Carmel beach California

Carmel sunset beach

Carmel beach is the most pleasant beach in all of Northern California, with perhaps an exception of Pacific Grove beach at Love’s Point 15 minutes away back to Monterey Bay. 

Carmel beach, aka Carmel sunset beach, boasts wide white sanded sloping majestic entrance, carpeted by succulents on all sides. Numerous Monterey Cypress trees crown the Ocean Avenue entrance.

Luscious eucalyptus trees provide the shade along winding path next to the ocean. It is a tranquil and pleasantly unreal place – a place where there are no factories, no large businesses – only a simple living. Small ginger bread “tale-like” houses and small castles overlook the bay.  

Tip: You can easily find free parking along the side streets and plenty of spots along the Ocean Avenue.

Hiking Carmel beach

A well-defined path winds along the shore of the pacific ocean on one side and the Scenic drive on the other; dropping off at the Carmel point. There’s a drivable segment of the Scenic drive that stretches from Carmel point to the Carmel river state beach, which you can actually walk on.

You’ll have a pleasure of checking out some of the most intricately designed houses, each with its own character reflected in every architectural element.

The whole hike from the parking lot at the Ocean ave and Scenic drive should take you under an hour to complete.

You will even have a chance to check out one of Frank Lloyd Wright abominations stretching it’s roof right over the Pacific Ocean. 

Brunch at Carmel by the Sea

Many love the little town on the shore of the Pacific for one simple reason – a unique blend of cultures, time and tradition. You will have an exceptional opportunity to indulge in an exquisite brunch in one of many local restaurants.

There are over two dozens of restaurants to choose from, use Yelp to quickly search through them to match your preferences.

Surprisingly for us the Middle Eastern kitchen in this town is mind blowing. Having a diner at a couple of American cuisine restaurants was just as delightful.

Don’t forget to check out Carmel bakery – this place is absolutely delicious.

TIP : Order some hot cider ….

Art galleries at Carmel

There are several worthy galleries to check out while you’re walking off your delicious meal. One of our favorite is Dawson Cole Fine Art Gallery featuring sculptures by Richard MacDonald.

The Art of Dr. Seuss presented By Dennis Rae Fine Art – pretty awesome to check out with kids. Nicholas Boghosian Fine Arts gallery.

These are a few of our favorites to add to your list, although you will probably have a good chance to discover something new for yourself.

Houses at the Carmel

Every moment you spend in this community feels like a movie scene. Cyclical waves crushing on the sandy beaches bellow the cliffs set the rhythmic pace to this sleepy yet vibrant and up-to-date town.

Unbelievably pristine it is a perfect example of man and nature coming into unison. There are no production lines, there are no industrial complexes, just a simple picture living. It’s an impossible to be true type of life that so many attempt to achieve.

Every house brings out the character of the owner and perfectly fits like a puzzle piece into the overall seascape. Well planned tree lines and decorative designs somehow intertwine together to create a balance with remaining land.

Most picturesque trees of Northern California – Monterrey Cypress – are the wardens to this neighborhood, having almost human like quality they spread their hands to create a comfortable shade on a sunny day. Network composed of branches creates a well intertwined sense of community.

It’s a dream land by all stands, just walking around this neighborhood is mind blowing.

Here’s what California’s writer Robinson Jeffers (1887 – 1962) has to say about this part of land:

The extraordinary patience of things!

This beautiful place defaced with a crop of surburban houses-

How beautiful when we first beheld it,

Unbroken field of poppy and lupin walled with clean cliffs;

No intrusion but two or three horses pasturing,

Or a few milch cows rubbing their flanks on the outcrop rockheads-

Now the spoiler has come: does it care?

Not faintly. It has all time. It knows the people are a tide

That swells and in time will ebb, and all

Their works dissolve. Meanwhile the image of the pristine beauty

Lives in the very grain of the granite,

Safe as the endless ocean that climbs our cliff.-As for us:

We must uncenter our minds from ourselves;

We must unhumanize our views a little, and become confident

As the rock and ocean that we were made from.

Robinson Jeffers

Carmel with kids

The entire town has a family like feel to it. It is a bit bourgoiese in initial approach, although becomes very home-like just a few moments after your arrival. A slow pace community that lives out the golden years of their meteoric careers.

In either case the town is fairly safe, the beach is perfect for spending time with family, houses and business have an unusual design of fairy-tale European vibe. It is quite alluring and essentially authentic. The only other place that reminded us of Carmel were a few shopping lanes in Laguna Beach – another artistic town on the shore of Pacific down south.

Many kids absolutely love all the bakeries that the city has to offer and countless hiking paths at the point Lobos where you can see the Marine life real-time. Oftentimes local docents hang out by the observation spots telling mini lectures regarding topics of interest. We spent many hours hiking around the point lobos, inhaling this primitive coast – it really is a serene experience.  

We’ve spotted some families with kids going snorkeling and kayaking the coast. Apparently many people go abalone diving and spear fishing. If you are an experienced or amateur fisherman, taking a boat tour out of the Monterey Bay would be a great addition for a vacation. Many visitors rent out bikes and cruise 17 mile drive from the bay to Carmel and back.

Besides eating and spending time in the nature, while hiking at the Point Lobos, Kayaking the Monterey Bay; perhaps going to horse-back excursions or taking the bay by the air. We’ve hiked Point Lobos back and forth while vacationing in this part of California.  

Monterey Bay triathlon & Monterey Bay Half marathon are some of the awesome local events you can easily part take if you live in the Bay area.

Ilya Khramtsov