There's no better way to spend a beautiful summer day than in nature, so my husband and I decided to dedicate all our summer weekends exploring state parks and natural reserves. Most of them will probably be from California, because there are plenty to choose from nearby, but we also have some nice far-away trips in mind.

After forests of redwoods, this weekend we decided to visit Point Lobos.

Point Lobos is considered the 'crown jewel' in California's state park system, and for good reason: the views are breathtaking, the area is geologically unique and it contains a diversity of plants and animals. And my favorite reason: all the above can be accessed with minimum effort, just by walking on easy trails along the ocean.

The most used trail here is Point Lobos loop trail, a loop of 7.1 miles that covers a large area of the park. The trails are easy, mostly smooth and wide, with a few stairs to climb here and there. We spent half a day walking from trail to trail and taking pictures, so to visit the entire area 5 hours to a day should be enough.

Some of the areas we visited (in no particular order) are:

China Cove

This is a small beach protected by rocks from both sides. The water is calm and peaceful and apparently it became one of the favorite places to rest for sea lions and their pups. To protect the sea lions, the beach is closed for visitors.

Bird Island

Bird Island becomes a large sea bird colony during spring and summer. This was the perfect time to visit for us: most birds were either taking care of the new generation or waiting for the eggs to hatch (our binoculars came in handy here).