Adventures Beyond Downtown Carmel
If you have the luxury of an extra day, explore the Monterey area's awe-inspiring yet manageable parks, beaches, hiking trails, and world-ranked golf courses. Within a short drive of our quaint European-style village, you'll find stunning natural beauty along with attractions that draw discerning visitors from around the world.
- Start the day at the Carmel Visitors Center. It's a great resource for free brochures and maps to plan your day. Located on the second floor of the Carmel Plaza. Open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Phone 831-624-2522.
- Head to Point Lobos, for a walk or hike through dense groves of Cypress forest leading to hidden coves, beaches, and overlooks where the many shades of Pacific blues and greens will dazzle your senses. Or take a drive down the coast to Big Sur and spend the afternoon. It's as magnificent as you've heard, with majestic hiking trails at Andrew Molera State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Afterwards, linger at breathtaking hillside restaurants with panoramic ocean views, such as Nepenthe, Big Sur River Inn, or the Post Ranch Inn. Visit Pt. Lobos and www.BigSurCalifornia.org for details.
- Explore the 11.5 miles from Highway 1 to Carmel Valley Village that are dotted with first-rate vineyards and wine tasting rooms including Bernardus, Folktale Winery and Vineyards, and Georis, among many others. Visit www.CarmelValleyChamber.org for details.
- Golfers have their choice of some of the world's top-ranked courses — the most within any single region — including the famed Pebble Beach Resort's courses. Considered a Mecca by enthusiasts of the sport, the Monterey Peninsula offers a dramatic natural setting for golf few places can match. Visit www.SeeMonterey.com/golf-courses for details.
- Nose-to-nose, the Monterey Bay Aquarium lets your family experience the ocean in all its beauty and wonder in a thrilling way that few other aquariums can match. Up close you'll be inspired by this living and fascinating collection of marine life and exciting exhibits. Visit www.MontereyBayAquarium.org for details.
- 17-Mile Drive takes you on a leisurely driver's seat tour of some of the world's most scenic natural treasures. This leisurely road winds its way through pristine Del Monte Forest and quietly luxurious Pebble Beach — and their incomparable beauty spots, world-ranked golf courses, dream homes, restaurants, and world-class shops. Visit www.PebbleBeach.com for details.
- For international raceway action, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca offers thrilling world-class motorcycle and auto racing. The track is home to the popular Sea Otter Classic and the Ferrari Challenge.
- Named in honor of the legendary John Steinbeck novel about Monterey's once-bustling sardine industry, Cannery Row offers more than 25 restaurants, numerous shops, and luxury hotels that line its colorful, historic oceanside streets. The iconic Sardine Factory is now the family-friendly Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the leading marine life attractions in the world. Visit www.CanneryRow.com for details.
- Along Old Fisherman's Wharf in Downtown Monterey, take in the sights and sounds with up-close look at our thriving fishing industry. Great restaurants and photogenic sea life abound. The adventurous visitor can enjoy a glass bottom boat tour, deep-sea fishing trip, or whale watching in season. You also can explore nearby Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with scuba diving and kayaking, or biking along the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreational Trail. Visit www.MontereyWharf.com for details.
- Monterey Movie Tours takes you on a luxury motor coach ride through the area's spectacularly scenic movie-making history. Nearly 200 films have been made in Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Pacific Grove since 1897. Learn the inside stories as you watch iconic scenes on the coach's overhead monitors that were filmed on those exact same spots. Visit www.MontereyMovieTours.com for details.