Trip planning

17-Mile Drive: the entrance fee, the five gates and when they're open

17-Mile Drive costs $12.50 per vehicle, paid at the gate. The five gates are open from sunrise to sunset, and motorcycles aren't allowed. Keep the receipt: spend $35 or more at a Pebble Beach Resorts restaurant and the fee is paid back. Here's which gate to use, the 17 numbered stops and how long the drive takes.

What 17-Mile Drive costs

Who	Price
Each car or other vehicle	$12.50 per vehicle
Tour bus passengers	$6 each
Overnight guests at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay or Casa Palmero	Free
Motorcycles	Not allowed, on 17-Mile Drive or any other Del Monte Forest road

The fee comes back when you spend $35 or more at a Pebble Beach Resorts restaurant (Pebble Beach Market doesn't count): show your gate receipt to your server.

The five gates

Gate	Where it is	Use it if
Pacific Grove Gate	The north end, where 17-Mile Drive meets Sunset Drive (Highway 68) in Pacific Grove.	You want the coast in order: Spanish Bay, Point Joe and Bird Rock come first, with the ocean on your right. Our drive starts here.
Country Club Gate	On Forest Lodge Road, at the edge of Pacific Grove.	You're coming from central Pacific Grove.
S.F.B. Morse Gate	On S.F.B. Morse Drive, off Highway 68 about 2 miles west of Highway 1.	You're coming along Highway 68 from Highway 1.
Highway 1 Gate	Off Highway 1 at the Highway 68 West (Pebble Beach/Pacific Grove) exit, through the traffic circle onto 17-Mile Drive.	You're on Highway 1. Pebble Beach numbers its 17 stops from this gate.
Carmel Gate	The south end, on North San Antonio Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea.	You're starting from Carmel.

Whichever gate you use, it's $12.50 per vehicle, and the gates are open from sunrise to sunset. Gate names and places from Pebble Beach's directions and OpenStreetMap.

The 17 stops, as Pebble Beach numbers them

Stop	What's there
1. Shepherd's Knoll	A view down over Monterey Bay, named for the railroad man Abraham D. Shepard. A typo on an early map, illustrated sheep and all, turned Shepard into Shepherd.
2. Huckleberry Hill	A view from treetop height, with Santa Cruz in the distance.
3. Spanish Bay Beach	Spanish explorers camped here in 1769, looking for Monterey Bay. A boardwalk wraps around the shore.
4. The Restless Sea	One of the roughest stretches of coast in Pebble Beach: waves keep running into each other, likely over submerged rocks.
5. Point Joe	Early sailors mistook it for the entrance to Monterey Bay, and many were wrecked here.
6. China Rock	The site of a small Chinese fishing village in the late 1800s.
7. Bird Rock	Birds, harbor seals and barking sea lions. From November through March, watch for gray whales spouting offshore.
8. Seal Rock	A tucked-away beach at the mouth of Seal Rock Creek, for a picnic, the tide pools or the boardwalk.
9. Fanshell Beach Overlook	One of the main beaches where harbor seals have their pups on the Central Coast.
10. Cypress Point Lookout	It faces southwest, so it's a good spot for the sunset. Closed April 1 to June 1 for the seals' pupping season.
11. Crocker Grove	The largest and oldest Monterey cypresses there are, named for the railroad baron Charles Crocker.
12. The Lone Cypress	More than 250 years on its rock above the Pacific, and the resort's logo since 1919.
13. Ghost Trees at Pescadero Point	Sun-bleached cypresses, and a big-wave surf spot where winter swells can approach 50 feet.
14. Pebble Beach Visitor Center	Pebble Beach's history, souvenirs and a drink for the road, across from The Lodge. Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
15. Pebble Beach Golf Links	Golf Digest's No. 1 public course in America, and host of the 2027 U.S. Open. The Wall of Champions is behind the first tee.
16. The Hay	Pebble Beach's short course, redesigned by Tiger Woods in 2021. Its second hole copies the famous 7th at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
17. Ford Meadow	Dedicated in 1981 to Robert F. Ford, a donor to the Del Monte Forest Conservancy, who knew he was home when he passed it.

