Located along California’s beautiful Central Coast region just 120 miles south of San Francisco, 70 miles south of San Jose and 345 miles north of Los Angeles, Monterey is one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, playing host to just over 8 million annual visitors from across the U.S. and abroad.
To understand how Monterey and the surrounding area came to be, one must delve into its early roots, which are intricately woven into the history of California itself. The Native Americans were the original inhabitants of the area. In the early-1500s, Spaniards began arriving in what is now California in search of new territory, to expand enterprises and establish religious missions, among other desires. In the early 1600s, a strong military presence by the Spanish marked the landscape, and 1770 marked Monterey’s official founding and its position as a major port city.
By the early 1800s, California had come under Mexican rule and, a few decades later, switched hands again to the Americans, who, in 1849, named Monterey as the state capital. Right about that time, the city’s fisherman’s wharf took on increasingly larger role as a major West Coast hub for trading vessels and whaling ships from around the world.
As the city and surrounding area continued to expand, the number of denizens did as well, aided in part by a large influx of folks during the California Gold Rush era. Both have continued to flourish ever since.
A great resource for your exploration of the Monterey Bay area is by embarking upon any one of the city’s guided and self-guided tours, offered through their history website, www.historicmonterey.org. On the site and through tours, visitors can explore the city’s historic missions, 19th century buildings, heritage sites and landmarks, distinctive museums and more. Each of the area’s many historic structures reveal a unique aspect of the region’s early history and development.
The Monterey Custom House, built in 1827, still stands today as the oldest public building in the state. The Pacific House Museum is a wonderful repository of Native American, Spanish and Mexican history in this area, as well as its former “lives” as a courthouse, tavern, hotel and U.S. Army storage facility since it was built in 1847.
Believe it or not, the Cemetery Historic Tour also provides a fascinating look at the many personalities—including early pioneers, architects, business men and women, artisans, writers, actors and others—who helped shape every aspect of the landscape here. The Presidio of Monterey Museum not only serves as a repository for Monterey’s military history, dating back to the early Native Americans through today, but most of its exhibits focus on the present-day development of the Presidio as a military training base.
This is just the beginning of all the history that awaits visitors to Monterey.
MONTEREY TODAY
To give you a bit of a visual perspective, Monterey County is comprised of four regions and 12 incorporated cities: Monterey Peninsula (Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Valley, Seaside, Marina, Sand City, Del Rey Oaks and Pebble Beach); Big Sur; North County (Marina, Moss Landing, Prunedale and Castroville); and the Salinas Valley (Salinas, Soledad, Gonzales, Greenfield and King City). Together, it is approximately the size of Delaware, with a population hovering somewhere near 450,000 people—the city of Monterey itself possessing a population of just over 30,000.
For city and county this size, Monterey has a great deal to offer. From golf to historic attractions, shopping, wildlife exploration, culinary and wine adventures and events, music festivals and nightlife, family fun, sporting events and more, you will find a wealth of each here.
No visit to Monterey would be complete without a visit to Cannery Row, whose initial claim to fame was that it served as the backdrop for a variety of colorful stories by writer John Steinbeck. Today, it continues that colorful flavor and flair as the center of a great deal of the city’s many nightlife and recreation activities, attractions, restaurants shopping and hotels.
One of the biggest attractions along Cannery Row is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, consistently rated as the number one, premier aquarium in the country. Welcoming an estimated 2 million visitors a year, the aquarium features an astounding array of close to 300,000 marine plants and animals, which are highlighted in 200 indoor and outdoor galleries and exhibits—many of which are interactive. Each expertly showcases the distinctive marine life and habitats found in the Monterey Bay. It will be more than well worth your while to plan on spending several hours here, as there is so much to see and explore for the entire family.
Because Monterey and the surrounding area is situated along the Bay, it lends itself to a very wide range of outdoor recreational activities. Golfers will find over two dozen public and private courses that are playable year-round, the moderate Central Coast weather also allowing visitors and residents alike to enjoy sand dune exploration, walking, sailing, biking and horseback riding on or along the beaches. Horseback riding and camping are also popular area diversions. To enjoy the plethora of sea life in Monterey, you will find numerous whale watching, sailing, paddle boarding, fishing and scuba diving opportunities.
While in town, we thoroughly enjoyed a two-hour kayaking excursion at Monterey Bay Kayaks. Wearing wetsuits and grouped with an expert marine guide (you can also rent kayaks and venture out on your own), we set out to explore and learn about the many creatures residing here, getting up-close-and-personal with sea lions and sea otters, harbor seals, a variety of birds and other animals and plant-based sea life. The tour provided us with a more well-rounded understanding of how they affect the biodiversity and ecosystems not only in the area, but along the California coast.
Again, for a city and county of this size, there is so much to see and do that we have barely scratched the surface. Coming up, we’ll delve into the city’s wonderful accommodations, delicious restaurants and a few unexpected attractions that make Monterey a fantastic vacation destination.
Lysa Allman Baldwin is a freelance writer and the publisher and editor of Amazing Escapades, offering “adventures for the mind, bod and belly” (www.amazingescapades.com).