Things to do in Pebble Beach by car

Pebble Beach on foot

17-Mile Drive is a private road through the Del Monte Forest between Pacific Grove and Carmel, past cypress-covered headlands, rocky coves and some of the most famous golf in the world. Nonresidents pay a toll at the gate, and that toll is a clue to the whole story: this coastline was laid out in the late 1800s as a carriage ride for guests of the Hotel Del Monte, and as a way to sell them land. Our drive follows it from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links in seven stops. You hear how a sand quarry became the links at Spanish Bay, why Point Joe fooled ship captains into thinking they had reached Monterey Bay, who gets to sit on Bird Rock, how Marion Hollins brought Alister MacKenzie to build Cypress Point, and why the Lone Cypress, one tree on a granite rock, is a company's trademark. It ends at Pebble Beach, by the shot golfers still talk about. The stories also tell what the brochures left out, like the Chinese fishing village that once stood on this shore. The route is 7.6 miles and takes about 41 minutes with the stories. Stopping at the turnouts adds time, and they are worth it.

Pebble Beach: questions people ask

Every Stories tour plays in your browser, no app needed. How it works

Know someone headed to Pebble Beach? Give a walk as a gift, emailed on the day you pick.