A BEACH YOU CAN LOOK UP TO PARK OFFERS A STUNNING GEOLOGY LESSON.

Byline: Story and photos by Eric Noland Travel Editor

LOS OSOS - It was a beautiful day here at the beach, and the sand crunched under our feet as we walked. It was strange, however, to be on the spine of a mountain ridge, more than 1,000 feet above sea level.

OK, this used to be the beach - 5 million or so years ago - before the grinding of the Pacific and North American plates caused a titanic upheaval that shoved the former shoreline up here.

That accounts for the color and composition of the Monterey shale here at the top of Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park - creamy gold and dreadfully fragile, crumbling into shards with the slightest tread of a hiking boot.

We had read that fossils can be found atop this 1,347-foot mountain due west of San Luis Obispo. We kept a sharp eye for clam shapes or shells, but never spotted anything more intriguing than a few swirls that appeared to have been left by a receding wave.

``People who come to this park are naturally drawn to the ocean, to Spooner's Cove,'' said Nancy Dreher, curator of the nearby Morro Bay Museum of Natural History. ``But we have acres and acres of park that go back up into the mountains. You can really get an experience that takes you through all kinds of environments and microclimates.''

The hike to the summit of Valencia Peak - four miles round trip - provides exactly such an experience, and its appeal is broad-based.

On the final day of February, wildflowers were showing off colors of white, yellow, purple and red, blending easily with the bright orange of California poppies and the red of Indian paintbrush. Dreher said this year's wildflower display should be particularly robust from now through April.

Also along the trail, a white-crowned sparrow, its head striped like a tiny watermelon, serenaded us from its perch atop a bush. Cottontail rabbits scampered across our path at various points. Surf thundered against the rocks far below.

And the view from the top was breathtaking: Morro Bay and its distinctive rock, with Point Piedras Blancas - clear up by Hearst Castle - visible to the north, and Point Sal, near Santa Maria, a faint outline in the offshore cloud bank to the south.

The view inland was remarkable for other reasons: a vast expanse of unspoiled coastal hills, lushly green from recent rains, and patches of dark forest here and there.

Valencia Peak is just one aspect of Montana de Oro's impressive diversity. The park encompasses 8,400 acres of pristine coastal land, sprawling between Morro Bay and Avila Beach. Visitors to its expanses will find seven miles of shoreline, tide pools, mountain trails, pocket coves and bluff-top walks.

Its name - Spanish for golden mountain - does not derive from any precious metal found in the stream beds, but rather from the yellow flowers that adorn the hillsides at this time of year.

Cattle and pigs feasted on the ground cover at the turn of the 19th century, when the region was an isolated ranch operated by the Spooner family.

The park visitor center occupies the former ranch house, and visitors can avail themselves of interpretative walks and a burgeoning living history program here. Docents not only adopt the costume of the era but the character as well. ``They'll answer you as if it's 1888,'' Dreher said. ``Don't be surprised if you hear some un-PC words and concepts.''

In the heyday of the ranch, steamers had a difficult time dodging the rocks of the cove, so the Spooners built a chute to propel the livestock down from the bluff to a loading wharf. Imagine the squeals it elicited.

It's said that an entirely different type of cargo - bootleg hooch - was offloaded at the secluded cove during Prohibition.

Today picturesque Spooner Cove is a popular stop for visitors, providing a scallop of gray-sand beach for leisurely walks and some rock formations at the water's edge for the ambitious scramblers in your group. A half-dozen picnic tables at the back of the beach provide a pleasant spot for lunch (at least on days when the winds are mild).

The bluffs trail begins directly above the cove to the south, and a gentle, half-mile stroll will find you at Coralina Cove. Here the tide pools teem with marine life: anemones, tiny fish, even brightly colored starfish. (Unfortunately, some visitors simply can't look without touching. We were dismayed on a recent visit to have a dad urge his young son to yank a starfish out of a tide pool and hold it up for a picture.)

For optimal viewing conditions, pick up a copy of the San Luis Obispo Tribune newspaper and consult the tide tables (on the weather page) for the lowest ebbs.

Most of the park's visitors are concentrated at the two coves. If you prefer a little solitude, you won't have to work hard to achieve it. Montana de Oro has a considerable network of trails, and many of them are pleasantly segregated: mountain bikes only on some of the bluff trails, hikers and horseback riders on most of the inland routes.

If you're really feeling ambitious, duck off Pecho Valley Road (the main route through the park) onto Sand Spit Road, then park your vehicle and walk up the isolated finger of land that shields Morro Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It's four miles one way to the tip of the spit, which lies across the channel from Morro Rock.

Even if you just walk part of the way, you'll likely navigate masses of brown kelp and tortured chunks of driftwood, and perhaps encounter skittering sandpipers and snowy plovers.

On the walk back, your eye might be drawn to the top of Valencia Peak, which towers above this coastal scene. Remarkable to think that what's up there used to be down here.

Eric Noland, [phone]

eric.noland(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: From U.S. 101, take Los Osos Valley Road west nine miles. This road turns into Pecho Valley Road, which bends south along the coast for three miles to the park.

DETAILS: No fee is assessed for day use in Montana de Oro. The visitor center is located at Spooner's Cove. Camping available: [phone].

INFORMATION: Visitor center: [phone]. For details about interpretive programs at the park, visit www.morrobaymuseum.org and click on ``Nature Walks'' in the left menu.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box, map

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(1 -- 2) Visitors to Montana de Oro State Park may take in the view from the top of Valencia Peak, top, or navigate an extensive web of hiking trails leading away from the coastline, above.

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IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

Montana de Oro State Park

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist