The prime example is the olive grove that sits directly off the Smugglers Road trail about .1 miles away from Smugglers Cove. Olive Trees, while beautiful, are by no means native to the island; and were planted over a hundred years ago in order to harvest the fruit for commercial purposes. Today, the groves of trees are still standing outside Smugglers Cove in their orderly, neat rows, waiting for a non-existent harvest. While I’m not usually one to celebrate invasive species in National Parks, in this case I’ll make an exception. There’s something about these old trees waiting on the shore of a now-empty island that stimulates one’s imagination while hiking. On a hot, summer day it’s easy to imagine that you have left California, and are hiking one of the Mediterranean islands near Spain; or are in an empty part of the Iberian Peninsula. However, if the scenery doesn’t remind you of Europe, there’s plenty of other ideas that could sprout in your imagination as you pass through the grove. And, even if you don’t imagine anything as the wind whispers to you as it passes through the branches of the grove, the grove is a great spot to sit on either your decent or ascent from Smugglers Cove, as it provides some much needed shade on the hike from Scorpion Ranch to Smugglers Cove.