I love Garland ranch. There are several different walking trails. They have a visitor center and bathrooms. Make sure you have on good hiking shoes and bring sunblock and water on warm days. Bring your dog or come solo, the beauty of nature is always so peaceful here. Our kiddos definitely enjoyed getting out to enjoy the area, we will return! read more

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Wonderful park to explore and hike if you are ever in the Carmel Valley area. Plenty of parking both on the street as well as in a designated parking lot. Much of the area in the lower section is flat and easy to walk around, however, there are also some trails with steeper elevation climbs for those who want to get more of a scenic view of the area. Cool historic barn is easy to get to and on hotter days you will definitely want to take some water as some of the trails are exposed to the sun. There is a public bathroom area by the visitor center. read more

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Garland Ranch Regional Park -- Where Nature Went to College and Got a Degree in Enchantment" Oh, you think you've been on a hike before? No. You've merely walked on ground. Garland Ranch Regional Park is where the Earth decided to get fancy -- rolling hills, whispering trees, and trails that seem designed by a benevolent chaos god who wanted you to get lost just enough to find yourself. The Vibe: This place doesn't just have nature -- it radiates personality. The air smells like enlightenment and expensive essential oils. Every oak tree looks like it has witnessed ancient wisdom and is judging you for not bringing reusable water bottles. The wind flirts. The grass gossips. The clouds... perform interpretive dance. The Trails: Sky Trail: Don't let the name fool you -- it's 80% up, 20% existential crisis. But at the top? A view so stunning, I briefly ascended into my third chakra and forgot my email password. Waterfall Trail: There's water. There's falling. There's also a high chance of spotting a woodland creature that may or may not be a druid in disguise. Saddle Trail: Not for the faint of calf. You'll meet at least one hiker who swears they saw Bigfoot running a mindfulness retreat. Wildlife Report: The deer here are too confident. They'll make eye contact like they know you left your stove on. Lizards do push-ups just to assert dominance. A hawk once circled above me for 20 minutes; I think I passed its vibe check. Local myth says the coyotes form an a cappella group at dusk. Their debut album, Howl to the Moonlight, drops every full moon. Random Fun Facts (Questionable Accuracy Edition): The park's elevation shifts based on how hydrated you are. 47% of the trees are rumored to be undercover dryads doing field research. If you say "Garland Ranch" three times at the visitor center, a ranger appears and hands you a perfectly ripe trail mix. Final Thoughts: Garland Ranch isn't just a park. It's an experience. It's Narnia with better signage. It's where fitness apps go to prove themselves. I came here seeking a light jog; I left spiritually rearranged, emotionally hydrated, and slightly sunburned. read more

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Garland ranch is absolutely lovely, especially in the spring. The trails are clean and easy and there is ample parking. It's a fantastic place to get away to the hills. Be aware that most dogs are off leash. read more

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Wonderful to have this biodiversity hot spot open to the public. It is a large place with great trails except for the horse poop! Many different spots to get into the park. The main trails are maintained well. read more

Exceeded expectations!! Trails were well marked and maintained! Smooth walking surfaces and benches along the way. It's listed as a moderate hike, if you want more moderate to difficult, hike up to inspiration point! But if an easy hike with great wildlife and views, just do the lower loop. Tips: 1. Walking sticks would be great for the steep hills 2. Bring water, there is a fountain at the top, which was very nice to fill bottle. 3. Hiking boots would be helpful for the changes in terrain read more

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Magnificent Park! Taking excursions here and there from the Lupine Loop Trail, a 4-miles hike I took on this beautiful January day. Stunning skeleton of trees, moss-covered rocks, and, rippling stream along the way. Quiet it was, there with my own thoughts, up I climbed, catching my breath and giving my knees a rest once in awhile. Not the season is it to enjoy the wildflowers, but alas a field of clovers I encountered at the almost end of my hike. A bottle of water, solid shoes, and, layering of clothing worked perfectly on this 60s degrees day. Cherish I will of this first but not to be last timer. CHEERS! read more

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Lots of parking and well signed trails. Excellent maps. We did the Lupine Loop today but will return for more hikes.

