Fun for Younger Children at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Just 10 miles from Monterey, the Laguna Seca Recreation Area features serene, undulating hills that harbour a surprising number of adrenaline-fuelled activities. Some of its visitors come to cycle, others to camp. But usually, people come to experience the park’s main attraction: the WeatherTech Raceway. This 11-turn, 2.23-mile-long track, originally part of the former Fort Ord military base, was created in 1957 and today hosts a variety of events.

Many of them, not surprisingly, involve motor racing, like the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge California—an eight-hour endurance race held in October. If you’re a Porsche lover, come in September for the Porsche Rennsport Reunion, billed as the world’s largest gathering of Porsche race cars.

But fast cars aren’t all you’ll find here. The Sea Otter Classic, held in April, is a huge festival for cyclists, hosting some 10,000 athletes and 70,000 fans. And even casual athletes have opportunities to get onto the track. Monthly twilight bike rides, open to the public, allow cyclists to pedal the twists and turns, including a feature called the Corkscrew a section of track that drops the equivalent of 5½ stories. Or come in November for the family-focused turkey trot, when you can get a workout and support charities with your entry fee.

Laguna Seca also offers activities away from the track. The surrounding recreation area has a rifle and pistol range, with 25 shooting stalls and trained staff on hand for beginners. And outdoor enthusiasts can bring tents or camper vans and stay at the park’s campsite, open between April and October, with views of the Salinas Valley.

You’ll also find opportunities for wine tasting in the surrounding area. Check out the wineries of nearby Carmel Valley, which lean heavily towards Cabernets and Merlots. Several of the tasting rooms, such as Joullian Vineyards and Holman Ranch, are close enough to each other for a DIY walking tour. Or hop onto a five-hour Wine Trolley tour from Monterey, where a vintage trolleybus takes you to wineries and provides lunch, as well as insider info about the area.

With an incomparable setting along the rocky, curving shores of Monterey Bay and narrow streets lined with 19th-century cottages, Pacific Grove is an unapologetically traditional small town.

Founded in 1875, this Monterey County community always feels authentic, never touristy. It borders the city of Monterey, and you can easily reach the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row (both just across the city boundary) by walking or cycling from Pacific Grove along the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail.  The trail runs 18 miles along the shore north to Castroville, and Pacific Grove’s stretch may just be the prettiest part of the entire route. You’ll see wildlife including harbour seals and sea otters just offshore, and can also head out on the water yourself by hiring a kayak from Adventures by the Sea at Lovers Point Park and Beach—one of the most popular spots for a photo op.

The Monterey Peninsula is celebrated as one of the true kingdoms of golf, and at the Pacific Grove Golf Links you can tee off by the bay at a fraction of the cost of the fabled courses at Pebble Beach. With a back nine created by Jack Neville, who also co-designed the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links, this classic course offers its own beauty and challenges. And the golf links are also home to the 1855 Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

Like much of Pacific Grove, Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds blends unspoiled natural beauty and historical architecture. A boardwalk explores a restored section of dunes, while the Asilomar Coast Trail follows the shoreline for a mile. For many visitors, the real highlight is Asilomar’s incomparable collection of Arts and Crafts–style buildings designed by Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle. Asilomar has the largest collection of Morgan buildings in one location, and a self-guided tour stops at eight sites in the grounds. In addition to architecture, you can also find tour options for sailing, fishing, wine tasting and horse riding. 

As gorgeous as the coast is, you’ll also want to take time to experience Pacific Grove’s old-fashioned town centre. It mostly caters to the local community, but you’ll find outstanding destination dining at Pacific Grove restaurants such as Passionfish, a favourite for its inventive seafood and extensive wine list (with minimal mark-up!).

While Pacific Grove is very much a year-round destination with an average temperature of 15 degrees, October is a special time here in 'Butterfly Town USA'. It’s when thousands of monarch butterflies begin to arrive at the town’s Monarch Grove Sanctuary and the community holds its annual Butterfly Parade & Bazaar.

This beautiful coastal park feels a million miles away from anything touristy. Walk along a poppy-trimmed path to the tip of the park’s dramatic, limestone point to look down into turquoise-blue water, long bands of bull kelp swaying in the waves. Bring binoculars to scan the water for sea otters, harbour seals and sea lions or, further out to sea, look for spouting whales (grey whales in December to March; blue whales in summer).

If you like to SCUBA dive, you’ll want to go beneath the surface here—but it will take planning ahead. The reserve protects an underwater tapestry of kelp, fish, nudibranchs, sea stars and anemones. To protect the delicate ecosystem, dives are limited, so make bookings well in advance. Several local companies rent equipment, and guided diving trips here and in neighbouring Monterey Bay are available. 

If you’re a golfer—and why else would you be reading this—then what do we need to say? You probably already know all about the Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill, both sites of the star- and top-pro-studded AT&T National Pro-Am. And you probably know that playing these courses will set you back a pretty penny or two, even if you’re a guest at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. Still, splurges should be unforgettable and playing here, at holes that have tried the patience and skills of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, and got an irked comment out of golf lover Bill Murray—well, that’s one for the memory books.

But duffers, take note: outstanding fairways dot the region, with price points and styles of greens for all. Historic Del Monte Golf Course is the oldest golf course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. The former military-only Bayonet and Black Horse courses, with sweeping views of Monterey Bay, are now open to all. Find more courses—and tempting wine tasting—in sunny Carmel Valley.