Monterey

Few places along the California coast are perfectly suited for a day of sailing. While San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Long Beach, San Francisco, and Catalina Island offer sailing adventures, none of them offer wide open Pacific waters without dangerous commercial traffic to navigate. They also don't offer the deep blue waters of Monterey Bay, which are full of some impressive wildlife....

Located near Cannery Row, San Carlos Beach is home to Breakwater Cove.  This is a great place for beginner scuba divers to practice their diving, get open water certified, and do their first ocean dives.   San Carlos Beach is home to a large colony of sea lions, and also features a reef, anemones, and small fish.  Young halibut, sea pens, and sand dollar fields can also be seen. Divers enter th...

Huckleberry Hill Loop Trail is a loop trail where you may see wildflowers located near Monterey, California.

Shoreline Stroll Trail is an out-and-back trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Monterey, California.

Getting there: Drive to the bottom of Ocean View Boulevard in Pacific Grove, California. You will reach a small parking lot. Unfortunately, the parking here is limited. On the bright side, this means the crowds never get too big! The ocean has open swells for surfers, diverse marine-life for snorkelers, and can be mellow enough for even beginner stand-up paddle-boarders. The waves here can be s...

Monterey Peninsula Recreational Trail is a loop trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Pacific Grove, California.

LOVERS POINT PARK AND BEACH:According to local legend, this park was originally called "Lovers of Jesus Point," back in the era when Pacific Grove was a Methodist retreat camp. Since the late 1800s, the beach at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove has been a popular spot for boating and swimming, and over recent decades surfers have joined the mix. Lovers Point Park has above all become Pacific Grove...

Lover's Point is great place to SUP or kayak. There are tons of jellyfish in the water (so be careful). This beach is also popular for scuba diving and snorkeling. There are rocks surround a small sandy beach and a place to rent kayaks and sups on the beach. There is a small parking lot as well as street parking up above.

SFB Morse Botanical Reserve is a loop trail that takes you through a nice forest located near Pebble Beach, California.