Wonderful park with hikes for varying abilities. The paths are fairly cleared with a few rocks here and there. The paths are 50/50 shaded and unshaded. I recommend hiking to the Mesa Pond. Very dog friendly and they can be off leash if they are well trained. There are park rangers at the entrance to assist you in planning which hike you want to do. My one piece of feedback is that some of the trails are poorly labeled. At one point we ended up on the wrong trail and did a bigger loop than expected. Overall, a great experience with beautiful views! read more

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Saw the sign on our day trip to Carmel valley and was so pleased with this beautiful park! Step down to get in. We only walked to the visitor center. Horses and dogs allowed. Lots of parking read more

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Best place for a hike and take pictures. There's a little stream under the bridge. Perfect place for hikers, dog walkers and taking photos read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - There's a little stream under the bridge. Perfect place for photos - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

Discovered this park when we drove by one day on way to check out an open house a few miles away, so came back to get in some hiking on our next visit to the area. The park is free and there's plenty of parking, in a large parking area as well as a stretch along the road. Not a lot of signage directing you there but you will notice it by the cars parked along the roadside. There are quite a few hiking trails although there's some distance leading to the trailheads. The trails are in good condition and reasonably well marked. The views are not particularly spectacular but the wooded parts are quite pleasant to walk in and moderate in elevation. In mid March there are an abundance of wild flowers, some super tiny and not all clustered together so you have to pay close attention in order to spot them but that'll make the hiking more fun and interesting. read more

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Are you a dog lover? Do you have a dog that you like to take hiking but would rather not use a leash? If you answered yes to either of those questions, Garland Ranch Regional Park will be a great place for you to check out. There are many miles of hiking trails that allow dogs to enjoy their freedom, off leash. My little boy and I love this place. Our dog loves this place. There are many trails with different levels of elevation / difficulty so anyone can enjoy this beautiful natural space. The Carmel River runs between the parking lot and the ranch so you can even dip your feet and cool off after a hot hike. They also have restrooms. And normally, when we are not in the middle of a pandemic, the Garland Ranch center offers community and kid's classes. Check out their website to learn more. See you there! read more

This park offers a large variety of trails. We took the Garzas trailhead and went up and up for a few miles and looped into (Redwood?) Canyon. All in all we did over eight miles with some fairly steep junctures. Shoes with good traction are recommended when summiting. read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Garza's trail - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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Ok, it is time to write a review of Garland Regional Park because I am a regular here. LOL, seriously though, this park is amazing and has multiple levels of difficulty depending on where you go. Yesterday I took a slightly different route up to the left as I headed to the waterfall, which I have never seen water at the waterfall. NEVER. California is in a drought, back to my hike. Some of this park is on private property and clearly noted with proper signage. The trails are used by horses, people and dogs are welcome. No mountain bikes here. I have hiked up to Pinyon Peak a few times and had planned it yesterday but alas, the heat. I started in the parking lot and head to the left and followed a hiking/equestrian trail to the waterfall trail. From here it goes up! The trail is a single track and follows up to a fork in the path. Right is the waterfall trail and left follows the Vaquero trail. I decided to go left this time because I had never gone that way. I followed the Vaquero trail up and it turns into the Mesa trail. I stayed left and the trail was part of the Oakview Loop and then the Oakview trail. As I came across Snively's Ridge, I went up! Now, dang it. It was later than I expected, and it was HOT! I began at 9:30 am or so. No joke, Snively's Ridge is steep as poop. The trail map even states, 15% grade. Upon reaching the top you can see Pinyons Peak, and I decided to NOT go higher today. Getting down the fastest way is this, Sky trail, to Sage, and a sharp right down Fern trail. The Fern trail follows a canyon down, down, and down. Very steep and quite beautiful Ferns of course in this canyon and lots of shade. Other tails cross Fern trail but I was on a mission to get back to my car and kept going down. Thank goodness I had walking sticks as it helps going down. The trails up and down here are very steep. Other trails here go horizontal and don't climb drastically. Those would be, the Buckeye, Lupine trail, Cottonwood, Sycamore, and I am sure a few more. I suggest going early in the summertime if you plan on hiking UP. Cheers everyone and happy hiking. read more

