Lonely Planet Best Road Trips California by Lonely Planet

Author:Lonely Planet
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: best-road-trips-california-5
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Photo Opportunity

Pebble Beach’s trademarked lone cypress tree.

Pebble Beach

REUBER DUARTE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

06 CARMEL VALLEY

Carmel Valley is a peaceful and bucolic side trip. At organic Earthbound Farm (ebfarm.com), sample fresh-fruit smoothies and homemade soups. Wineries further east offer tastings. The pinot noir bottled by Boekenoogen Wines (boekenoogenwines.com) is excellent, and both I Brand & Family (ibrandwinery.com) and Joyce Wine Company (joycewineco.com) feature stylish tasting rooms. Carmel Valley village is also chock-a-block with excellent cafes. Try Corkscrew Cafe (corkscrewcafe.com) for Mediterranean flavors and wood-fired pizza.

THE DRIVE

Backtrack 2 miles west of the village along Carmel Valley Rd, then turn right onto Laureles Grade. After 6 miles, turn left on Hwy 68, driving west to join Hwy 1 northbound. After passing sand dunes, suburbs and strawberry fields, Hwy 1 swings back toward the coast. Turn left onto Moss Landing Rd.

DETOUR

Salinas

Start: 06 Carmel Valley

From Salinas farmhands to Monterey cannery workers, the sun-baked Central Valley hills to the fishing coastline, Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck drew a perfect picture of the landscapes and communities he knew. His hometown, Salinas, is a 25-minute drive east of Monterey via Hwy 68.

Downtown, the National Steinbeck Center (steinbeck.org) brings the novels to life with interactive exhibits and short movie clips. Look for Rocinante, the camper Steinbeck drove across America while writing Travels with Charley. Take a moment and listen to Steinbeck’s Nobel acceptance speech – it’s grace and power combined.

A few blocks west, Steinbeck House (steinbeckhouse.com/about-us) is the author’s childhood home. A classic Queen Anne Victorian with dainty bird-patterned lace curtains, it’s both a mini museum and a high-tea restaurant.

Two miles southeast of downtown, Steinbeck pilgrims can pay their respects at Garden of Memories Memorial Park (Memory Dr). An iron sign points the way to the Hamilton family plot, where a simple grave marker identifies where some of Steinbeck’s ashes were buried. Around 20 miles southeast of Salinas is the River Road Wine Trail (riverroadwinetrail.com).

07 Moss Landing

Time to meet the local wildlife. Rent a kayak from outfitters on Hwy 1 and paddle past harbor seals into Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (elkhornslough.org), or take a guided weekend hike and go bird-watching.

From the fishing harbor on Moss Landing Rd, Sanctuary Cruises (sanctuarycruises.com) operates year-round whale-watching and dolphin-spotting cruises aboard biodiesel-fueled boats (make advance reservations).

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