17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour

Seems strange to pay $ 10 to drive thru a residential area, but it is so beautiful. The coast in Monterey is amazing. The homes on the golf course are sick, and you know why when you see the sale prices at the realtor’s office near the club house. You can bike, walk or drive and have a picnic in a beautiful setting. Just don’t try to ride your motorcycle through, you’ll be turned away.

A great drive to take on a weekday, try to avoid the weekend madness. The gate fee is $ 10, but it’s refundable with a $ 30+ on time purchase at any of the PB shops or restaurants. But I agree with many other Unilocalers that there are better drives and beautiful beach views with access that are FREE. Such as Monterey/​Pacific Grove ocean view drive and Highway 1.
The gate guard will provide you with a map of the 21 points of interest. Some of the points are as scenic as the walls of my carport, as with my case in the first 2 stops. But don’t get discouraged, it gets better. Plus go ahead and gawk at the mansions of the 1%s.
My favorite point is #16 lone cypress. Supposedly it’s around 250 years old. In the 1940s, stone masonry and cabling was placed to secure the tree. 1969: the tree was fenced off. 1984: the tree was set afire by an arsonsit, but survived. 2012: a offshoot of another cypress tree was noted growing near by. But alas it did not survive, again the cypress is alone.
Also a fave is near Joes point. Turn around from the beach and take a gander at the whimsical cottage with the colorful gingerbread roof. (Don’t disturb the residents, view from a far.).

Its worth the $ 10 you pay at the gate to go on the drive. Its so scenic and beautiful. We went around 4:30PM on a Sunday and it was not terribly busy. Yes, there were a few cars on the drive but parking a the Lone Cypress was easy and it was not bumper to bumper.
Its a gorgeous drive and you have to do it at least once in your life!

Well worth the 10 dollar admission. Truly breathtaking views. Advice: put your smartphone away and enjoy the scenes for what they are rather than trying to document everything. You will be rewarded by spotting wild sea otters and seals that others are missing. Caveat, if you are prone to jealousy, do not do this drive. You will see some of the most incredible homes you will ever see and envy might consume you.

Relaxing and scenic drive with views of gorgeous houses and beaches. We needed a solid three hours since we made many pit stops:
Spanish Bay
Restless Sea
Point Joe
China Rock
Cypress Point Lookout
The Lone Cypress
Pescadero Point
Each of these attractions offer a different view of the beach and waves. I highly recommend coming here early afternoon and staying till sunset as the color is gorgeous.
$ 10 cash at the entrance

This is a must do in your lifetime. You have to pay to get to do the drive but it’s so worth it. It’s one of those things on tourist lists that I had never gotten around to doing. I was less than impressed during the first part of the drive that wound through trees and condo. Then it opened up to the Pacific and the views are stunning. There is a lot of coastline where you can stop and get out to take photos.
The important stops are the Lone Cyprus Tree and a stop at the famous Pebble Beach golf course where there is a shop, restaurant, and of course golfing if you can swing it. (Pun intended!)

I’m a native NorCal girl and I had never done this drive before. This winter break my family and I finally decided to go and boy did we regret not coming here earlier.
It’s a $ 10 fee per car but it’s totally worth it, trust me. The drive itself takes about 2 hours including stops for pictures :)
It’ll be hard for the driver to focus on the road because it can get windy so pay attention! The scenery is beautiful, with wonderful views of the California coastline and blue beyond what your eyes can see.
If you’re into golf, there’s the Poppy Hills Golf Course, where I’m sure it’s more about the views, not so much about the golf: P
Don’t forget the stunning Lone Cypress, the iconic tree of the CA coast!
BRING YO KIDS, BRING YO WIFE/​HUSBAND/​SIG OTHER. It’s about to be a good time.

