Scenic 17-Mile Drive

The 250-year-old Lone Cypress along 17-Mile Drive.

A bucolic scene on 17-Mile Drive.

Story & Photos By Stan Wawer

It’s only a 17-mile stretch but it is one of the most scenic and breathtaking highways in the world. Spanning the California coast between Pacific Grove and Carmel, 17-Mile Drive offers serendipity around every turn. The $10 toll per auto is one of the best $10 you will ever spend.

   On a recent trip to Monterey, we decided as a family to take 17-mile drive to Highway 1 and home instead of going across to Interstate 5. It was a wise decision albeit it was a longer distance to home in the East San Gabriel Valley.  

   Enter any of the gates where, after paying the toll, you will receive a map and guide to the route, pointing out the scenic highlights, including the famous Lone Cypress.  If you so desire, you may dine at the Lodge at Pebble Beach and your toll will be deducted from the price of lunch or dinner.

   Our first stop was along the beach at Spanish Bay. We walked the sand toward the Pacific to get a close and personal view of the powerful waves rushing to shore. My older granddaughter dug in the turf until she found a hermit crab. It was here that we climbed the rocks and checked out the tide pools. This area of the drive runs along the Links at Spanish Bay, a links course in the Scottish tradition. It is recognized as one of the most ecologically sensitive courses in the world. In other words, if you do not know how to place your shots or have a single-digit handicap, forget playing Spanish Bay.

   Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach Golf Links are farther down 17-Mile Drive. The two courses are the home of the annual AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, once known as the Bing Crosby Clambake.

   Point Joe is where you can see a variety of wildlife. A Chinese man lived alone in a driftwood home near this point in the early 1900s. He sold trinkets to tourists. According to the locals, no one knows for sure if the point was named after Joe or if he was named after the point. Regardless, thousands of sea-going birds migrate past this point during the summer.

   Cormorants and gulls and roosting pelicans cover Bird Rock during the spring and summer. Seals and sea lions also hang out on Bird Rock. On our stop, the top of Bird Rock belonged to the birds and the bottom was home to the seals and sea lions. At one time, Bird Rock was for the birds, but the seals and sea lions moved in after bird droppings (guano) coated the rock and was mined for fertilizer. From the shore, we could hear the sea lions bellowing and barking.

   In 1542, explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo called Cypress Point Lookout Cabo de Nieve (Cape Snow) to describe the white landscape before him. In 1774, along came Tomås de la Peña and renamed it La Punta de cipreses, or Cypress Point. That name became official in 1967.

   The scenic highlight of the drive is Lone Cypress, a famous Monterey cypress that has withstood Pacific storms and winds for about 250 years. It is perched over the Pacific and can seen on postcards in Carmel. It is fenced and cabled in the hopes it will live another 50 years. Lone Cypress is the symbol of Pebble Beach Company, owner and manager of most of the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest.

  The scenery and wildlife doesn’t end with 17-Mile Drive; it continues along Highway 1. Point Piedras Blancas, 4 miles north of Hearst Castle, features a colony of elephant seals. Once thought to be almost extinct, they made a comeback in 1990 and now there are more than 15,000 elephant seals in this colony. The number of elephant seals on the beach ranges from hundreds in July and August to thousands from January through May. 

 On a scale of one to five, I give it a four and a half. On this drive with my wife, daughter, son and two granddaughters, we saw anemones, starfish, a hermit crab, otters, harbor seals, elephant seals, whales, three of the best PGA golf courses in the country, magnificent mansions and a variety of sea birds. It is approximately 4½ to 5 hours from the East San Gabriel Valley.

   All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.