9 Fun Things To Do In Monterey, California
If you’re looking for outdoor activities and adventure, Monterey is the place.
In the previous blog post, I shared the ultimate travel guide to visiting Point Lobos in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. In today’s post, I wanted to highlight the top 9 things to do in Monterey, California.
Ride Bikes
One of the things my sister Rebecca wanted to do was bike ride along the ocean. The last time I came to Monterey, I would spend most of my days here riding bikes. There’s plenty of bike / run trails where you can ride around the coast of Monterey. Not to mention, there’s also plenty of bike rentals near Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Pacific Grove to choose from. We rented ours from Adventures By The Sea in Downtown Fisherman’s Wharf because we wanted to start from Cannery Row and make our way up towards Point Pinos Lighthouse.
Monterey Plaza Hotel — this balcony area is a great little spot to hang out, sip on a coffee, read, and overlook the ocean view.
We made a lot of pit stops on our bike ride
Stunning snaps on our bike ride in Pacific Grove
Cannery Row lookout
A drone shot of the bike / run trail and the cute town of Monterey
We were both craving smoothies and acai bowls on one of the days, so we researched one nearby that had great reviews called Terra Superfoods located at: 570 Munras Ave Suite 50, Monterey, CA 93940.
I ordered the Blue Coconut smoothie and Rebecca ordered The Terra bowl.
2. Watch the harbor seals
Along the bike / run path in Pacific Grove, there is a section called Harbor Seal Lookout where you’ll see harbor seals lounging around in the sun for hours and hours.
An aerial drone shot of the harbor seals
In the mornings, Rebecca and I went for runs alongside the ocean. Sometimes we’d turn off our music just to listen to the ocean waves crashing against the rocks. It’s the little things.
3. Visit Lovers Point Park
There is a nice little area near the beach where you can picnic, walk around, watch surfers hit the big waves, and even grab a coffee from the local coffee shop.
4. Visit Fisherman’s Wharf
A classic tourist spot if you haven’t been here already. There’s tons of restaurants to shops to dessert spots and even the best clam chowder here.
One of our favorite places to eat was Pacific Bowls and Rolls. I’ve had lots of poke bowls before, but never as fresh as this one. We had to order it twice during our trip.
5. Visit Carmel-by-The-Sea
Carmel-by-the-Sea is another quaint little beach town on the Monterey Peninsula. There’s a lot of walking to restaurants, wine tastings, fantastic golf courses, and fairy tale cottages.
We dined at Pangaea Grill, an Asian fusion restaurant.
And then typical me had to get some work done, so we ended up spending some time in a coffee shop nearby.
We splurged and bought matching Carmel-by-the-Sea sweatshirts.
We rented a car from Enterprise, at the Monterey Regional Airport. It was so helpful to have a car to drive around to places like Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur (keep scrolling for more), but for the most part, we walked to all the spots in Monterey.
We stayed at a cute little hotel called Centrella Hotel in Pacific Grove. We wanted to try something a little different than or usual hotel selections and really enjoyed our stay there. The breakfast was typically croissants, muffins, and handmade granola parfait. This was a great location to stay at because we wanted to be able to walk everywhere and also feel safe.
The hotel also offered happy hours serving wine and champagne, but we always opted to sip on matcha lattes that I brought with me.
Another one of our favorite dining spots was El Cantaro near Cannery Row. It was a vegan Mexican restaurant, so I ordered the vegan quesadilla and my sister ordered the vegan tacos and empanadas. Highly recommend if you like vegan Mexican food!
6. Visit Bixby Bridge
If you’ve watched Big Little Lies, you probably remember this bridge in the show opening. The Bixby Bridge is located on Highway 1, on the Big Sur coast of California. It’s 18 miles south of Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Bixby Bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in California because of it’s aesthetic design. It’s also the longest concrete arch bridge in California.
There are little parking sections near the Bridge where you can park your car and step out to take pictures. This was the first spot we tried — in front of the Bridge.
And then we walked over to the other side of the parking area and honestly, enjoyed this view much better.
7. Visit Point Lobos Natural State Reserve
This was quite possibly our favorite part of the trip. The scenic views, the hiking… all of it. I won’t spend too much time on this one because there’s a dedicated blog post on everything to know here.
8. Visit Soberanes Point Trail
This was a last minute hiking trail that we found heading home from Bixby Bridge. I didn’t realize that I had actually been on this trail the last time I was in Monterey. It was more in bloom during the springtime, but just as stunning nevertheless. It’s a quick hike loop trail that overlooks Highway 1 and the waves crashing against the rocks below.
9. 17-Mile Drive
The 17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The scenic attractions range from golf courses to mansions to sites like the Lone Cypress, Bird Rock, 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees, and more.
Lone Cypress Tree
Bird Rock
And of course… more harbor seals lounging in the sun
I hope this travel guide was helpful! If you have any questions, please let me know!