Morro Rock is a volcanic plug, the hard core of a long-extinct volcano, and it rises out of the water at the mouth of Morro Bay like a great grey bell, about 175 metres high. It is the last of a chain of nine such peaks that run inland toward San Luis Obispo, the Nine Sisters, and its slopes are a protected nesting place for peregrine falcons, which means that climbing is forbidden. Rock and town share a name, and the waterfront is dominated by the three tall stacks of the old power station beside it.
Morro Bay is a working fishing town of about ten thousand people on California's Central Coast, and the Embarcadero along the water is lined with seafood restaurants, kayak rentals and gift shops. The estuary behind the sandspit is one of the best places on the coast to see birds, and sea otters float on their backs among the kelp. Fog comes in often, particularly in early summer, and the temperature can fall by ten degrees within an hour.
For riders, the town sits on Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, at the southern entrance to one of the great motorcycle roads in the world. North of town, the road passes Cayucos, Cambria and San Simeon, home to Hearst Castle, and then runs along the Big Sur coast, with cliffs, headlands, redwood canyons and the Pacific stretching out below. The road is narrow and twisting, with sections of steep drop, and traffic can be heavy with tourists and campervans, especially in summer. Landslides and storms have closed parts of Big Sur for months at a time in recent years, so check Caltrans reports before setting out.
Fuel is easy in Morro Bay, with stations on the main road, and the town has plenty of cafés and hotels. Order clam chowder in a bread bowl or fresh fish tacos, and walk along the sand to the base of the rock.
Go in the early morning, before the traffic builds and the fog burns off, and stay clear of the coast road at dusk.