Big Sur and the Towns of the Monterey Bay Peninsula
Easily one of the most romantic vacation destinations in the world, anyone visiting the Monterey Peninsula should take a drive down Highway 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) to the area known as Big Sur. The views will leave you breathless (and so will the drive.) A word of caution to those not accustomed to driving the PCH – take it nice and slow. The road twists and turns as it hugs the side of forested mountains on one side and rocky cliffs plunge into the deep blue Pacific Ocean on the other side. The views are awe-inspiring and there are several places along the way to pull over and take photographs (including the world famous Bixby Creek Bridge.) You can do nothing in Big Sur but indulge your senses in the breathtaking scenery, and this alone will be an adventure. For those looking for a little more activity, there are several state parks along Big Sur that offer camping, hiking, biking, fishing, beachcombing and more.
One park, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, features an 80-foot waterfall that drops from granite cliffs into the ocean. There is another park with “Pfeiffer” in its name – Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park that also has two waterfalls that are accessible by a short trail. This park, however, is located inland along Highway 1, not right along the coast. Other points of interest along the Big Sur coastline include the Point Sur Lighthouse State Park and the fifty-five year old Nepenthe Restaurant, where patrons can dine outdoors on a terrace perched high on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Phoenix Giftshop is also located at the Nepenthe. (For trivia buffs – the property on which The Nepenthe is located once belonged to actor Orson Wells and his then wife, Rita Hayworth, who owned a log cabin on the site.)
North of Big Sur on the Monterey Bay Peninsula is colorful Carmel-By-The-Sea, a quaint village that was founded in the late 1800s by a group of Bohemian artists and writers, and their cultural influence is still very much felt in the town today. You will find no billboards or glaring neon lights in Carmel, nor are there sidewalks or streetlights in the residential areas – homes are known by names, not numbers. Carmel has a charming European style and a slow, relaxing pace. Small boutiques, art galleries, gourmet restaurants, elegant inns and cozy bed and breakfasts fill the town.
Colorful flowers spill from every nook and cranny and narrow alley ways and paths lead to hidden gardens and unique shops. The quaint Gingerbread style architecture adds to the feeling of a European storybook village. To the north of Carmel is famous Pebble Beach, where you can golf while overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and other points of interest include Carmel Beach, the historic Carmel Mission and Tor House. Nearby is Point Lobos State Reserve, a 350-acre headland that contains a wealth of marine life and ocean views. For a small entrance fee, you can hike any of the park’s 14 trails, including the Cypress Grove Trail, which leads through a forest of Monterey Cypress. Sea Lion Point Trail is a great place to view sea lions, sea otters and harbor seals (the rocks were covered with them every time I visited.) The entrance to Point Lobos is just off Highway 1, about two miles south of the Rio Road intersection in Carmel.
The city of Monterey offers visitors dramatic scenery, historical communities, and world-class shopping and dining. It is home to the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is set along the rocky shoreline of Monterey Bay. It is one of the largest marine aquariums in the world, featuring a one-million-gallon tank containing sharks, sea otters, tuna, ocean sunfish and sea turtles. A three-story kelp forest and a touch tank are just a couple of the other many hands-on exhibits at the aquarium. Historic Cannery Row in Monterey, which began as a rowdy sardine-canning district, made famous by the popular John Steinbeck novel, is now a colorful mix of shops, restaurants, pubs and markets.
Pacific Grove is a Victorian city set on the shores of the Monterey Bay Peninsula, nestled between the towns of Monterey and Carmel. Where Carmel-by-the Sea is artsy and unique, and Monterey is the quintessential coast tourist town, Pacific Grove has much more of a small hometown feel. It is known as “Butterfly Town U.S.A.,” due to the phenomenon of thousands of Monarch butterflies clustering together on the pines and eucalyptus on a few select acres in Pacific Grove. The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is open during the wintering season from late October through early-March. The Point Pinos Lighthouse, which is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast, is located in Pacific Grove, and other attractions include Lovers Point – a scenic spot with a walking path that goes for miles right along the rocky Pacific Ocean shoreline. Be sure and bring binoculars to watch the sea lions and otters frolicking just offshore. Also, The Tinnery Restaurant, located right on Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, across the street from the ocean, is a great place to dine and has outstanding ocean views.
Carmel Valley is a pastoral river valley nestled in the towering Santa Lucia mountain range, just off Scenic Highway 1 as you leave quaint Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is one of the finest wine growing regions in California, and offers endless opportunities for entertainment, recreation, fine dining and wine tasting. The highway winds along the Carmel River past quaint country inns, three championship golf courses, several world-class resorts, rustic barns, farmland and oak-studded hills laced with wildflowers. Known as the “sunbelt” of the region, it is generally sunny and warmer in Carmel Valley when fog often blankets the other towns of Carmel, Pacific Grove and Monterey. Wherever your travels take you on the Monterey Peninsula, it’s sure to become a favorite place of exploration – time and time again.
