Beaches in Monterey County
Explore Monterey County
Nearby Hotels
Post Ranch Inn
High atop the cliffs of Big Sur, 1200 feet above the Pacific Ocean, sits Post Ranch Inn, a sanctuary...
Sanctuary Beach Resort
At the Sanctuary Beach Resort the sound of the waves crashing against the shore lulls you to sleep as...
Big Sur Campground & Cabins
The family-friendly Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins offers your choice of tent and RV camping or various options in...
Deetjen's Big Sur Inn
The Big Sur Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This rustic old lodge hasn’t changed...
Treebones Resort
Treebones Resort offers unique lodging in luxury yurts and a special dining experience at their Wild Coast Restaurant &...
Cypress Inn
Located in the heart of the quaint Carmel shopping district, enjoy the elegance of this fine hotel that is just...
Nearby Attractions
Monterey Bay Aquarium
This award-winning aquarium offers families an enriching, educational and entertaining visitor experience in its nearly 200 galleries and exhibits...
Mission Soledad
The Mission Soledad is certainly one of the loveliest, rural missions. It is set among the beautiful hills and...
Carmel Mission
Built in 1771, the second of the 21 California missions was Father Serra’s headquarters. It is officially called Basilica...
Point Pinos Lighthouse
Point Pinos Lighthouse is the oldest existing lighthouse on the West Coast. This lighthouse went into operation in 1855,...
Elkhorn Slough
Elkhorn Slough is an ecological reserve that provides habitat for plants and animals, including more than 340 species of...
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is right in the heart of Big Sur. It’s a perfect base camp for...
About Monterey County
Monterey County on the California Central Coast has a diverse coastline that includes the remote region of Big Sur and the urban areas on Monterey Bay. The Big Sur Coast makes up about two-thirds of Monterey County’s waterfront and stretches from Carmel down to San Luis Obispo County. In this long mostly unpopulated area Highway 1 winds its way along the scenic headlands with access to many beaches. These beaches are in Los Padres National Forest and many state parks including Limekiln SP, Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP, Andrew Molera SP, Garrapata SP, and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Unlike Big Sur, the Monterey Peninsula is densely packed with cities, locals, and tourists. Carmel has an excellent sandy city beach that complements this upscale community. Nearby is the private gated community of Pebble Beach that invites you to pay a fee and drive their self-guided “17 Mile Drive” to small parks and rugged beaches. Around the corner is the quiet city of Pacific Grove and finally there is Monterey with lots of history and several city beaches that are best suited for scuba diving. North of the Peninsula, the beaches spread out on Monterey Bay in the cities of Seaside, Sand City, Marina, and Moss Landing. Many of these excellent sandy beaches are in state parks including Monterey SB, Fort Ord Dunes SP, Marina SB, Salinas River SB, Moss Landing SB, and Zmudowski State Beach. The northern half of Monterey Bay is in Santa Cruz County.
