Ellysly Creek runs along the base of the shoreline hills within Harmony Headlands State Park, about 7 miles (11 km) west-northwest of Cayucos and 3 miles (5 km) south-southeast of Harmony, California.

Harmony Headlands is a coastal park of 748 acres (303 ha) established in 2003 and named after the community of Harmony. It is mostly a network of official and unofficial hiking trails through a marine terrace grassland to the edge of steep bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The state park is within Rancho San Geronimo, a Mexican land grant from 1842. In 1865, an American settler bought the Rancho, and it passed through various owners until it was sold to California State Parks through the efforts of the Cayucos Land Conservancy.

The town of Harmony was founded in 1869 around several dairy ranches and a creamery. The operation changed hands repeatedly because of rivalries. In 1907, owners and ranchers settled their disagreements and called the town by its present name as a symbol of their truce. Increased grazing land fees and dairy industry consolidation led to the closure of Harmony’s creamery around 1955. The town lost population until the 1970s when it was rediscovered by California’s young counter-culture population, many of whom were looking for a rural lifestyle where they could practice traditional crafts away from the pressures and technology of urban life. Many of the town’s historic landmarks, including the main creamery, were restored and reopened as restaurants and shops. Read more here and here. Explore more of Ellysly Creek here: