Want low cortisol moment? Come here And behave No monkey activity Please my neighbor read more

The scenic 17-mile, two-lane drive along the Monterey Peninsula is breathtaking. The entry fee per vehicle is $12.50, and if you spend $35.00 or more at any of the Pebble Beach Resorts Restaurants, your entry fee is reimbursed. This is a scenic and relaxing drive where you can park and get out of your vehicle to search for crabs and shells or walk along the white sand. It's a great place to take pictures or record videos of empty beaches, birds, and the ocean. On this drive, you'll see important landmarks such as the Lone Cypress, the Ghost Trees, Seal Rock, Bird Rock, China Rock, Pebble Beach Golf Course, and much more. Be sure to pick up the free 17-mile guide at the entrance points to the tour. read more

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17-Mile Drive was one of the prettiest parts of our Monterey/Carmel visit. We started in Monterey and exited in Carmel, and the whole route felt like a postcard. The ocean views are gorgeous, especially along the cliffside sections. There are plenty of places to stop at beaches, take photos, and just enjoy the coastline. The homes along the route are stunning, and of course, Pebble Beach Golf Links adds that classic Monterey luxury feel. This is an easy recommendation. Beautiful drive, dramatic ocean views, beach stops, golf scenery, and a perfect way to connect Monterey and Carmel. read more

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Amazing, beautiful must do drive. Takes about 2 hours to stop at all points, and explore and take pictures.... And the views. read more

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What a fantastic and relaxing way to experience the California coast without burning a lot of calories. Make sure you pack some snacks and charge your phone for an epic day of photo ops. The drive runs from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach; costs $11.25/vehicle. Pro Tip: Bring binoculars. They're especially handy at the Bird Rock. You'll trip out at the amount of saline on that rock and wonder "how did they get up there!" There are 17 stops altogether. Iconic Stops: The Lone Cypress: A 250-year-old tree on a rocky pedestal. Will most likely make you question the meaning of existence. Spanish Bay: Coastal views and wildlife. Bird Rock: Wildlife spotting. Pebble Beach Golf Links: There are shops and a nice sized deli to restock your provisions. Happy Travels! 25 read more

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The views make you sing: "Life is worth livingggggg" Apart from the vehicle entry fee ($12) increasing over the years and no bathrooms, it's definitely worth the drive. They give you a map upon entering, which is helpful to see what spots you want to explore. Lots of stops you can make and people are always entering/leaving from the parking spots. My favorites are: - Spanish Bay - Fanshell Beach Overlook - Cypress Point Overlook - Lone Cypress Tree - Restless Sea - Point Joe - China Rock - Bird Rock read more

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The natural beauty of this place is absolutely breathtaking! You simply have to see it for yourself. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - Lone Cypress - Local Flavor Near Me

Absolutely stunning views in this 17 mile drive scenic tour! A must do when you visit! Take your time and just enjoy this beauty. It was so relaxing and refreshing. Parking: just be patience in every stop you will get your chance to park and take some good photos. read more

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17 mile drive is a must see when you are passing through Pacific Grove and Carmel. Plenty of great photo ops and a great way to spend a couple hours soaking up the famous ocean/ golf course views !! We were in our sprinter van and had no problem parking and seeing everything. 12$ entry fee seemed very reasonable. We had lunch in Carmel after our visit, 17 mile drive ends right near the entrance to Carmel so don't turn around and go all the way back , have lunch in Carmel and reflect on your beautiful journey!! read more

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Definitely a must do when visiting the Monterey area! It cost a little over $12 per vehicle to do the drive and they give you a map of of the stops you can do. We stopped at most stops on the path! My faves were the restless sea, the lone cypress and really just driving along the coast and taking in the beautiful land, sea and animal life. We went on a Monday morning and found it not to crowded which was nice and we felt we could take our time. We even met a kind park ranger along the way named Reggie! We didn't get to all the sights since we went into Carmel after but would love to come back and have lunch in the area!! read more

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The 17-Mile Drive is one of the most breathtaking scenic routes in California -- and absolutely worth the $12.50 entry fee! Every turn offers postcard-perfect views of the rugged coastline, turquoise waters, and windswept cypress trees that make this stretch of the Monterey Peninsula so special. The highlights for me were definitely The Lone Cypress -- standing proudly on its rocky perch -- and the eerie, beautiful Ghost Trees, which look like something straight out of a dream. Both are must-see photo stops along the drive. The roads, beaches, and restrooms are all very well maintained, making the experience smooth and enjoyable from start to finish. There are plenty of places to pull over, take in the views, and snap photos. Whether you're a local or visiting from out of town, 17-Mile Drive is a must-do experience -- peaceful, scenic, and the perfect way to soak in the natural beauty of the California coast. read more

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Absolutely stunning! I have been here a few times now and it never gets old. We loved taking in the views, walking the various beaches and tide pooling. The only con is the congestion and difficulty finding parking. read more

17 Mile Drive was spectacular! First time doing this self tour and we got to stop at each scenic point to explore for bit and take pictures of course. The nature and the sea just can't be mistaken for anything but greatness. Also driving alongside the pebble beach golf course doesn't get any better than that. It's definitely a dream to play there one day. Definitely do this tour if you're in town! read more

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Entry for your car is about $12. Its a nice drive, we spent about 3 hours and stopped at almost every one. There's a really beautiful golf course there if you're interested in that. You can see it along the drive and on some of the stops. Some of the stops are just mini stops and some of them, you can really explore. My favorites were the Spanish Bay Beach and the Lone Cypress Tree. Rest Stop #7 is Bird Rock which has a larger parking lot and has restrooms. Overall, it's a scenic drive. read more

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Breathtaking views. Very relaxing place to be out. Only downfall is the pay per vehicle which was 12 dollars but if bus I believe it's per person. Enjoyed the fresh air while looking out into the ocean. Flowers were blooming. Great place to have a picnic but bathrooms are limited. read more

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Took a trip with my girlfriend first time going to the 17 mile scenic Drive it i $12.50 to enter. I believe they also offer bike tours through the whole route. It is really really nice. There are plenty of Areas where you can stop by and take pictures. There is also a gift shop at the visitor center, which is really nice as well. The service was great there. You can pretty much buy like stickers, golf balls, etc. would definitely go again. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - Local Flavor Near Me

Gorgeous scenery, high class housing, a bunch of small beaches that's along the 17 mile drive thus rather private, and beautiful coastal views! I'd be blown away if I weren't a California native, but I am. So to be quite honest, there are plenty other nice drives, scenery, and beautiful homes along California's coast that doesn't come with a price tag to experience. We entered from the south according to Google maps, paid the fee, and went on our way. Best TIP I could give? Skip any scenery signs while driving within the neighborhoods or your drive will be a lot longer than it needs to be. Where should you want to spend quality time? Along the coast itself with the ocean views, stop by the small beaches, and take photo ops with nearly every stop along the 17-mile coastal drive. Highly suggest to experience the 17-mile drive at least once! Take it all in and enjoy the beauty of the 17-Mile Drive, but once is enough. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - Local Flavor Near Me

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Quality/Quantity - There is a reason we only do this drive every 20 years, lol. And/or if we are hosting guests. Might be different if I were to play the courses... Tourist attraction, beautiful drive, but I feel I can get as beautiful if not more beautiful on a drive on Highway 1. Without having to pay a "toll." So much history, see "Google." Atmosphere - Again, beautiful drive. 5 entrances. Many scenic stops along the 17 mile drive, but honestly after a while they start to look the same. Or am I just too spoiled...? See all my pictures. Service - Self service. Price - $12.25, reasonable price. You get the $$ back at participating restaurants when you spend a minimum of $35 which is like only 1 drink in Pebble Beach; JK, LOL. Toll started in 1901 for only 25 cents. :) Oh, free for residents. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1880. read more

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Our visit to 17 mile drive wasn't dampened by the "not so sunny" early June weather. My in-laws were in town and we decided on number of adventures during their visit including a trip to see iconic Pebble Beach and taking in the beautiful area. I haven't visited in over 20yrs and for my wife, children and in laws it was fun experience for all of us. As the driver, I was impressed by the signage that kept the drive going in the right direction. There are a number of stops along the 17miles and they are all great....some relatively close to each other...we have a little one who needs a child seat and it was annoying to unbuckle them to get out and enjoy the environment. The pay off of that effort is seeing her "ooh and ahh, when she was out of the car, at the views of the ocean, vegetation and wildlife (birds, etc). Can't buy those moments! There are no restrooms on the drive itself...all of that stuff including shopping and food is reserved to the end. One can spend any amount of time on the drive. We took about 3hrs and I think that was pretty quick. Well, worth the entry fee which I believe is $12! read more

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Absolutely beautiful drive that is breathtaking at times. We had talked about doing the 17 mile drive on our past drives up the PCH, but we finally made it happen on our most recent trip to Monterey. Entrance fee is $12.25/car, but they do apply that toward a $35+ purchase at select merchants in Pebble Beach. Realistically, you can do this Scenic Tour as quickly or as slowly as you want. It wasn't that busy on the road during our visit so we had no issues getting from one stop to another. We spent about 1.5 hours on the road, but we didn't stop at everything - we pick and chose our favorites. The Restless Sea was, by far, my favorite stop. So beautifully chaotic, it was peaceful, relaxing, and gorgeous. Bird Rock was a nice spot to quickly step out and enjoy the view. Could see plenty of birds and seals perched on the rock in the distance. Seal Rock is a nice place to stop when the seals are out. Made a quick stop, but there were no seals out during our visit. Lastly, the famous Lone Cypress is a nice, historical stop. Overall, a beautiful drive and you can get out of it as much or as little as you want. Great addition to a trip to the area. read more

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Entrance fee $12/car but $6 per person, it's better to get there in car than bike or walking. We went to Point Lobos, I think the seaview is pretty much alike, except the point lobos parking is $10. And there's more things to see in point lobos. read more

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I wasn't expecting to pay an entry fee of $12, but it's a solid way to end a trip in Monterey. Especially if you indulged a little too much the night before. Super easy and calming. This self guided scenic tour has you all around the Pebble Beach golf course and many coastal photo ops. The golf course itself is striking, but all of the gorgeous vantage points that the 17 mile drive offers are simply striking. My favorite spot was the Ghost Trees at Pescadero Pointe. Basically these trees are dead and fully sun bleached. This view is higher up and gives great site line of the coast and massive houses. This drive ends at the Pebble Beach visitor center. Here you can grab a bite to eat and look at some interesting golf history. read more

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Simple easy fun, lots of things to walk around and take photos walk on the beaches, pebble beach was beautiful place all the stops were fun! And didn't take too long or could take as long as you want it to read more

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I've done this drive several times but we wanted to take our visiting relatives from PA on this drive for the first time. There are many stopping points throughout the drive including the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club, the Lone Cypress and ghost trees. You definitely should do this beautiful scenic drive at least once in your life time. read more

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What a great drive. Went during "car week" . Great to see great cars and scenic vistas. read more

Being a NorCal native, I think this gives first-time visitors the experience they need to have a "feel" of NorCal life. I took my friend from Arizona as she's only really visited SoCal to get the California experience and doesn't know much about NorCal and she loved the experience. The beginning of the drive is mostly nature/housing and lots of trees but when you get to the tail end of the 17-mile, you'll get all the amazing views of the ocean. Everything is self-guided and you are provided a map of the main areas. The direction/route is also pretty straight-forward/clear and not that difficult of a drive. It was my 2nd time going to this place and I feel this place is totally underrated as you surprisingly don't get a lot of visitors here (I believe most people go to the aquarium and that downtown area and that's it). This is however located around downtown; so that area in general gets pretty crowded but the drive isn't too bad. read more

