Monterey Peninsula, California

"The iconic Monterey seafood experience on the wharf."

Old Fisherman's Grotto on Fisherman's Wharf has been a Monterey institution since 1950. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, fresh Pacific Dungeness crab, and bay views. It's a tourist spot and earns its reputation anyway.

"Carmel has more restaurants per capita than almost any American city."

Carmel-by-the-Sea is five miles south — a fairytale village with no street addresses, strict development rules that prevent chain stores, and a restaurant scene that genuinely punches above its small size. Casanova, Anton & Michel, Dametra Cafe, and LA Bicyclette are all excellent.

"The most authentic working-harbor seafood restaurant on Monterey Bay."

Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing (15 miles north) is the real deal — a working fish market with a restaurant attached, serving cioppino, fish and chips, clam chowder, and fresh local catch. The harbor is home to California sea lions and the entrance to Elkhorn Slough.

"Sea otters, sea lions, and shorebirds in a rare tidal estuary."

Elkhorn Slough is one of the most important tidal estuaries on the California coast — and almost nobody from DLI visits it. Kayak tours from Moss Landing paddle through the slough surrounded by sea otters floating in kelp, sea lions on boat docks, and hundreds of shorebird species. The wildlife density is extraordinary.

"The most famous coastal drive in America. Worth the $12 entry fee."

The 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach passes the Lone Cypress (one of the most photographed trees in the world), Pebble Beach Golf Links, and a continuous panorama of Pacific Coast rocky shore. There's an entry fee but it's deducted from any dining purchase at Pebble Beach restaurants.

"The crown jewel of the California State Park system. Extraordinary coastal wildlife."

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve — three miles south of Carmel — is considered one of the most beautiful places in California. The reserve protects rocky coves, kelp forests, and sea caves accessible via hiking trails along the cliffs. Sea otters, harbor seals, California sea lions, and Stellar sea lions are visible year-round.

"The most dramatic coastal highway in the United States. 25 miles south."

Big Sur begins 25 miles south of the Presidio — California Highway 1 hugging cliffs above the Pacific for 90 miles. Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, Pfeiffer Beach with its purple sand, and the redwood forests of the Santa Lucia Range. An afternoon drive is transformative; a weekend camping trip is unforgettable.

"One of the world's best aquariums. The open ocean exhibit alone is worth it."

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is legitimately world-class — the kelp forest exhibit, the sea otter program, the open ocean gallery with bluefin tuna and ocean sunfish, and the remarkable conservation science work. It sits directly on the bay at Cannery Row, and the building's integration with the actual ocean is extraordinary.

"John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. More history than souvenir shops suggest."

Cannery Row was the sardine canning capital of the western hemisphere in the 1930s-40s before the sardine population collapsed. John Steinbeck documented it in his novel of the same name. The Monterey Bay Aquarium now occupies the former Hovden Cannery. The surrounding waterfront has been gentrified but the bones of the working harbor remain.

"The best tide pool access on the Monterey Peninsula."

Pacific Grove — the town directly adjacent to the Presidio — has some of the best tidepool access on the California coast. Asilomar State Beach and the marine gardens along Ocean View Boulevard expose rocky intertidal habitat at low tide: sea stars, anemones, urchins, and hermit crabs.