I found Butano State Park by scrolling around the Google Map of California and then searching the different parks I hadn’t heard of. Not only was this park pretty much in my backyard, it is completely overlooked because of its proximity to Big Basin.

And here are few photos from on our way to the park, along the road in Half Moon Bay... because, flowers are pretty :) 

To many people’s surprise, I didn’t look up any hikes or plan a route – I just grabbed my hiking buddy and followed my GPS. We grabbed a map at the Visitor Center and decided to take a longest loop on the map.

The longest loop turned out to be somewhere around 10 miles, which flew by  quickly with Gracie and I chattering away about feminism, gun control, travel plans, career goals and relationships.

Along the trail we saw a bunch of banana slugs , big and small – but best of all, we saw very few people. It felt as though we had the whole trail to ourselves.

While Butano State Park won’t offer you an ocean view, lake view or a high summit point for you to look down from, it is a beautiful and enchanting getaway from the city, office, home life.