Meh, after being in the area for a week this drive was not anywhere near the hype it has online. The lone cypress was just ok, there are about 4-5 other cypress trees also getting near to falling into the Pacific but the most photographed tree has all sorts of support lines and building material anchoring the tree now. As of May 22, 2026 from just passed Fanshell beach to before the lone cypress tree the views are blocked off, you are unable to stop or view the seals. If you want to take a peak at Pebble Beach golf course you only get brief views of the course. The family enjoyed looking at the mansions more than anything on the drive. But then again if you want to see fancy houses for free drive the scenic drive in Caramel. We just weren't impressed at all after driving the whole tour map. Save $12.50 and just take the 1 South and pull over at the abundant viewpoints along the side of the road. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - Lone Cypress Tree - Local Flavor Near Me

With time to kill on a cool Saturday morning we hit the road and headed to do the 17 Mile Drive and here's what we found: The stops are beautiful. We won't list them all out because we honestly forgot the names of all the stops, but for a drive that geographically is in a smaller area there is an incredible amount of diversity to see. Early on in the drive you see beautiful beaches and rock formations bursting out of the cliffside that you can take photos on (and we did). Just down the road you'll hit even more beaches but by this point it has shifted from human photo ops to a beautifully diverse wildlife area. There are birds grouped on rocks, seals crying from rocks in the distance, otters playing in the seaweed, etc. It was spectacular to see all those animals together in just one area. Next thing you know you're on the road and stopping around beautiful cypress trees lining cliffs and creeping up onto beachsides. Again, the different things you can see just by heading down one road is alarmingly surprising and provides so much context to the dedication Carmel has towards preserving its native animals and ecosystem. We could go on and on and get into the nitty gritty details of every single stop and what's there, etc. But to be honest, this is a drive you need to take to really have the scope of it feel real. It's beautiful, real; something that sometimes felt like you were flipping through a list of postcards. We very much recommend making this drive alone to take photos, but on a more real level, it's a great way to see what the beauty of the California Coast has to offer. read more

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A must if you're in the area and especially nicer when the day is clear so you can soak in all the beauty. It costs about $12.50 to enter and you can take your time by hitting all the stops or just the ones you want to. You can see seals and the famous lone cypress tree. You will find plenty of perfect picture spots as well. read more

My family and I drove this and were stunned by its beauty. You HAVE to stop at Pebble Beach and park and look around at all its glory. You won't regret it. Just make sure you follow the red lines read more

We biked it! Beautiful coast line and forest views. Wild life running around. It was stunning views. We had lunch in Carmel and headed back. Its free to walk or bike in. read more

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It is a beautiful drive in some spots. There's a lot of construction going on that blocked some of the view. There is also a good chunk of the drive that isn't much of a view at all. Not sure it's worth the 12 dollars when there are so many stunning places along the Central Coast that you can visit for free. But it was a nice relaxing activity after a busy day. read more

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We wanted to take a scenic ride on the 17-Mile Drive. However, when we rode up on our sport touring bike with money in hand to pay for the tour, we were told "No motor bikes are allowed." Could people really be this bigoted? We couldn't believe it, so we searched for justification. I posted what we found for you to read for yourself. If you are a rider, don't waste your time. They won't let us in because we don't fit into their high-end community expectations. As seen below, ALL motorcycles are reckless, loud, and apparently too...what is the opposite of upscale? Trashy? Apparently, this "upscale community" doesn't realize that millionaires ride motorcycles too. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - All motorcycles are "loud, out of control, and trashy?" - Local Flavor Near Me

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A little traffic jam to get in, but once we were in, we felt like it was a solo drive! We did it right at sunset, so the view and weather was breathtaking. Took the top off of jeep and cruised the entire drive. We stopped and took photo at nearly every point - so relaxing! read more

