Garrapata State Park has 2 miles (3.2 km) of beachfront, with coastal hiking and a 50-foot (15 m) climb to a view of the Pacific.

The park offers diverse coastal vegetation with trails running from ocean beaches into dense coast redwood groves.

[5] Edward Weston, who lived nearby in Carmel, made a number of his best-known photos in or near what is now the State Park.

In 1835, the portion of the park land generally to the west of a line along the Rocky Ridge Trail was part of Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito.

Seven years later, Soberanes served as a guide for De Anza, whose party pushed north to San Francisco Bay.

The Soberanes family, locally famed for their musical talents, also offered their hospitality to other ranchers traveling along the coast to Monterey.