Magazine named this Big Sur spot one of the ‘Luckiest Places in the World’
Travelers heading north from Cambria on Highway 1 can visit a spot that’s been named one of the “Luckiest Places in the World.”
The March 2021 issue of Women’s Day magazine spotlights Jade Cove, a hidden location known as a collectors’ spot for the rocks and pebbles of its namesake mineral.
The Big Sur cove is located near Plaskett Creek Campground, about 13 miles north of the San Luis Obispo-Monterey County border and about 17 miles south of the road closure caused by a severe, late-January collapse of the roadway at Rat Creek.
It’s one of six locations highlighted in the article, which advises readers to “put these lucky landmarks and their quirky traditions on your bucket list.”
Other locales and attractions that made the cut included: Trevi Fountain in Rome; God’s Acre Healing Springs in Blackville, South Carolina; Friendship Gap in Long Beach, Mississippi; Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada; and (appropriately for the Celtic-influenced month of March) the Blarney Stone in Blarney, Ireland.
Jade Cove advice
The magazine’s item highlighting the cove advises readers to “keep your eyes peeled while exploring Jade Cove and you may find your new lucky charm: a jade stone.”
Many cultures credit jade with the ability to bestow good luck on someone who carries it.
The report explains that jade ranges in color, but at Jade Cove, “you’re most likely to find the dark green variety.”
Beware, however: Local serpentine can look a lot like jade, and many a novice collector has been fooled.
Another hazard is the potentially dangerous trek of simply getting from the road grade down to the primary public collecting area at the shoreline, then dodging waves that can be large and treacherous.
Wikipedia described the access as being “a steep 0.1-mile trail from the Plaskett Campground to Jade Cove that ends in a rope-assisted drop to the beach. The beach can be dangerous during high tides and storms. The cove is 2 miles south of Sand Dollar Beach and just over 3 miles north of Gorda” and south of Lucia and the road closure north of there.
There are restrictions, though
People opting to search for and collect jade at the cove should also be aware that the area is under federal control by the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, State Parks and Los Padres National Forest. Enforcers from those agencies are authorized to cite people who collect more than their share of the semi-precious gem.
The sanctuary “permits individuals to collect loose nephrite jade from an area south of Sand Dollar Beach to Cape San Martin and up to 90 feet deep offshore. Individuals may remove only what they can individually carry out. Only hand tools are permitted.”
Taking jade pieces larger than an individual can carry from the protected area requires a permit obtained in advance from the sanctuary.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
