On top of Ollason Peak in Toro County Park
501 Highway 68, Salinas
(831) 755-4895, countyofmonterey.gov/parks
You don’t need to go back in time to experience the serenity and wide open grasslands you might conjure in your mind’s eye when you think of the Old West. You do, however, need to break a sweat to summit an 1,800-foot-high peak in Toro County Park. The Ollason Trail takes you up to the summit, offering an impressive view – of the mountainous terrain flattening off into the Salinas Valley to the east, the Monterey Bay to the west – and a perfect perch to sit, take it all in and eat a sandwich. The simple fact that you’d never expect to find a piece of infrastructure up here makes it all the more remarkable to find a lovely picnic table, silent except for the sound of the breeze blowing through the grass.
