Ishxenta State Park
*HEAT ALERT: With temperatures set to exceed 110 degrees throughout much of the state this week, California is urging everyone to take extra precautions as they celebrate the Fourth of July. Governor Newsom has directed the Office of Emergency Services to activate its State Operations Center. Read about how California is preparing for this heatwave. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of California from 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 2, through Sunday, July 7, at 8 p.m. PDT. Please be sure to take extra precautions when heading outdoors and know before you go by checking the park’s webpage ahead of time. Visit our safety tips webpage and get the latest on the weather at weather.gov.
The Park is currently CLOSED.
Park Facilities
Registration Now Open for Ishxenta Bird Hike - August 2024
Birders (and everyone else) are welcome on this California State Parks Discovering Connections – A Focus on Birding hike along the vibrant San Jose Creek within Ishxenta State Park.
Registration is now open for the August 2, 2024 tour date. Cost is $20 per person and open to ages 10 and above. See details on Eventbrite.
Coast chaparral, Monterey pine forest, and riparian habitats create an exceptional birding experience at this site! This easy-paced, two-mile round-trip hike affords multiple opportunities for observation of plants, wildlife, and BIRDS. Expect to see hummingbirds, raptors, warblers, sparrows, and quail. California State Parks interpreters will lead participants along a designated trail with terrain that is mostly flat with some moderate incline along the way. The trail surface is hardpacked but uneven, winding through both sunny and shaded areas. There are no benches or other seating along the way. Potential hazards include poison oak and ticks. Participants are encouraged to wear long pants, bring hats, water, and their own binoculars. There are a few sets of binoculars available to borrow if you do not have your own.
Location: Ishxenta State Park - San Jose Creek Natural Preserve
Leaders: California State Parks Staff Interpreters: Violet Smith and Amanda Preece
Meet: Marathon Flats Parking, adjacent to the Crossroads Safeway parking lot Check-in with State Parks Staff required; Vanpool to Ishxenta State Park. Ages 10 or above. Car seats not permitted in van.
Tickets: $20 per person. 72 hours in advance cancellation. Tickets are transferable at any time.
Questions? Please contact State Parks Staff: violet.smith@parks.ca.gov
Ishxenta State Park - Limited Access Via Monthly Public Tours
Ishxenta State Park's lower creekside trail is open to the public on a limited basis via California State Parks staff-led tours.
State Parks hosts monthly birding hikes via Event Brite registration. Please see Content Section above for more information about these popular tours!
To learn about monthly tours offered in collaboration with the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District "Let's Go Outdoors" program, please visit: https://www.mprpd.org/let-s-go-outdoors
About Ishxenta State Park
The purpose of Ishxenta State Park - formerly known as the Point Lobos Ranch property, is to preserve and protect an extremely scenic portion of the northern Big Sur Coast. Located on significant Indigenous Ancestral Land, the property contains one of the world's largest native Monterey Pine forests, examples of the rare Gowen cypress and areas of the rare maritime chaparral plant community. The property and surrounding public lands provide mountain lion habitat, and at the upper elevations, offers spectacular views of Carmel Bay and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary coastline. The San Jose Creek provides protection for steelhead trout spawning grounds. The property also contains an early twentieth century complex of ranch buildings.
For more information on Ishxenta State Park and the surrounding Carmel Area State Parks, please view the Carmel Area State Parks General Plan.
