The Little Sur River is located within the Big Sur rugged coast on the Central California Coast. Approximately 25 miles in length, the river originates at Ventura Double Cone, the highest peak in the Ventura Wilderness at 4856 ft, and flows westerly to the Pacific Ocean. Most of the river’s watershed is in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los…
Category: California
Keyhole, Big Sur California
Located 40 miles south of Carmel on California Pacific Coast Highway, is Pfeiffer Beach is located near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur is definitely off the beaten path, but well worth the drive. It is a bit tricky to find: At Big Sur Station on Highway 1, look for Sycamore Canyon…
Seal Rock, Pebble Beach, California
Located along 17-Mile Drive… Located on 17-mile scenic coastal drive north of Cypress Golf Course and Crocker Grove and south of Point Joe and Asilomar Beach, is Seal Rock Beach. Owned and operated by Pebble Beach Corporation, the 17-Mile Drive is a 17-mile scenic loop hugging the coastline and accessible through four entrances: main entrance…
17-Mile Drive
My yellow Labrador and I walk everywhere thru Carmel. On at least one of our daily walks, we get asked for directions by lost tourists on how to get to the Carmel Ocean, Pebble Beach Gate, or 17 mile Drive. It’s confusing with the winding streets, lack of no addresses (Carmel does not have any addresses…
Big Sur Bixby Bridge
Recently, we drove south of Carmel 18 miles to Big Sur in search of adventure and four-wheel drive dirt roads. Our adventure took us to Coast Road and Bixby Creek Road, which forks off from Highway 1. Bixby Creek Bridge, also known as Bixby Bridge or in earlier years, is known as Mill Creek Bridge or…
Cambria, California
Cambria remains very dear to our hearts as we owned vacation rentals in this part of California for many years. It is located in halfway on Pacific Coast CA Highway 101 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, 10 miles south of Hearst Castle, 2.5 hours south of Carmel and a fantastic drive down Big Sur….
Pebble Beach History
Pebble Beach, California – the history….The name Pebble Beach was originally given to a rocky cove, a small part of the Rancho Pescadero Mexican land grant awarded to Fabián Barreto in 1836. The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Rancho Punta de Pinos(Point Pinos near Pacific Grove) and Seal Rock south to Carmel-by-the-sea and…
Del Monte Forest
The Del Monte forest located in Pebble Beach, California is dominated by the Monterey Cypress tree. There are only two small areas that are naturally first-grown Monterey Cypress (all others have been planted) – Pebble Beach at Cypress Point to Pescadero Point and Carmel Bay at Point Lobos. The forest also contains other important tree…
The Lone Cypress
Standing alone on a granite pedestal on 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California is the world-famous Lone Cypress. Wrapped in fog and pounded by waves, it has clung to its ledge and weathered storms for 250 years. One of the most photographed trees in the world, it symbolizes individualism, strength and ruggedness. Featured as one…
Casitas de Lemos, Pebble Beach
Perched high on a sand dune at the entrance to Indian Village on 17-Mile-Drive, is a Forest landmark, the storybook “Hansel and Gretel” cottage known as the “Gingerbread House” or “Casita de Lemos”. Colorful roof tiles make it very recognizable. Del Monte Forest Conservancy added this 1.02 acre property to Indian Village in 1993, accepting…
Carmel-by-the-sea, California
Enchanting coastal town Carmel-by-the-Sea, or sometimes shortened to Carmel, is an enchanting California coastal city on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. Carmel-by-the-Sea is located on the Pacific coast 15 miles north of the world-famous Big Sur, north of Los Angeles 330 miles (6 hours) and 120 miles (2 hours) south of San Francisco. …
Monterey, California
Monterey, California is located just a few short minutes from Carmel and Pebble Beach. Alvarado Street is the main street of Downtown Monterey and has a mixture of restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, theatres, smoke shops, and retail stores to stroll thru. In the middle of Alvarado Street, is the 15,000 square foot Golden State Theater. Originally…
Hearst Castle, California
The Enchanted Hill Cambria remains very dear to our hearts as we owned vacation rentals in this part of California for many years. We became members of the Friends of the Hearst Castle and our homes were on their site as recommended places to stay. Cambria has benefited greatly from the building of the Hearst Castle, “La Cuesta…
Santa Barbara, California
Ahhh……Santa Barbara…this popular tourist destination has been one of our favorites for many years located on the Pacific Ocean with the Santa Ynez Mountains as a backdrop. Beyond the Santa Ynez Mountains is the Los Padres National Forest and Channel Islands National Park is located 20 miles offshore. “Santa Barbara” was named by Sebastian Vizcaino…
Coronado, California
Who doesn’t love Coronado? The Coronado beach is hands-down my favorite of all the beaches in San Diego county, not to mention they have a section of the beach dedicated to dogs year-round. The small island village is so relaxing and takes you back in time. During the tourist season the population doubles, but on…
Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite National Park is located on the western side of the California Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and boasts a size of approximately 1,200 square miles. This video below by Expedia is very informative if you are planning to visit. We utilized our fabulous Roadtrippers app cross country from the Monterey Coast trying to stay off the major freeways,…