Scenic Drives & Vistas

Asilomar to 17-Mile Drive to Mara Beach

Little known fact about 17-Mile Drive: you can extend it in both directions to make for an even longer, more scenic route. Start as early as Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove and head south. From there you will head around a peninsula, by many pullouts, and along Asilomar State Beach. This whole section is largely underrated and just gorgeous. If you’re a runner, definitely check out the coastal trail!

From Asilomar, you’ll head slightly inland and enter Pebble Beach through the Pacific Grove Gate. Now you’re on the famous 17-Mile Drive. Follow the signs throughout this gated community for all of the viewpoints and vistas you could ever hope for. You’ll see the Lone Cypress, the Ghost Trees, Spanish Bay, Bird Rock, the Pebble Beach Golf Course, and so many lovely homes.

Exit Pebble Beach just before the end of 17-Mile Drive through the Carmel Gate. Your grand tour is not quite over! Take San Antonio Avenue to Scenic Road, perhaps with a pitstop at our biggest, sandiest beach: Carmel Beach. On Scenic Road, you’ll see the cute gingerbread cottages that Carmel-by-the-Sea is known for on your left, with endless views of the ocean on your right.

Continue driving until Mara Beach, the conclusion of this tour. From there, we recommend you follow the road back into Carmel-by-the-Sea to go walk around and explore!

Big Sur

Big Sur: the ultimate drive. If you’re planning on a Big Sur adventure, we encourage you to go on a weekday or earlier in the morning to avoid crowds and traffic. We have a few recommendations, but half the fun of Big Sur is seeing what interests you as you drive around.

Hop on Highway 1 and head south. You’ll soon pass by Point Lobos and Garrapata, both very worth stopping at (learn more on the Activities page). Aside from the many lovely vistas, the first notable spot you’ll want to pause is Bixby Creek Bridge. If you’ve ever researched Big Sur, then you’ve seen a photo of this bridge. These days, it is practically an Instagram celebrity, so if it looks crowded, keep going, because there can be far too many cars for far too few parking places. As you cross the bridge, marvel at the engineering, and the steep drop of 260 ft!

Next, you’ll drive by Point Sur, a massive rock with a lighthouse on top that belongs to the navy (you can book a 90 minute tour!), and quite a few fields of the happiest cows. You’ll soon see Andrew Molera State Park, another place we recommend for a hike on our Activities page, and begin to head inland through a dense grove of redwood trees. This is the heart of Big Sur, where there are a few restaurants, some lodging, and quite a few campsites.

If you are hungry, grab some eats at Big Sur Taphouse, Big Sur Bakery, or Nepenthe. The taphouse has a great deli, beers on tap, and small market. Big Sur Bakery serves breakfast and lunch and has a cafe with delicious pastries. Nepenthe has an amazing burger and incredible coastal views. Just south of here is the Henry Miller Memorial Library, a bookstore and event space that has hosted the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billy Bragg, and Diplo.

The last place we encourage you to see before heading back north is McWay Falls. A short 1-mile round trip stroll will bring you to an overlook of a beautiful waterfall dropping right into the ocean! Enjoy your drive back north - it’s just as gorgeous!

Pacific Grove to Cannery Row to Fort Ord Dunes

This is less of a scenic drive as a scenic bike ride. But feel free to drive, walk or bike this little journey. Whatever floats your boat! Did we mention there’s a bike path that (more or less) extends from Pacific Grove all the way to Santa Cruz? If you’re ambitious, go for it, but for the rest of us, we have a shorter route to tell you about.

Start at any point we are mentioning, but for the sake of clarity, we’ll begin our journey at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. Here, you can rent a bike (or bring your own) or surrey (those 2-4 person bike contraptions) from Adventures by the Sea. Hop on and ride towards Monterey. You’ll love it. Close to the Pacific Grove/Monterey border, you’ll notice a fence blocking off the coast. Go ahead, take a look. Most of the year, the beach you are looking at is filled with seals and sea lions!

Continue on, and soon you’ll see the Monterey Bay Aquarium on your left. If you haven’t been, you should go, but be sure to get tickets ahead of time! You can either stay on the bike path here, or veer onto Cannery Row, the historic sardine cannery district written about by John Steinbeck. Today, it’s lined with waterfront hotels, boutiques, and restaurants. It’s both charming and very touristy. If you need caffeine, swing by Tidal Coffee and sip your drink while overlooking the bay from the plaza.

Get back on the bike path and continue on. You can stop at the Coast Guard Pier and walk to the end for some nice views of the bay and Cannery Row, along with sunbathing seals and sea lions. Your next destination is Old Fisherman’s Wharf, another tourist destination with restaurants and shopping. But, hey! You’re all tourists, right?

From here, you can either head into downtown Monterey via Alvarado Street, or continue on the coastal path past Monterey and towards Sand City. In Monterey, there are many delicious restaurants to choose from, but if you choose the later path, we encourage you to go as far as Fort Ord Dunes State Park. What was once an army base is now a protected dune system. It is isolated and vast, and the bike path is well maintained out there. Now that you’ve gotten quite the scenic workout in, turn around and take the same route back to Pacific Grove.