Just down the road from the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve in Cambria on the central California coast is a small country park called Lampton Cliffs.

lampton cliffs county park, cambria

The park features a wooden stairway providing convenient access to a sheltered, rocky inlet.

Stairs to Pacific shore at Lampton Cliffs County Park, Cambria

Near the park is an open area that is marked as an ecological study zone. This is fenced and closed to the public.

ecological study area at cambria on the central California coast

I don’t know what kind of ecological study the University of California is doing here, but the ecology of the nature reserve seems imperfectly balanced — there were at least a couple dozen deer lounging in the meadow.

deer, cambria, ca

.