The 17 Mile Drive is an amazing area that you MUST go by car if you’re driving around Monterey. It’s a 17 mile drive around Carmel By The Sea and Monterey. You can enter in Carmel-​by-​the-​sea (follow the signs). The price to get in is $ 5 – 10 (sorry I forget). You can get it waived if you go in there and eat at the Pebble Beach Restaurant (one of the restaurants that are inside). Once in you can go and stop by one of 21 places. I wish I had the pamphlet and the map of the places but alas, I do not :(
You can exit out of here in CBTS or Monterey, or leave or do whatever. Also reminder is that you will be following some neighborhoods where people are living (Pebble Beach community). They have signs everywhere pointing to you what to do and where to go. Overall this whole thing takes you about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on if you want to stop by different places and what you want to do.
1: Shepherd’s Knoll: A vista point that gives a view of the Monterey Bay. We went in the afternoon and we didn’t really see too much for here to it to warrant much of a stop.
2: Huckleberry Hill. They have a lot of huckleberry bushes and it gives you a view of the forest.
3: Poppy Hills Golf Course. Depending on whether or not you like playing golf or want to make a stop here, this was only to see the golf course.
4: The Inn at Spanish Bay.
5: Spanish Bay. This is a good stop here. You won’t really like this as much as the next beach/​bay area though. We stopped by and took some pictures because we really liked the ocean view.
6: Restless Sea Vista Point [similar to 5]
7: Point Joe: Jagged rocks here, you can also enjoy the waves crashing and the sea coming for you!
8: China Rock: Kinda underwhelming. We thought there was going to be china rock but no. :(It’s named for the Chinese who settled in fishing villages in the 1800s-​1900s
9– 10: Bird Rock
11 – 12: Seal Rock
13: Fanshell Overlook– you can see the white sand on the beach below, and you reportedly can see harbor seals here. We didn’t though):
14 – 15: Cypress Point– Take a lot of pictures here. You get a beautiful picture of the beach and shore and you’re not going to have many more chances
16: Lone Cypress. A tree. A tree standing by itself on a rocky perch.
17: Ghost Tree: A tree that somehow is still standing even though it looks like it’s going to break really easily ._​.
18: Pescadero Point: This has a lot of parking area and you can walk around for a while and you really can walk to #17. This one is of the bigger places that you can enjoy.
19: Pebble Beach Lodge
20: PB Equestrian Center
21: PB Golf Course
All in all you will have fun here enjoying the beautiful white colors that comes in the sea. Of course, there isn’t a place where you’ll say «OMG I HAVE TO GO» but there are some interesting things here for a 17 mile drive. If you really do have time, try and come here and take a drive with someone you love or a friend you really wanna go around the area and spend time here :3

Native Californian here! I’ve driven down this road so many times you’d think it would get old, but it never does. Every time I visit it’s like the I’m seeing it for the first time. And every time it calms my soul.
First of all, you get amazing views of that California coastline with those huge curves and jagged rocks. Then those sprawling estates (including one that belongs to Clint Eastwood) and the famous golf course by the bay. I honestly don’t know how one could play golf here without getting easily distracted by the scenery.
Then there’s the drive itself which is possibly the most fun part of it all. You’ll drive down a stretch of road, take a turn, and suddenly… behold! A stunning sight that knocks your socks off. Must pull over NOW! Photo ops at almost every point, but you definitely have to stop at the cliffs at Point Joe and China Rock, Spanish Bay, and the famous lookout by the Lone Cypress. And feel free to stop anywhere (or nowhere) you like. If you’re lucky and go here on a clear sunny day, you’ll be able to see some gorgeous beaches that will confuse you into thinking you’re in Hawaii.
Definitely worth the mere $ 10 fee. Highly recommended for first timers and regular visitors alike.
TIP: Be careful, it’s easy to get distracted while driving. Don’t worry, there are plenty of stops to soak in those views.
DATE TIP: A very fun activity for a date! Since there is a lot of time in the car as well as getting in and out to take pictures, you’ll soon find out if y’all can get along. And beautiful scenery never hurt anyone’s game. :)

This scenic drive really grasps the wonders of the California coast. There’s a fee to enter into the drive but there’s about 21 points to interest you can stop by and enjoy! They give you a map listing all of them, so this would really be a great all day kind-​of thing!
We only had a few hours before the sunset so we only stopped by a couple places.
Bird rock: A point of interest near the coast where when you’re on the beach you can see a huge rock with lots of birds and seals. The seals are so loud it’s kinda funny. It was also super fun to climb the rocky terrain on the beach!
The lone cypress: A famous landmarked tree out by itself on the rocky perch.
The lodge at pebble beach: Oh man, is this place bougie or what? I heard it’s a couple thou a night sometimes… Anyways, its a great hotel to chillax and out in the back they have a great view of pebble beach.
I wish we had more time to explore and walk around a bit more but til next time, oh great pacific coast!

Perfect mini trip around especially on a sunny day. Costs $ 10 per vehicle to drive around as many times as you want which is a BARGAIN… Perfect for a romantic day/​evening to just get away and appreciate the nature out there.
Listed on the Map… are 21 spots around the golf course scenic drive.
I entered through spot 4 (Spanish Bay) and worked my way around the whole tour. Each spot had its own mini drop off parking where you can just hop off quickly and take those instagram pictures. Most scenic spots consisted of sea rocks, very blue water and coastal beaches. There are also places for picnics if you plan to do that. Restrooms are located in spots 4,10,12,19 so don’t worry about the whole restroom problem in nature thing.
Some of my notable spots was the spot 16 (The line Cypress) because its just a small island with a random tree on top of the rocks. I thought that was pretty unique and random. Also spot 10 (Bird rock) has binoculars for 2 Quarters to view the sea lions on a distant island.
Also managed to take a nap in my car… at one of the spots and opened my eyes to complete darkness at night. Definitely a cool experience but isn’t a thing i would go often. Maybe once… every 5 years.

A really lovely [less than] 17 mile drive. We drove from the north southward to Carmel-​by-​the-​Sea. On a Saturday with beautiful weather, the drive was rather crowded, especially many of the stopping points. We were able to spot quite a few seals at the Cypress Point Lookout, and enjoyed ambling about Spanish Bay a bit. Pescadero Point is another nice little scenic viewpoint, but I think where it’s really at is the pedestrian trail that connects many of the mid-​viewpoints. There’s also quite a few lovely picnic areas, so that’s another possible way to spend an afternoon.
Yes, it does cost $ 10 to drive through this scenic and rather fru-​fru neighborhood, BUT you can get the entrance fee reimbursed by spending more than $ 30 at the Pebble Beach sops/​restaurants. Easily done with a couple appetizers and cocktails.

Totally worth it. Hands down. I don’t really consider myself a tourist because I grew up in SoCal and would take frequent trips to Carmel with my family when I was younger. However, my husband and I recently visited for a quick vacation, and I couldn’t help but feel in awe of this drive as if I was seeing it for the first time. California is truly beautiful!
The drive is $ 10 paid at the gate. You’re given a map of stops along the way that are great look out points or have some history (Lone Cypress). We stopped at several of them to take pictures, so the whole drive took us about 45 minutes. I also couldn’t stop staring at all of the incredible homes — crazy. If you are visiting Carmel for the first time or it’s been awhile, definitely take the time to do this!

What a rip off. There are 17 miles to the north and 17 miles to the south that are just as pretty. A bunch of estates and golf course greens mostly … Which I find more NAUSEATING than «breathtaking » .The few beaches and scenic spots are no longer «isolated“but packed with other fools who paid to gawk at this gated off «patch of privilege «.
Driving around Big Sur on the 1 or from Santa Cruz to Pacifica is a better feast for your eyes & Soul because then you feel like
» ah sigh — MY beautiful beaches !» Here you feel like the rich creeps got it locked down. —- and they are generous enough to let you look at Your beach — for a price. This is wrong. I suspect a“right to public beach access «civil suit would
agree that they shouldn’t be allowed to gate these areas off. It would be nice if the town got their bump $$$ from other than charging a toll. Very Inhospitable.

Whoever said beauty is only skin deep has probably never hopped in the car and done the 17 mile drive! At the $ 10 price tag it well pays for itself in the end!
I used to always be brought here as a kid driving back from visiting a family friend in Watsonville and it is one area that has stood the test of time and forces you to immerse yourself in simplicity and the beauty of what nature truly is. In a world that has gone so high tech it’s always reassuring that this is still in existence for people to escape all of those bells and whistles.
We ended up coming on a holiday weekend which was a nightmare from a traffic standpoint so a tip comes out of that: if you hate long times to get pretty much anywhere in here DON’T pick a holiday to see this!
We made a few frequent stops and most were the norm. Of course you get to feel amongst PGA’s elite as you drive past Pebble Beach. I always remember watching it on tv, but nothing beats saying you’ve been there as the course itself is stunning and if you’re lucky you’ll see deer like we did even partaking in some links on the back nine?!
The breathtaking ocean views are something words don’t do justice and the nostalgia each visit create timeless memories even after all these years. So what are you waiting for?

Drive it. Bike it. Run it. Walk it. Whatever your flavor: do it.
The roadway costs $ 10 to drive on and included in that fee is a passport highlighting the 21 different «viewpoints/​attractions» along the route.
Be prepared to take in spectacular views from Pacific Grove down to Pebble Beach. Cypress trees line the way, their scent filling the air (Glade will never be able I capture this amazing scent in a plug in). Expansive estates make your jaw drop as your pass, and Pebble Beach golf course is nothing shy of impressive.
Bring your camera as their is multitudes of opportunities to capture images that will make your family back home jealous.

