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Alta Vicente Reserve (Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA)
4 of 5 Stars
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelsonv/53344930519/in/album-72177720312809590/
Left: This is why it's called the Prickly Pear Trail. Right: View from where it branches off from the Alta Vicente Trail.
Nice views of the ocean, Point Vicente Lighthouse and (on clear days) Catalina island. Short loop within Alta Vicente Reserve but with some steep sections. Keep your balance! This actually goes through a thick grove of prickly pear cactus at one point -- downhill if you go clockwise! Today it was well-maintained, but I read that it can get badly overgrown at times. Not much shade except where it goes through was appears to be an abandoned farm.
You have to take the Alta Vicente and/or Nike trails to get to it. Park up at the city hall, go to the grassy park area, and look for the brick cube with the plaque. Rock-marked dirt trails lead off to the nature reserve.
The Alta Vicente trail, at least, allows bicycles and horses, though parts are a bit steep for cycling in my opinion. And I wouldn't recommend biking downhill through the prickly pear grove, or riding a horse through it in either direction!
Pokémon Go Note: There are several Pokéstops up at the park, and one or two at trail junctions, but no gyms in range. The two on the other side of the road are too far away.
— Kelson Vibber, 2023-11-19