Limekiln State Park

From 1887 to 1890 the Rockland Lime and Lumber Company harvested limestone from a scree slope and fed it into four iron and stone lime kilns they erected onsite. Long exposure to very hot fires extracted lime. The lime was a key ingredient in the cement that was used for construction in San Francisco and Monterey. After three years the company had exhausted most of the limestone as well as the redwood used to fire the kilns. A trail leads from the Big Sur Coast Highway to the ruins of the lime smelting operations, which include four kilns and some stone walls and bridge abutments. Due to the damage the park was closed, not reopening until July 2, 2010. At that time the Limekiln Falls Trail remained closed, but reopened in summer 2011. The Hare Creek Trail is shorter due to damage related to the Chalk Fire. ==History==

Limekiln State Park was one of many state parks threatened with closure in 2008. Those closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide. The park was again threatened with closure, along with 70 other California state parks in July 2012 as part of a deficit reduction program. A partner organization has signed an agreement to keep the park open. ==Recreation==

Limekiln State Park has a small but popular campground with 31 sites among the redwoods and 11 sites with an ocean view. Easy trails lead to the lime kilns or up Hare Creek Canyon. Another leads to Limekiln Falls on the east fork of Limekiln Creek. ==See also==