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    Monterey County offers nature enthusiasts treasures by land, sea and sky
    • June 4, 2025

    Monterey County may be known for its artist colonies, Cannery Row, golf tournaments and car races. But for real nature enthusiasts, it offers a wonderland of adventures.

    The epic drive on Route 1 from Ragged Point to Carmel, with its steep cliffs, hairpin turns, and magnificent ocean views, is a must-do for any adventurous soul. But Stephen Copeland, who owns Big Sur Guides and Hiking, believes taking the time to explore the county’s many parks and nature preserves can be nothing short of life-changing.

    Copeland moved from Southern California to Big Sur in 1971. When not working at the Nepenthe Restaurant, he would hike in the area, and soon decided to start a tour guiding business.

    “I was enamored with nature,” Copeland says. “I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I thought for sure people from around the world would want to come to see this. The power of nature in this particular place was so meaningful, in a God-like way. I mean, this was a religious experience, in my opinion.”

    And in the years since he started his business, Copeland says he has seen many others fall in love with the area. He currently offers tours not just in Big Sur, but on the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Valley, and they run the gamut from hiking in beaches and forests to walking tours in town, to seeing butterflies and flowers.

    But while a guided tour is a great way to get an introduction to Monterey County, you can of course also explore on your own. And since there is so much to see, we are dividing the highlights into Land, Sea and Stars (because if you live in a big city, you seldom get to see the stars).

    Land

    Monterey County can certainly not be accused of lacking green space.

    Colorful mustard, goldfields, poppies and other wildflowers have exploded along California's Highway 41, located on the San Luis Obispo, Kern, and Monterey County borders, on April 12. (George Rose/Getty Images)
    Colorful mustard, goldfields, poppies and other wildflowers have exploded along California’s Highway 41, located on the San Luis Obispo, Kern, and Monterey County borders, on April 12. (George Rose/Getty Images)

    The National Park Service runs Pinnacles National Park, Fort Ord National Monument, Los Padres National Forest, and the Salinas National Wildlife Refuge, while state parks and reserves include the Elkhorn Slough, Fremont Peak State Park, Garrapata State Park, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, and the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

    And that doesn’t even include the many county parks, or state-owned land.

    Copeland prefers to take his clients through state-owned lands, not parks, though some of his tours are on park trails. What is the difference? There are no bathrooms on state-owned lands, he says, so you must plan accordingly.

    But taking one of his tours has other benefits.

    “For the most part, we don’t hike people in places you can easily find,” Copeland says.

    As for what animals you may see in those secret and less-secret places, it’s everything from bears, mountain lions, and bobcats; “I see them, I make a U-turn,” Copeland says.

    Rattlesnakes are also around, as are deer and rabbits. But a favorite with tourists is the California condor, and they are easier to find since the state released several dozen condors into the wild.

    Monterey County is also known for its butterflies. Pacific Grove, which sits between Pebble Beach and Monterey, is often called “Butterfly Town, U.S.A” and got its moniker because of its Monarch Grove Sanctuary.

    Every year, usually between November and January, Western monarchs (there is also an Eastern variety, which goes to Mexico) migrate to California to avoid winter weather, and Pacific Grove has long been a favorite stop. The city owns and maintains the sanctuary, but the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, says museum naturalist Natalie Johnston, provides education in the form of volunteer docents and field trips. “In addition, we count the population of monarchs each week while monarchs are in Pacific Grove, as well as what trees the monarchs are on.”

    Johnston is one of the people who counts the sanctuary’s monarchs every season, and unfortunately, this past year had many fewer winged visitors than the years just before.

    Monarch butterflies are at risk (though not officially endangered). But while monarchs are of particular interest to scientists because their milkweed diet makes them toxic to predators, they also live longer and they migrate. Also, they are not the only butterflies in the county.

    “One of the coolest things about the area is we have butterflies year-round,” Johnston says.

    Different types of swallowtails, including western tiger, pale, and anise, can be seen at Jack’s Peak, Johnston says. Smith’s blue, which unlike the monarch is an official endangered species, can be found at Garrapata State Park. And even the Monarch Grove Sanctuary is not just for monarchs, Johnston says. Visitors have also spotted red admirals, which are considered “monarch mimics,” or butterflies who evolved to look like mimics to avoid predators. Other monarch mimics in the area include the American lady and the West Coast lady.

