Pacific Gas and Electric recently opened up 1.4 additional miles of hiking trails near Diablo Canyon Power Plant, expanding public access. Hikers praised the beautiful coastline and views of the area. According to officials, about 8,000 people used the new Point Buchon Trail in the last 12 months. The trail openings were required as part of PG&E's permit to expand facilities at the nuclear plant.

1. Bay News • July 24 – 30, 2008 • BN 11
bay news
nature
Nature lovers have a new slice of coastline to fall in
love with.
Pacific Gas and Electric recently opened up to the public
some 1.4 miles of additional hiking trails north of the
Diablo Canyon Power Plant and adjacent to Montaña de
Oro State Park, giving everyone a chance to explore new
beaches, sea caves and more of this spectacular coastline.
The new trail was leveraged by the Coastal Commission
as part of the mitigation for PG&E’s projects at Diablo
Canyon and if initial impressions are anything, the public is
excited about the new trails.
“I think it’s magnificent,” said Vonda Husted of Santa
Barbara, who learned about the trail in an article in Sunset
Magazine and was hiking it last week. “In Santa Barbara we
don’t have as many large open spaces along the coast. I high-
ly recommend it.”
“You see hundreds of pelicans,” said Husted’s hiking part-
ner Diane Kemp, also of Santa Barbara. “The water is a
beautiful color compared to Santa Barbara, where the water
is kind of dirty.”
The new trail is accessible from Montana de Oro and
extends from Big Wash south to Crowbar Canyon, which is
just north of the power plant. It was opened to the public
on June 28. However, mountain bikes are not allowed.
The trail connects to a 1-mile loop that is accessed from
Coon Creek Beach, at the southernmost part of the park and
runs out to Pt. Buchon. That trail was opened last July. This
past February, another mile of bluff-top trail was added run-
ning from Pt. Buchon south to Big Wash.
The path is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays
through Mondays.
According to Emily Christensen, a PG&E spokesper-
son, there is a check-in point at the end of the parking
lot at Coon Creek. A docent will help in filling out a
waiver and then you can enjoy the breathtaking views
on your own.
According to Charles Lester, director of the Coastal
Commission’s Central Coast District, in the last 12
months the trail has been used by 8,000 people. At a
recent meeting of the Coastal Commission held in San
Luis Obispo, Lester said that they expect about 1,000
hikers per month to use what they have dubbed the
“Point Buchon Trail.”
“We certainly support it,” said Christensen. “It’s a
beautiful trail and it’s an opportunity for the public to
see a part of the coastline that they haven’t been able to
see. We have protected the land and we want the pub-
lic to be able to access it and we’re happy to do it.”
The new trails are part of an opening up of PG&E’s
lands to the public, which has been prohibited from
most of the area for decades mainly as a safety precau-
tion for the nuclear plant.
Since late 2007, a docent-led program has allowed
access to about 3.5 miles of Diablo Canyon property at
the southern boundary. Known as the Pecho Coast
Trail, it includes tours of the Point San Luis
Lighthouse.
“This pilot program has allowed up to 60 hikers each
Saturday to hike the trail without having to make reser-
vations,” said Christensen.
Interested hikers can show up at the Fisherman’s
Memorial at the end of Avila Beach Dr., in Avila on
Saturdays. The hikes depart at 9
a.m., but participants are encour-
aged to arrive early to register.
More than 750 people so far have
hiked the Pecho Coast Trail this
year, said Christensen. “We contin-
ue to work with the Coastal
Commission and the Port San Luis
Harbor District to explore opportu-
nities to increase access to this por-
tion of the coast,” she explained.
“One example of this was outreach
to underserved youth in our com-
munity. In March and April of this
year, five groups of sixth and sev-
enth grade students [a total of 120]
from local middle schools were able
to hike the trail.”
Unlike the Point Buchon Trail,
in order to hike the Pecho Coast
Trail you need to be in above aver-
age physical condition and wear a
pair of sturdy shoes. There is no charge. For more informa-
tion, call 541-TREK.
Linda Locklin, coastal access program manager for the
Coastal Commission, said they are working with PG&E to
increase public access to the lighthouse. She said they would
like to have a trail that is out of view of the Diablo Canyon
guard station so people don’t have to see the guards and
barbed wire while they are on a nature hike. Another goal is
to have vans that would drive visitors to the lighthouse.
According to Christensen, opening the Point Buchon
Trail and allowing for increased access to the Pecho Coast
Trail were among the conditions of approval that the Coastal
Commission imposed on PG&E in exchange for approval to
build an above-ground storage facility for the plant’s spent
reactor fuel.
Christensen said that they expect to be able to load the
storage facility starting next summer. Cost through the first
loading campaign is $105 million.
But opposition continues. Mothers For Peace is still try-
ing to get the federal government to require more safe-
guards against a possible terrorist attack on the facility
through the air.
That effort will have no effect on the opening of the new
trails.
An additional 1.4-mile segment of the Pt. Buchon Trail was recent-
ly opened to public access giving nature lovers even more to fall in
love with at Montaña de Oro. Photos by Jack Beardwood
More to Fall in Love With
New Trail Opened at Montaña de Oro
By Jack Beardwood