Sunset Drive and 17 Mile Drive

Near: Monterey
Distance: Up to 14 miles
Elevation: 0 ft
Vegetation: Coastal Scrub
Last Visit: June 2018

On occasion, we find ourselves out at the Asilomar Conference Center near Monterey for work.   It's a pretty nice place to be forced to stay, just across the road from the Asilomar State Beach.  Only after a few stays did we realize that the beach is dog friendly.  The beach is small, but it's set along an unusually quiet and pleasant slice of coast on the Monterey Peninsula.  Its a thin strip of public land squeezed between the shore, the town of Pacific Grove, and a handful of golf courses.  This is no wilderness, mind you, with a paved road within a hundred yards of the water almost the entire way.  But the road is quiet and a continuous strip of publicly accessible shoreline offers the public 7 miles of beaches, dunes, rocks, and tide pools perfect for a run or a stroll.  Seals, otters and, sea lions are often visible along this coast, especially around Bird Rock at the south-western end.

Rules

Much of this walk/run is just along a public road, so mostly common courtesy is all that's required.  Dogs must be on leash at Asilomar State Beach, and should really be leashed the whole time anyway as you're never far from the road.

Trailhead

The easiest free parking is along Sunset Drive near Asilomar State Beach, but you can also park on many residential streets in Pacific Grove, or at a few vista points on 17-mile drive.  Note there is a toll to drive onto 17-mile drive, though. 

Route

Start near Asilomar State Beach and follow the boardwalks and sandy trails southwest along the coast. There is a little less than a mile of beach here with no road along it before the trail joins 17-mile drive.  Just continue along on the sea-side of the road, on the shoulder sometimes, but for many sections the trail gets at least a few dozen yards away from the pavement.  The furthest south we've gone is the Bird Rock outlook, about 3 miles south of Asilomar State Beach.  For a longer walk or run, start near the Monterey Bay Aquarium and take the bike trail north west along the beach.  Once you pass Lovers Point Park, things will get gradually less suburban.  Follow the coast around the north end of the Peninsula then south to Asilomar State Beach and on to Bird Rock.