This is one of my favorite hikes in the extended Bay area. Just south of Carmel, this is a nice outing for the intermediate hiker. There are signs marking Garrapata State Park before the trailhead but there is no formal entrance or anything like that. Incidentally, Garrapata means something like wood tick in Spanish. The trailhead is at a turnout on a curving part of Highway 1 about 10 miles south of Carmel. Look for a gate on the left side. We had decided to take the Soberanes creek- Rocky Ridge loop trail.