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Decided to take the scenic route from Fairfield to Los Angeles. Two hours into the drive south on the I-680 to I-101, we discovered the 17-MILE DRIVE SCENIC TOUR in Monterey, CA. We paid $12 to enter and received a brochure map to follow. Easily spent ~2 hours here, which is more than we expected. Plan accordingly! We weren't immediately drawn to anything from the top of the hill until we got closer to the coastline and arrived at Spanish Beach (Stop 3). Our fur daughters were able to experience the sand & surf for a few minutes before we shuttled off to the next few points of interest. The residential areas alone were gorgeous!! But, the highlight was the Lone Cypress Tree (Stop 12), which is where the traffic was most congested! I made sure to see Tiger Woods at the Visitor Center (Stop 14) and picked up a souvenir. I admired the view of Pebble Beach Golf Links from afar. If only we had more time. The gate fee is reimbursed with a purchase of $35 or more at all Pebble Beach Resorts restaurants, excluding Pebble Beach Market. I would have loved to eat at Roy's Pebble Beach! read more

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I've done the 17-Mile Drive a couple of times over the years and would be happy to revisit it whenever I'm in the area. I guess it's annoying that you have to pay for the privilege of entering Pebble Beach, but it is a very scenic drive. We took our kids for a quiet afternoon activity after the aquarium, half hoping they would take a nap. They did not, but they did enjoy the drive in relative peace. We entered from the Pacific Grove Gate and were handed a nice map after we paid the $12.25 toll. This outlined the various points of interest along the route, conveniently numbered on both the map and the drive so they couldn't be missed. My husband remembers doing this drive as a kid and insisting on stopping at every numbered attraction. We did not do this, but we stopped a handful of times: at the Restless Sea, Bird Rock and Seal Rock, the Fanshell Beach Overlook, and the Lone Cypress. Every viewpoint was dramatic and beautiful, and the crowds were reasonable, especially after a day at the aquarium. There were no seals on Seal Rock, but we saw a family of them at the Fanshell Beach Overlook, an apparently well known pupping habitat for harbor seals. The baby seal was outrageously adorable, even from a distance. The Lone Cypress was cool, and I liked the viewing platforms built around it, which offered both excellent views and a short physical activity for our small children. On the other side of the road were the golf courses and glamorous, sprawling properties in the gated community of Pebble Beach. These were worth gawking at along the way. We drove the full 17 miles, exiting in Carmel. It took about an hour with all those stops, a good time for the whole family. I'd recommend it if you're coming through this part of the coast. Pay the toll to the Pebble Beach Corporation and drink in the pretty sights. read more

Sooo unbelievably beautiful. Loved the Lone Cypress spot the most; I think I could have watched the waves for hours. Also a lot of wildlife to see! There were a lot of black tailed deer, as well as so many seabirds. Highly recommend! I felt like one of those characters in a period novel who gets sent to the seaside for healing. read more

17-Mile Drive Scenic Tour - lone cypress stop - Local Flavor Near Me

If you visit Pacific Grove or Carmel by the Sea you must take the 17 mile drive. You will see a remarkable part of the California Coast line. Coast is 10.25 per car . Take a slow drive and stop and enjoy . read more

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Some people may say that driving for 17 miles at looking at the homes of those who are probably more financially blessed than you isn't fun but I disagree. I think this is a must do if in the area but do some planning ahead of time because there is a rhyme and reason for following this path and it's best that you follow a path that keeps you closer to the ocean side and you can enter the parking lots to the 17 stops along the way without much trouble. read more

If you are in the Monterey/Carmel area you really should consider taking the 17-mile scenic drive. Over the years I have done it numerous times. Late in the day you get the setting Sun over the ocean and early in the day the morning light is great for photos. Any time of day the surf on the rocky shore is spectacular. There are some spectacular homes to gawk at as well. A beautiful experience well worth the small fee. read more

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