Santa Lucia Range

The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for 140 miles to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than 11 miles from the coast. The range forms the steepest coastal slope in the contiguous United States. Cone Peak at 5,158 feet tall and three miles from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States. The range was a barrier to exploring the coast of central California for early Spanish explorers.

The Santa Lucia Mountains are part of the Outer South California Coast Ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges System. The coastal side of the range rises directly from the shoreline, with oceanfront ridges rising directly 4,000 to 5,000 feet to the crest of the coastal range. The crest of the range is never more than 11 miles from the coast. Cone Peak is the steepest coastal elevation in the contiguous United States, rising nearly a mile above sea level, only three miles from the Pacific Ocean.

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