Plaskett is a thinly populated oceanside

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

alongside the

Big Sur Coast Highway Big Sur Coast Highway is a section of California State Route 1 through the Big Sur region of California that is widely considered to be one of the most scenic driving routes in the United States, if not the world. It is both a National Scenic ...

in the southern

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

region of

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It lies at an elevation of 203 feet (62 m). It consists of a

USFS The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

campground and station, two small resorts, a small school, and a few dozen families spread over the general region.

Attractions and services

Camping and hiking

The

Plaskett Creek Campground has 44 campsites. The campground is on the east side of Highway 1 in a forest of Monterey Pine, Cypress, and Cedar trees. There are three group campsites for tent and RV camping. There are no hookups or a dump station. Each site is equipped with a table and campfire ring with grill. Flush toilets, sinks and drinking water are provided throughout the campground. Camping alongside Highway 1 or other local roads is illegal. Due to high fire danger, campfires and BBQ usage are only permitted in designated campgrounds. The campground is walking distance to

Sand Dollar Beach Sand Dollar Beach is a long beach in Big Sur, California, one of the longest publicly accessible beaches on that coast. It is within the Los Padres National Forest. The beach is north of the small commercial center of Gorda, California, Gorda ...

, the longest publicly accessible strand of sandy beach along the Big Sur coast. A quarter mile south of the Plaskett Creek Campground, there is a coastal trail from Jade Cove to Plaskett Rock Point. The Pacific Valley Bluff Trail is across Highway 1 from the Pacific Valley Ranger Station, and north of the Plaskett Creek Campground offers a short walk to the sea side bluffs with views of the Santa Lucia Range to the north and Sand Dollar Beach to the south. The Pacific Valley Ranger Station is north of Plaskett. There are restrooms and a public telephone. There is no cell coverage or wifi service in the area. The nearest services are in Gorda south and in Lucia, to the north. The Treebones Resort to the south offers high-end accommodations in

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...

s and meals at the Wild Coast Restaurant.

Junge Cabin

The Junge Cabin, a one-room redwood cabin built in 1920 by homesteader John Junge, is found in Pacific Valley.

Jade Cove

There is a steep trail from the Plaskett Campground to

Jade Cove Jade Cove is located in the southern area of Big Sur on the California central coast. It contains the only concentrated underwater deposit of quality nephrite jade in the world. Individuals are permitted to collect as much jade as they can person ...

that ends in a rope-assisted drop to the beach. The beach can be dangerous during high tides and storms. The

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of ...

permits individuals to collect loose jade from an area south of Sand Dollar Beach to Cape San Martin and up to deep offshore. Individuals may remove only what they can individually carry. Only hand tools are permitted.

Education

The Pacific Valley School offers K-12 education to south coast residents. In 2017–18, the school had 22 students and a student/teacher ratio of 3:1.

Etymology

William and Sarah (Barnes) Plaskett, after whom the place is named, claimed a homestead in the area now known as Gorda south of Plaskett in 1869 and established a saw mill. The family name is connected to Plaskett Creek, Plaskett Creek Campground, Plaskett Rock, Plaskett Ridge, and Plaskett Ridge Road. Two plant specimens were also named for the family: ''Nemophila plaskettii'' and ''Linanthus plaskettii'', which today are recognized as synonyms for ''

Nemophila parviflora ''Nemophila parviflora'', the smallflower nemophila, small-flowered nemophila or oak-leaved nemophila, is a dicot in the borage family, Boraginaceae, in the waterleaf subfamily, Hydrophylloideae. The plant is native to the low to moderate elevat ...

'', also known as Baby Blue Eyes.

Government

At the county level, Plaskett is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Plaskett is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Plaskett is in

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Monterey County, California Populated coastal places in California