17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses, mansions and scenic attractions, including the Lone Cypress, Bird Rock and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees

“21 Points of Interest”

Be sure to pick up a 17-Mile Drive Map when you stop at the entry gate in Pebble Beach — just follow the marked route and enjoy the “21 Points of Interest” along the way.

Shepherd’s Knoll
Huckleberry Hills
Poppy Hills Golf Course
The Inn & Links at Spanish Bay
Spanish Bay
The Restless Sea
Point Joe
China Rock
Bird Rock Hunt Course
Bird Rock
Seal Rock Picnic Area
Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Fanshell Overlook
Cypress Point Lookout
Crocker Grove
The Lone Cypress
The Ghost Tree
Pescadero Point
The Lodge at Pebble Beach
Peter Hay Par-3 Golf Course and 100th U.S. Open 2000 Pebble Beach Monument
Pebble Beach Equestrian Center

From the Sunset Drive/Pacific Grove gate, the drive runs inland past Spanish Bay, then adjacent to beaches and up into the coastal hills, providing scenic viewpoints. The route allows for self-directed travel and stopping, with frequent turnouts along the roadway in many locations along the route. Without stops, it takes a minimum of 20 minutes to reach Carmel. The numerous turnouts allow stopping to take pictures, or getting out to stroll along the ocean or among the trees.

About some famous spots

Spanish Bay

It’s called Spanish Bay to honor explorer Don Gaspar de Portola, who camped here with his ship’s crew in 1769 while exploring the coastline and trying to find the Monterey Bay.

Spanish Bay is the first stop that many visitors make along the 17-Mile Drive, with a big parking lot and a pretty beach. You’ll find quite a few picnic tables there, but if you resist the urge to plop down at the first one you see and drive a bit further past China Rock, you’ll find some quieter spots.

Restless Sea

Between the sandy beach at Spanish Bay and Point Joe (which is just up the road), the ocean seems always restless. Some say it’s because of ocean currents coming close to shore or submerged rocks, but you don’t have to know the why to enjoy the result. The ocean’s constant motion brings food to the local marine life and a large kelp forest grows in stiller waters near the shore.

Point Joe

When European explorers first came to this part of the California coast, they often mistook Spanish Bay for the Monterey Bay, its bigger counterpart to the north – and many of them met disaster on the rocks as they tried to make their way to shore.

Ships that have wrecked here include the iron-hulled St. Paul which crashed on a foggy night in 1896, then hung onto the rocks for 3 months before sinking – and the steamer Celia who got lost in the fog and wrecked in 1906. Both crews and the St. Paul’s livestock cargo were rescued, but the Celia’s load of lumber was lost.

China Rock

Chinese fisherman lived along the coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s, making their homes at the base of this big pile of rocks.

Seal Rock Picnic Area

Take a break and enjoy a picnic lunch here.

Fanshell Overlook
White sand beach on one side of the scenic coastal overlook… and crashing waves on the other side. Closed during harbor seal pupping season April 1-June 1.

Poppy Hills Golf Course
Poppy Hills Golf Course is home of the Northern California Golf Association — it is one of three co-hosts of the annual AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Pacific Grove

Cyprus Trees

Crazy looking cyprus trees. The trees are tilted sue to the heavy winds

Beautiful Beach

Crocker Grove
Native pine and cypress trees are abundant in this 13-acre nature reserve.

Pescadero Point & Ghost Tree

The famous “Witch Tree” landmark, often used as scenic background in movies and television, was formally at Pescadero Point. The tree was blown down by a storm on January 14, 1964. Pescadero Point is also the site of the Ghost Tree, a landmark Monterey Cypress tree. This is the northern-most point of Carmel Bay and Stillwater Cover.

Lone Cypress

Chief among the scenic attractions is the Lone Cypress, a salt-pruned Monterey cypress (macrocarpa) tree which is the official symbol of Pebble Beach and a frequent fixture of television broadcasts from this area.

Hope you enjoyed this journey of 17 mile drive 🙂