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Lovely hike without any crowds! We took one of the steeper hikes it was a tough workout! There is a portapotty set up.It gets hot here so bring lots of water! read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

This park more than deserves its 5 star rating! We drove over 3 hours to hike here today and it was well worth it. I am a big girl with a dog who likes to be off leash and it can be difficult to find nice places to just exist outside...Garland Ranch is an oasis and a blessing. There is ample free parking and tons of trails to choose from. There is a lovely visitor's center with clean bathrooms, water fountains for humans AND pups and it is staffed with friendly, helpful volunteers. They let us borrow a map which we returned at the end of our hike, but they also showed us trail options on the 3D map outside so we could get an idea of elevation and terrain. Once we got started we hardly needed the map because all the trails have visible signs posted, but I was glad we brought it because the park was so beautiful we kept adventuring off the main hike we intended to take! There park is VERY dog friendly and most of the dogs we met were off leash. There are also horses on the trails, but we began opting for horse free trails after a while to avoid all the horse poo. (Rhetorically wondering why dog owners are responsible for cleaning up after their animals but equine owners aren't). There were gorgeous views from inspiration point but unfortunately for us no waterfall this time of year, not that it mattered the hike was so lovely. There are some sections with a pretty steep incline, but the great part is, you can typically choose another path if you feel like taking it easy. You can definitely spend a day here just enjoying the outdoors. We certainly did and we can't wait to come back! read more

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Free! Parking's free, too! Miles of trails just a few minutes from where we were camping. Visitor Center temporarily closed (COVID) but plenty of room and shady trails leading to spectacular views of the Carmel Valley. Spend a day or an hour, there's a loop trail to fit your schedule. A nice surprise. read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Trail to the waterfall (no waterfall) - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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Rain or shine, Garland Ranch never disappoints. SO BEAUTIFUL! The Visitor's Center has a really cool 3D display of the entire park and free maps. There are dozens of trails for beginner, intermediate, and advanced hikers. You'll surely find a few paths that fit your experience level. You'll likely see some rabbits, lizards, people on horseback, swimmers in the Carmel River. Super cool place. Grateful it's here for all of us to enjoy. Bring your water bottles, you'll need 'em! Dog friendly. Bike friendly. Recycling bins throughout and the bathrooms are always clean. LOVE GARLAND RANCH! read more

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A lovely place to hike near Carmel! Parking is free and there's both a parking lot and outside parking on the side. The visitor center is well maintained and clean, with very helpful, easy to read maps you can borrow or take (with donation). I came here in the summer so the water fall was unfortunately dried up. But all the bridges and stairways along the waterfall trail were so pretty. The moderate temperature keeps everything green in the summer and I enjoyed the beautiful greenery and looking over Carmel Valley. The park is surprisingly large and there are plenty of trails to choose from. I went on the waterfall trail and it's pretty short, but you could definitely go for much longer hikes. From what I can tell, most of the hikes are easy/moderate, with no crazy inclines. ' If I'm ever in the area, I would definitely come back here again to explore more of the park. And to come back in the spring/winter when there's water at the waterfall! read more

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We had such a lovely hike here. There are many different trails here, be careful because you may end up doing more mileage than intended but so worth it. It's moderate level as some steep climbs but super fun! read more

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Very nice regional park. Great hiking, and much of the hiking is under tree cover. Good signage. Very well-kept park. Visitor Center closed due to COVID19, but it looks like a well-equip visitor's center. I did a six-mile hike on a beautiful, clear September day. Temp was around 75 degrees F. Hike was a perfect uphill cardio workout. Plenty of parking. read more

This is the best place to hike in Mid Carmel Valley. Enjoy the river, an awesome waterfall trail or try the Mesa trail to challenge yourself. For a relaxing hike do the lupine loop if you want to stroll the peaceful flat valley. Easy parking off Carmel Valley Rd. read more

I live in the area and use this park all the time. Several times a week, as a matter of fact. The park itself is really nice. However, the rangers there are bullies, and some of the most obnoxious, unrprofessional humans I've ever encountered. They will chew you out and threaten you for violating some minor rule, but completely overlook people who are actually damaging the park because it's too much effort to do anything. Over the weekend, I ran into several whole families, with nets, who were catching crawfish. A LOT of crawfish. Hundreds, which they were going to have for dinner. This is completely against the rules, does real damage to the ecosystem, and was taking place within a hundred yards of where two rangers were parked. The rangers don't care. They will, however, chew you out for violating some minor rule. TLDR: Park, nice. Rangers, awful. read more

I visited the Kahn section of the park. The visitor center is closed. Restroom closed, porta potties are there instead. Monterey Salinas Transit Bus 24 is by the main entrance. We requested a permit a week ahead. Hiked in Kahn section, we saw wildflowers and butterflies. Hitchcock loop clockwise was (10%-25%) steep, so I brought my trekking poles. Grass was high on manzanita trail, so we checked for ticks. Found some and flicked then off. Fern falls was tiny. read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Globe lily - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

Real easy hike along the loops - expansive to play ball with your dogs. Beware of folks who think it's no-leash is equivalent to no control of your dogs. Dogs are there as guests; it's a people's park. read more

Free parking and park entry, visitor center had maps for $1.00. Wasn't too busy since we arrived around noon. A lot of friendly dogs! We went on the Sky Trail to Snivleys Ridge and finished around 6pm. Pretty strenuous of a hike, around 8 miles, but beautiful views and well maintained paths! My partner went up to pinyon peak but it was a bit too steep for me. Really lovely area and stunning views of The Valley and the Monterey peninsula with great weather. Looking forward to exploring more trails! read more

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This is a really beautiful place to hike in Carmel! My boyfriend and I really enjoyed the scenery and liked reading the little informational boards along the trail. Even though the waterfall had dried out, it was nice to see the various flora and fauna. The only thing we found unpleasant was that the trails are very confusing. We got lost so many times even with the map! Many paths were not marked either! Overall, pretty place to hike if you know where you are going! read more

Great place to take the kids, cute stream running through the park. Lots of scenic vistas. We love Carmel Valley- great place to hike Skip going to the "pond"- more pond scum than pond. My boys loved the historic barn! read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Historic Barn - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

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It's a beautiful park for hiking, walking your dog, or hanging out with your kids. There's horseback riding trails and the most impressive eucalyptus trees. Gorgeous views and clean air, a bit wild but safe enough and just a few minutes from the village! read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Eucalyptus trees! - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

Do stop in ! Whether you are in for a quick dog walk or in for something more challenging, Garland really has it all. I find something new or discover an exciting new area every time I go here. Most importantly, it's safe and has cell service in case of emergencies which is a rare luxury for a real hiking experience. read more

Nice place to go for a walk and enjoy scenery. I don't get to see my sister often nor do I get to visit the central coast much. So visiting this place was mesmorizing and a fun little adventure for us both! Although the mini waterfall was dry :( read more

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Great regional park for hiking near Monterey (about 20-30 minutes from Monterey, 2.5 hours from San Francisco). Parking is free, donations are accepted for a park map to keep, with the option to borrow maps. Restrooms are also available at the visitor center, along with a topographic map of the park. We saw the topographic map after our hike but it is definitely useful to review before entering the trails if you are interested in that sort of thing. Parking There is a decently sized parking lot with additional street parking west of the lot (on W Carmel Valley Rd). There is also parking for horse trailers at the end of the parking lot. We arrived around 9:30am on a Sunday and there was plenty of parking inside of the lot. Trails I recommend taking the trail to waterfall for a beautiful hidden waterfall that you can get pretty close to. We had initially wanted to take the Garzas Canyon loop, but due to wet weather that week, some trails were closed, and with the forecast for rain later that day, we opted to taking some of the shorter trails before the rain began. read more