From Pebble Beach's 2025 map of the drive. Our drive enters at the Pacific Grove Gate and takes in Spanish Bay, Point Joe, Bird Rock, Cypress Point, the Lone Cypress and Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Before you drive in

Come with daylight
The gates let visitors in from sunrise to sunset. You pay at the gatehouse, per vehicle, however many of you are in the car.
Keep the gate receipt
Spend $35 or more at any Pebble Beach Resorts restaurant, except Pebble Beach Market, and show the receipt to your server to get the $12.50 back. That includes the Stillwater Bar & Grill and The Tap Room at The Lodge, and Roy's at The Inn at Spanish Bay.
Follow the red dashed line
A red dashed line down the road marks the drive, so you don't wander into the forest's maze of neighborhood streets. The roads are private: don't turn around in driveways.
Give it more than 20 minutes
The loop is 17 miles. Driving straight through from the Pacific Grove Gate to Carmel takes at least 20 minutes, but the stops are the point. Our drive covers the coast from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links, 7.6 miles, in about 41 minutes with all 7 stories.
The house rules
No drones, no fires and no camping; picnic only where it's marked. Stay off the rocks along the shore: climbing them isn't allowed, and the surf brings sudden, dangerous waves. Watch for deer and horses crossing the road.
Seals and whales
Cypress Point Lookout closes from April 1 to June 1, while harbor seals have their pups on the beach below. From November through March, look for gray whales spouting off Bird Rock.

The Pebble Beach Company owns the road, the gates and the restaurants, so the prices and rules are theirs. More than 1.5 million visitors pass through every year.

The drive, with a story at each stop

Our 17-Mile Drive tour enters at the Pacific Grove Gate and follows the coast 7.6 miles to Pebble Beach Golf Links, past Spanish Bay, Point Joe, Bird Rock, Cypress Point and the Lone Cypress, in about 41 minutes. The first story plays at the gate, and it starts with why there's a toll at all.

Stop 1 is free, no sign-up. The whole drive is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones.

Drive

Pebble Beach, California

17-Mile Drive: Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach

Seven stops from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links, opened in 1919, with Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress between.

41 min · 7 stops · 7.6 mi · $4.99

17-Mile Drive entrance fee: questions people ask

How much does it cost to drive 17-Mile Drive?

$12.50 per vehicle, paid at the gate. Tour bus passengers pay $6 each, and overnight guests at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero drive in free.

Can you get the 17-Mile Drive fee back?

Yes. Spend $35 or more at a Pebble Beach Resorts restaurant (Pebble Beach Market doesn't count) and show your gate receipt to your server, and the fee is paid back.

What are the hours for 17-Mile Drive?

The gates are open to the public from sunrise to sunset. The Pebble Beach Visitor Center, stop 14, is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

Which 17-Mile Drive entrance should I use?

There are five gates: Pacific Grove, Country Club, S.F.B. Morse, Highway 1 and Carmel. The Pacific Grove Gate, at the north end, puts the coast in order from Spanish Bay south; from Carmel, use the Carmel Gate at the south end. Pebble Beach numbers its 17 stops from the Highway 1 Gate.

How long does it take to drive 17-Mile Drive?

The road is 17 miles. Without stopping, the Pacific Grove Gate to Carmel takes at least 20 minutes, so give it longer. Our drive along the coast, 7.6 miles with 7 stories, takes about 41 minutes.

Can you ride a motorcycle on 17-Mile Drive?

No. Motorcycles are prohibited on 17-Mile Drive and every other road in the Del Monte Forest.

Is 17-Mile Drive worth it?

For $12.50 a car you get the Restless Sea at Point Joe, the sea lions on Bird Rock, the Lone Cypress and the 18th hole at Pebble Beach, and the fee comes back if you spend $35 at one of the resort's restaurants. More than 1.5 million visitors pass through every year.

Where these facts come from

Checked November 2026. Fares, schedules and seasons change: check the official sites before you go.