The Piedras Blancas lightstation hike starts at the north end of the elephant seal viewing parking lot found right off of hwy 1 in California. Most people head to the southern portion of the parking lot to view the seals.

There are elephant seals basking in the sun along the entire route of this trail that follows the coastline and veers slightly inland until it reaches the unpaved road leading to the Piedras Blancas light house.

A very nice, flat trail about 3 miles each way and great close up views of elephant seals without the tourist crowds!

In this image, you can see the tip of the lighthouse peeking over the outcropping of rock if you look to the top left of the photo.