4 hrs 40 min
Moving Average: 3.3 mph
Overall average: 2.2 mph
Time stopped: 2 hrs 20 min
Personal stats
Dates Hiked:
15-Dec-2007
Start time: 10:00 PM
Weather: Clear and sunny. Temperatures were in the 50’s and low 60’s F for the hike.
Water consumed: 2.0 liters
plus 600 ml Gatorade
Finish time: 5:00 PM
Total time: 7 hours
Beauty: Tree shaded trails, ferns, ponds, and extensive views as a reward.
Wildlife seen: birds only
Difficulty: This was a strenuous hike with significant uphill grades to it and would not be appropriate for the unprepared. There are flatter trails in the park for the less ambitious though.
The first time I visited Garland Ranch, I did a 7-mile or so hike and found the park had a lot to offer but I didn’t realize how much. In fact, looking back on it, now I think I sold the park short. After visiting Garland Ranch a second time for this Stanford Outing Club hike, I saw a lot more of the park and I’m really impressed by it.
Seriously, Garland Ranch is a must hike park. It is surprisingly pretty, especially adorned in fall colors along the flat parts of it along the Carmel River, but it also has some hills to climb that make it worthy of Henry Coe.
To be sure, Garland Ranch is no where near as big as Henry Coe but you can certainly get in 4000 feet or more of elevation gain while hiking up some pretty steep hills that are real leg burners. After calculating the elevation change from TOPO!, heading up the East Ridge trail you will climb 1200 feet in a mile for almost a 23% grade. This park pretty well wore me out.
And the park surprises you. Within its 4500 acres are 50 miles of trails with a variety of landscapes, including sheer rock cliffs and a seasonal waterfall. It really is quite a beautiful park.
So, if you haven’t hiked there, do yourself a favor and go but go prepared to hike with plenty of snacks and water. You’ll need it! Now lets look at the pictures.
