Beautiful Monterey, CA

Monterey, California is an incredibly diverse place to visit.  From the Pacific Ocean, to the forests, to the towns, there are so many things to see and do.  You need to make sure you give yourselves enough time to do everything on your list.

Steve’s aunt and uncle used to spend a lot of time in Monterey during the cold Colorado winters, so they were a great resource for us as we started planning our trip.  It was really fun to see pictures and hear about all of the great times they had here.

Our main, but certainly not only, reason for coming was the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary.  Each year from November to early March, monarch butterflies migrate by the thousands to the California coast for the winter.  We came in late February, and we’re fortunate enough to have a chance to really enjoy them.  We took our time, allowing them to flutter around us, and watched them land on trees in small numbers and very large numbers.  There was a professional photographer that worked for the sanctuary who was happy to share his amazing close up pictures with visitors to the park.  

We saw a lot of these beautiful jays in the sanctuary as well.

Each morning, we would take our breakfast and coffee down to the Pacific Coastal Trail, where we would watch the crashing waves, birds, sea otters, and sea lions playing in the surf.  Some mornings it was warm enough to walk the trail for miles, other mornings we would sit in the Jeep and enjoy the sights and sounds of the bay.

Each evening we treated ourselves to some of the local cuisine.  

Clam chowder at the The Beach House at Lover’s Point.

Many of our lunches were enjoyed in the most beautiful restaurant of all.

Mussels, Guinness, fish and chips and calamari steak at The Sandbar and Grill.

And although it’s not seafood, we even enjoyed a hamburger at the local favorite, Duffy’s Tavern.

Another must-do if you’re in Monterey is the 17 Mile drive through the Pebble Beach property.  This drive winds through beautiful forests, neighborhoods, coastline trails and golf courses.  It is a busy drive, with lots of tourists at each of the 17 stops, but we never had trouble finding parking, and never felt rushed or crowded.  There aren’t any restrooms until stop 7, so plan ahead if you want to enjoy your drive.  We weren’t sure how long it would take us to drive these 17 miles, and to be honest, we managed to spend an entire day.  We left our campground at 7:00 am and returned after dark.

The Ghost Forest.

The Lone Cypress has stood atop this rocky point for over 250 years.

Sunbathing sea lions.

And near the end of the drive…the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Resort.  I encourage you to take in the sights of this beautiful golf course.

Our final stop, and for me, definitely at the top of my list, was the Spanish Bay Golf Resort.  Just outside their restaurant, they have a beautiful patio with lots of fire pits.  Each night at sundown, a bagpiper, makes his or her way up the fairway and onto the 2nd green.  It’s good to get there early and enjoy a drink at the fire pit before the bagpiper appears.  It is an emotional experience to just sit and listen, then eventually to see the piper appear.  This was the perfect culmination to our 17 mile drive day.

We spent our final day in Monterey at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is truly remarkable!  This is a very crowded attraction, and also a bit pricey at $60 per adult, but it is well worth seeing if you haven’t been there before.  They post their feeding times, and we got to see the feeding program in both the kelp tank and the otter exhibit.

The jellyfish were mesmerizing and so relaxing to watch.

Otters are my favorite mammals.  They are so playful and inquisitive.  

Cannery row and the wharf area are great for shopping, restaurants and nightlife.

We stayed in our Jeep camper at the Monterey Elks Lodge. It was $50 per night with hookups, or $25 per night for dry camping.  They also had an RV dump, but no sewer at each sight.  In the basement of the lodge they had a gym, laundry facility, hot tub, sauna, locker rooms and showers.  They weren’t great, but they worked and we were glad to have them since our shower doesn’t work in town.  There was also a nice outdoor pool if you were here in the summer.  The campground was in their parking lot, but it was very friendly, quiet and safe feeling at night.  We really enjoyed our stay and would definitely do it again.

We didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do while we were here, including tide pooling and eating cioppino at Phil’s Fish Market.  But once again, the crazy winter of 2022/2023 caught up with us and chased us out before we were ready to go.  A huge storm was moving in, and we had to get over Tehachapi Pass to get home.  They ended up getting 36 inches of snow in the town of Tehachapi, so the pass had even more.  This is the snow at Mammoth Lakes from that same storm.  We were glad we beat it out of there.