Montana de Oro State Park features over 8,000 acres of rugged cliffs, secluded sandy beaches, coastal plains, streams, canyons, and hills. Inland from the shoreline is an ancient wave-cut terrace that was long ago uplifted from the cutting edge of the surf and now appears as a grass covered coastal plain. The plain sweeps back from the ocean and then curves up sharply upward to 1,500 foot high hills including Valencia Peak from which one can overlook nearly a 100 miles of the coastline from Point Sal in the South to Piedras Blancas in the north. The park features a range of wildlife including rabbits, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, badgers, deer, fox, bobcats, coyote, and even an occasional mountain lion (which, fortunately, we didn't meet). There are also many kinds of birds, and in the spring and early summer a brilliant display of wildflowers. It was the predominantly yellow color of these flowers that inspired the naming of the this area - Montana de Oro or Mountain of Gold. Morro Bay is a working fishing village, famous for Morro Rock, a protected falcon sanctuary.