    And though monarchs tend to prefer milkweed, Monterey County also is well-known for its many spring wildflowers.

    Ice plants form a “purple carpet” along Ocean View Boulevard in Pacific Grove between April and June. Garrapata State Park features poppies and daisies. Pinnacles National Park also has poppies, along with lilies and larkspur. Garland Ranch and Fort Ord both offer lupines.

    Sea

    If marine critters are your thing, Monterey Bay Aquarium is always worth a visit. Built in the 1980s on the site of a former sardine cannery, the aquarium is world-renowned for its commitment to ocean conservation. And its many exhibits also showcase the local marine life, from sea otters to sea stars, so after a visit, you’ll be more familiar with what to expect in the wild.

    Sea otters are photographed in the Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, Calif.,
    Since 2001, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has rescued stranded otter babies — more than half of them under two weeks old — and rehabilitated them through their otter surrogacy program. (Photo: Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

    Tidepools

    The Monterey Peninsula’s rocky coast may not be ideal for swimmers or surfers, but it is a real bonanza for tide pool lovers. Rebecca Malkewicz, a marine naturalist at Monterey Bay Aquarium, is a big fan of tide pooling, and recommends Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove.

    “You can literally go anywhere along the coastline there,” she says. “It’s just kind of fun to wander.”

    But that’s not the only place worth a visit. Point Pinos has the always-popular Great Tide Pool. South of Asilomar, Pebble Beach’s 17-mile Drive has its share of tide pools (though for an $11.25 fee). Even farther south, Point Lobos’ tide pools are worth a look, though locals and tourists alike warn the preserve gets unbearably crowded at peak times. Also, you have to pay $10 per car, and parking is limited.

    As for what you might see, sea stars are common, Malkewicz says, along with crabs, sea urchins and sea anemones. Less common are nudibranchs (better known as sea slugs) and, if you’re really lucky, octopuses.

    To get the best tide pooling experience, Malkewicz recommends checking tide charts before visiting.

    “You want the tide to show a negative number,” she says.

    And even then, always keeping an eye on the ocean is a good idea. “Sneaker waves,” also known as sudden huge waves that surge higher up the beach to pull the unwary off rocks or sand and into the water, are not uncommon during the colder seasons. Other safety recommendations include wearing water-proof shoes with good soles that won’t slip so easily on wet rocks.

    Tide pooling etiquette demands that you not remove any of the animals or plants you might see, and it’s best not to touch them or even get too close to them. (The aquarium has exhibits where you can touch tide pool denizens safely.)

    “Leave everything as you found it, and don’t leave anything,” Malkewicz says.

    Marine mammals

    As for seeing bigger ocean animals such as seals, dolphins or whales, there are several companies based out of Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf or Moss Landing that offer boating trips. None are operated directly by the aquarium, but

    likes to educate their clients as well as entertain. According to the company’s website, their tours are led by marine biologists, who also do research while on board.

    But you can also see many of these animals from dry land, Malkewicz says. You just need binoculars and a bit of patience.

    “Anywhere along the coastline with ‘point’ in its name,” she says, is a good start. That would include Point Pinos, Lovers’ Point, Point Lobos, and Cypress Point. Also, vista points along Route 1 can yield results on clear days.

    Malkewicz says the whales you’re most likely to see, whether from a boat or from land, are humpbacks (the most common) and grey whales (on their migration between Alaska and Mexico). It’s also not unheard of to see orcas, fin whales and minke whales, though they are less predictable. Blue whales, the biggest animals on the planet, will also make an occasional appearance, depending on whether krill, their favorite food, ventures closer to shore.

    This image provided by the Monterey Bay Whale Watch shows a cluster of dolphins across Carmel Bay on the central coast of California on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Evan Brodsky/Monterey Bay Whale Watch via AP)

    There are plenty of dolphins, though many may not recognize the Risso’s dolphin, the most common to the area, as a dolphin because of its flatter face. Yes, there are stereotypical Flipper-like bottlenose dolphins around, but not as many as common dolphins, who also have a bottle-like nose, but different coloring, including a yellow streak along the side.