If you find driving therapeutic, 17-​Mile drive is a must if you’re in the area. During my latest West Coast adventure, I was probably most excited about coming to Monterey. Coming from the south along Highway 1– already having visited Big Sur — I was ready to continue my nature high by driving along this iconic strip of road.
The weather wasn’t quite cooperative during my time in Monterey — it was overcast, cold, with the occasional drizzle. Still, I didn’t let that deter me from enjoying all there was to see. The grey skies actually added a sense of calm and tranquility to the whole experience (well for me at least).
My only qualm about this place was the $ 10 entrance fee. Given that the attractions aren’t part of a national park and that the area of town is probably one of the wealthiest in the world, I had trouble justifying the fee… But moving on… the drive itself is so calming and serene. There are several lookout areas along the way where you can park to walk around and bask in all of nature’s glory. The primary scenic attractions include Bird Rock, Pescadero Point, Point Joe, and Seal Point. Additional stops include the Ghost Tree and the iconic Lone Cypress Tree, the symbol of Pebble Beach.
Outside of the natural sights are gorgeous golf courses, including Pebble Beach. Being an avid golfer, I was geeking out pretty hard when I saw the course. It was pristine. Now only if I could afford the $ 500 per round fee… Also along the drive you’ll realize how wealthy this area of Monterey actually is. You don’t drive past normal coastal houses… you drive past enormous villas and estates.
While this my not be my favorite attraction in Monterey, all in all, the drive is still pretty spectacular. And though not all the stops along the drive may be worth it, there is a plethora of things to see that will make you appreciate NorCal’s natural beauty.

Once you get over the fact that you paid 10 bucks to drive through this upscale neighborhood, you’ll notice there are some lovely sights to be seen. We made the drive on an overcast day and there weren’t any people hanging out on the beach, thus making it look private and untouched. Beach on one side of the road and sprawling green golf courses on the other make for a photographers heaven. Bird rock is a giant rock out in the ocean where you’ll see (surprise) birds, and some seals. The area where the seals congregate can get pretty pungent; we did not hang around them for long. When you’re not driving along the coast, you’re going up windy roads, pass some killer real estate. Hubby Zillowed one of the houses on sale and it was OUTRAGEOUS, I mean, like spit-​out-​your-​drink outrageous.
We stopped at the Pebble Beach Market and grabbed a sandwich and continued along the road. I liked the observation area for The Lone Cypress; it’s a good photo op. I suppose charging the $ 10 fee keep the riffraff out of the area and off the beach, and for that reason, I don’t think it was too steep a price. One day, I’ll live there… or at least know someone who lives there so I can visit them…

Being born and raised in California I tend to forget how beautiful the state it and how much it has to offer. Even if I reside in Phoenix now.
I was on vacation in Northern California with some friends from the valley, both of which had not been along the coast so I hopped on the 1 from Half Moon Bay and made my way south along the highway.
Was pretty excited to take them on 17 Mile Dr, in fact they never heard of it before, mind blowing, it’s something I’ve experienced since I was young.
Paid the 10 dollar fee to go on the drive, and honestly I didn’t mind paying, if your one of those who are going driving the 17 Mile Dr, then I guess it would seem nuts to pay 10 bucks to drive on a road, but if you are looking to see some amazing sites and take your time, you could make a day out of 17 Mile Dr. And if you’re upset about the fee, you can stop by Inn at Spanish Bay and grab a bite to eat at Roy’s and spend more than $ 25 they will deduct the 10 you paid to get in.
When you pay, you are handed a map and has spots you can stop at and take in the view. I won’t go into detail on the all the spots, just some of my favorites.
Bird Rock is a must, here you can see and hear the sea lions and birds just chilling on the rock discussing the visitors that are taking their pictures, or at least that’s what I assume they are doing because they are a noisy bunch haha. Get out of your car, walk down to beach, check out the white sand, get your feet wet, enjoy nature for a minute, you will also find some of the friendliest squirrels too.
The Lone Cypress Tree, one of the most famous trees every to be photographed, but come on, you have to take his picture, he has been hanging around for 250 years, and the view is just amazing!
The Ghost Tree, trees that have been turned white by the whipping wind. Also another great spot to stop and take in the amazing views.
There is plenty to see and do, if you never have been, you should take a few hours and go for a drive.

Definitely lives up to its name as one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world. I also wasn’t expecting to see all the expensive-​looking mansions everywhere, I can’t believe some people live here!
We took around 3-​ish hours to go through the whole thing, with frequent stops around the way and taking our good olé’ time exploring. Entrance fee is $ 10 per car, and there are 2 entrances I believe. At the entrance, they give you a map and explanation of the stops. The stopping places are very well-​marked, and parking was never an issue.
A lot of the places are nice beaches and/​or golf courses, so you can spend as much or as little time there as you would like to. When I was there (very end of May), they had blocked off several of the stops due to seals and sea lions giving birth, but they should be back open now! Their famous landmark, the Lone Cypress, was just alright to me. It was a lot less lonelier than I thought — there were actually quite a few other trees nearby. But either way, all of the coast is wonderfully gorgeous, the beaches are clean with soft sand, and I really wish I brought some picnic food so I could have a windy picnic on the beach. I didn’t golf on Pebble Beach, though if you are up for it, go for it.
P. S. Bring a jacket… foolish me thought that because it was along the coast, it was gonna be warm.