A while ago I went down all the way to Limekiln State Park, off Hwy 1 in
Big Sur (a "black" spot according to cleardarksky.com - and I can
corroborate that after being there at night). The park itself is
beautiful, and assuming good weather (no fog) you're guaranteed a very
amazing sky at night even at the sea level, though you have Cone Peak
there. It is a 5000+ feet peak that puts you well above most of the
crappy atmosphere, fog, etc. but I'm just not sure what's the deal to go
there to observe or even camping (I know camping is allowed) - I didn't
go to observe that night but to take some widefield shots of the Milky
Way, and I didn't do that from the peak but rather much closer to the
coast.
I didn't leave dissapointed however. It was one of those nights you go
without much expectations then you find a 70+ degrees temperature,
fairly dry, no clouds or fog at all... I'm not quite recommending anyone
go observe there but it was one of those magical nights you didn't
expect, yet you won't forget.
Now, if you're willing to travel that far from the Bay Area, you might
as well go to Lake San Antonio - I've never been there myself but I've
read is another very-dark place, and protected from the moist you'd have
at the coast, so it sounds like a much safer bet, plus LSA does have an
observing history unlike LKSP.
RBA
> Do not do that for the salt mist problem mentioned. Also I have had my
> car window smashed in and radio plus battery stolen while parked there
> at night so I am thinking nighttime out there is not a good idea.
>
> Do take up on the next time the Bonny Doon folks from Santa Cruz club
> invite us up to Bonny Doon airport. Plus it is a lot higher.
>
> mark
>
> Joe Lin wrote:
>> Anyone observed from a beach along highway 1 say near half moon bay or
>> along the penninsula? Are there places where you can just park, walk
>> to the sandy shores and see the stars hovering over the waves?
>>
>
>
--
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Received on Fri Mar 21 15:40:37 2008