    If seals and sea lions are your thing, you can find Harbor seals at Elkhorn Slough. They also gather on the beach at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, mostly during spring, which is pupping season. Elephant seals have a sanctuary at Piedras Blancas, just north of San Simeon. While not technically in Monterey County, they are a must-see if you are planning to take Route 1 to the Monterey Peninsula. Sea lions can usually be spotted along the Coast Guard Pier in Monterey. If you are a sea otter fan, they can often be seen anywhere between the Coast Guard Pier and Point Cabrillo in Pacific Grove.

    As with the animals in tide pools, keeping your distance from marine mammals is key. Experts at NOAA recommend staying between 50 and 200 yards away, depending on the species.

    Stars

    Monterey County has long been known as a favorite playground for celebrities. Clint Eastwood still owns the Mission Ranch in Carmel (diners at the restaurant have been treated to his piano playing), and John Denver fans can pay tribute at the site of his fatal 1997 airplane crash in Pacific Grove.

    But if you prefer stars of the celestial variety, there are many places where, weather permitting, you can get your fill of the firmament. That includes Pinnacles National Park, Asilomar State Beach, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Jack’s Peak Park, and Garland Ranch Regional Park. You can even often see the stars standing near or on the beach in Carmel, since the village has no streetlights.

    Basically, any place without city lights and trees and an open unclouded sky can work, says Jean Perkins, an astronomer at the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, or MIRA. MIRA was established in 1972, and its main facility in Carmel Valley, with a 36-inch telescope, was built in 1984.

    While MIRA offers tours to the public during the summer, the telescope is only available to professional stellar astronomers. Stellar astronomy focuses on the birth, structure and evolution of stars. However, MIRA has a smaller facility in Marina, the Weaver Student Observatory, which has a 14-inch telescope available to the public during planned events, as well as to local high school students who study astronomy.

    Unfortunately, because of its proximity to the ocean, the Marina facility’s telescope is “constantly fogged out,” Perkins says, adding that humidity is also a problem because dew gets on the telescope. And that’s not all.

    “In general, humidity is bad news for astronomy,” explains astronomer Bob Berman in a 2005 piece for Discover Magazine. “Water absorbs light, especially light at the red end of the spectrum, coloring our view of the world … water vapor in the air takes a little bit of the red out of starlight before it reaches the ground.”

    What this means, practically, is that many stars, nebulae and galaxies (and that includes our Milky Way) are much harder to see in humid air. It doesn’t even take fog or a marine layer — when the air is damp enough, it can dim the sky as much as 60 percent, Berman writes, even if it looks clear to the naked eye.

    And that is why Monterey County’s monthly star parties (free and open to the public), are usually held in higher and drier locations like Garland Ranch and Laguna Seca (also known as the WeatherTech Raceway).

    The parties are run by the MIRA Astronomy Club, which is an independent entity from the Institute, says the club’s lead coordinator Mark Tomalonis. The club started in 2013, and in 2014 joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Night Sky Network. The Network hosts web pages for astronomy clubs across the country, and while California’s Central Coast has several astronomy clubs, MIRA’s is unusual, Perkins says, because it has both professional and amateur astronomers as members, and she herself often attends the star parties.

    Etiquette at the parties, Tomalonis says, includes no running around in the dark, no bright lights (like car headlights and phone screens), no touching the lenses or eyepieces, and being polite and taking turns looking through the telescopes after asking the owners. In return for good behavior, both the pros and amateurs will be thrilled to show you everything from a nebula in Orion’s belt, to Jupiter and its moons.

    If you’re on your own, the light rules still apply.

    “Leave your smartphone in your pocket!” Tomalonis advises.

    That said, smartphone apps can also help you identify what you’re seeing. Perkins recommends one called Stellarium Mobile. To get around the brightness issue, she recommends installing a red-light filter app, such as RedLight or Twilight. You can also change the tint on your screen to red.

    Happy stargazing!

    ​ Orange County Register 

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