The Best Hikes in Monterey and Carmel
The Monterey and Carmel region contains outstanding hiking trails for all levels of hikers. Options include everything from an easy leg-stretching hike to a strenuous multiday backpacking adventure.
Easy Hikes
- One of Monterey’s best hikes is also its easiest. The Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail (18 mi/29 km total) follows a former railroad track to Pacific Grove. The 2-mi (3-km) walk one-way from Fisherman’s Wharf to Lovers Point Park is highly recommended.
- The Skyline Trail (0.8 mi/1.2 km round-trip) in Jack’s Peak County Park offers a view of Monterey from the peninsula’s highest point.
- Point Lobos State Natural Reserve has plenty of easy hikes that pay impressive dividends with stunning scenery, abundant wildlife, and unique natural features. The Cypress Grove Trail (0.8 mi/1.3 km round-trip) is one of the best, with its twisty cypress trees and vantage points of the sea.
- Most visitors to Big Sur want to view the 80-ft (24-m) waterfall that drops precipitously into the ocean. It can be seen from the Overlook Trail to McWay Falls (0.6 mi/1 km round-trip) in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
- Andrew Molera State Park occupies a big parcel of Big Sur’s spectacular coastline. At the end of the Creamery Meadow Trail (2 mi/3 km round-trip) hikers are rewarded with a wild beach where the Big Sur River spills into the sea.
Moderate Hikes
- For a view of the Carmel coast from above, take Palo Corona Regional Park’s Inspiration Point Hike (2.2 mi/3.5 km loop) to a bench where the shoreline spreads out below. Be sure to first secure a permit to hike in the park.
- Pinnacles National Park has rock formations that seem to be nature’s take on castles and towers. The Juniper Canyon Loop (4.3 mi/6.9 km round-trip) travels up to some fine examples, especially on the steep and narrow portion of the trail.
- Also in Pinnacles National Park, the Moses Spring-Rim Trail Loop (2.2 mi/3.5 km round-trip) takes in both Bear Gulch Cave—a cavern with a stream running through it— and Bear Gulch Reservoir, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
- Take the Ridge Trail and Panorama Trail Loop (8 mi/13 km round-trip), also known as Eight-Mile Loop, in Andrew Molera State Park for views of the Big Sur coast.
- In Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is the Partington Cove Trail (1 mi/1.6 km round-trip), which ventures out from the highway, over a bridge, and through a tunnel to a rocky cove.
- Combining some of Big Sur’s largest redwoods along with coastal views, the Ewoldsen Trail (4.5 mi/7.2 km round-trip) showcases what makes Big Sur so beloved.
Quirky galleries, deliciously fresh seafood, and dramatic hikes and drives: discover what the locals love about these seaside towns with Moon Monterey & Carmel.
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