Garland Ranch Regional Park - Waterfall - February 19, 2017 - Hiking Near Me - Carmel Valley, California

Easy access, great parking, and over-all great place. Great programs for young and non children al8ke

Very hot and lots of climbing. Views are ok but the walking was so difficult and it was uphill the whole way

Garland Ranch is Carmel Valley's premier hiking destination. Pack a sack, slather on some sunscreen, don some sneaks and discover (or re-discover) all the natural beauty of Carmel Valley. Wend your way through mountainous and scenic terrain (bring your furry friends cause Garland is a dog-friendly park). Garland Ranch is one great expanse of nature comprised of various hiking trails for the novice and the experienced hiker. There are wonderful opportunities for hiking, backpacking, trail running, horseback riding, birding and even some mountain bike riding. Along the trails you will encounter many friendly dogs, the placid Carmel River, numerous ponds, trees, wildflowers, wildlife, flora, lush fern forests, pretty horses, birds, butterflies and acres and acres of uninterrupted beauty. You can opt to walk or jog along the trails...the passerby's are all very respectful and friendly. There are loaner maps, informational pamphlets and resources, plant guides and park rangers at the Visitor's Center to help you map out and plan your perfect hike. They may even have a few tasty dog treats to give out. We traversed a few moderately steep trails -- the La Mesa Pond Trail, the Oak View Trail, Waterfall Trail (the waterfall is seasonal and present during rainy season) and the Garza Canyon Trail. There are a few trails (Snively's Ridge and the East Ridge Trail) with some nice elevation gain and some steep climbs for a more strenuous adventure. You can tailor your hiking excursion to match your specified needs. The trails are dotted with park benches where you can stop to re-hydrate and soak up the breathtaking views. Atop Snively's and East Ridge Trail, you can take in the surrounding Santa Lucia Mountain ranges, the Monterey Bay and the lovely Ventana Wilderness. Great picnic opportunities (and photo opportunities) along the trails too. Come on by to Garland to bask in 4400 acres of sprawling beauty. Bring your dog(s) and enjoy a great day hike and a dip in one of the ponds. Don't forget to check out the activities list to find out what events are happening in and around Garland Ranch. read more

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Okay, so, I'm saying 5 stars but I wouldn't come back because I was looking for some hiking. Garland Ranch was more of just a long walk. Nothing challenging at all. But very pretty. It's free. Drive in. Park. Wander around. Go home. I can't say much aside from the ease of the trails and the unpleasant fact that you can see and hear the main roads from just about everywhere no matter how far or high you go. Didn't really like that. So if you have a dog or horses or children, then this will be fun. But if you're looking for a place to hike, then I wouldn't recommend it here. read more

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Definitely a place you must go to if your enjoy hiking. It is beautiful with tons of trails and spectacular views.

What an amazing place to hike let alone an amazing place to just....sit and breathe! First off, let me mention these vital facts: dogs, cycling, and horses are allowed. It's free parking and easy to find. Lots of places to picnic. Fellow hikers here are incredibly friendly, everyone has a smile on and can recommend a good trail! This place is amazing, gorgeous, and has so much to offer. The trails are beyond beautiful, well maintained, and easy to follow. Highly recommend going up the Mesa Trail to the pond. So peaceful and the hike up to it amazing. I can't say anything but positive adjectives! Pretty much, you have to check out this amazing, gorgeous treasure from Earth yourself. Bring some waters, your hiking shoes, snackies, and your camera and let the scenery take you away! You will definitely enjoy your day here! read more

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Came here to hike and loved it. So many choices of trails. Beautiful scenery with great weather. Slightly harder trail was taken at one point but a lot of fun. Great for just exploring nature. Overal I give it 5 stars. read more