NorCal Coast Run Jason, Karen, Sierra & Christian · June 2026

Day 4 Road Guide

Date:Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Crew:Jason, Karen, Sierra, Christian Sleep:Santa Cruz
Big Sur Lodge → Point Sur → Little Sur → Carmel → Pebble Beach (17-Mile Drive) → Old Fisherman's Wharf → Cannery Row → Santa Cruz

Route Map

Open full route in Google Maps →

Big Sur (Morning)

Last morning before heading north — quick sights on the way out

Things to do before leaving

  • Walk to the Big Sur River from the Lodge — flat redwood trail
  • Breakfast at Big Sur Bakery (wood-fired everything, breakfast pastries) or Big Sur River Inn dining room
  • Fill up the gas tank in Big Sur — last reliable station before Carmel

Last-minute stops on Hwy 1 heading north

Point Sur Lighthouse

19 mi north of Big Sur on Hwy 1 · (831) 625-4419 · pointsur.org

Landmarks

  • Active 1889 lighthouse on a volcanic rock 361 ft above the ocean
  • Original keeper's residence + lighthouse compound
  • Foghorn building still operating

Things to do

  • Tours: Tuesdays @ 1 PM, Wednesdays @ 1 PM, Saturdays @ 10 AM & 2 PM, Sundays @ 10 AM, ~$15/adult
  • Tuesday is your day — 1 PM tour fits the route
  • Photo stop from the highway pull-off (the rock is iconic even without the tour)

Trivia

  • Lighthouse rock is one of California's youngest volcanic plugs
  • Tour reservations recommended — fills up in summer
  • Wear sturdy shoes — short uphill walk to the lighthouse from parking

Little Sur

5 min north of Point Sur on Hwy 1

Landmarks

  • Little Sur Beach — where the Little Sur River meets the ocean, dramatic landscape
  • Bridge over the Little Sur River — quick photo pull-off

Things to do

  • 5-min photo stop — get out, snap, get back in
  • Walk the beach if you're not in a rush (limited parking on the shoulder)

Nature

  • Sea otters in the kelp
  • One of the prettiest river-meets-ocean spots on the central coast

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Storybook coastal village — walkable, white sand beach

Landmarks

Things to do

  • Walk Ocean Ave end to end (cute shops, art galleries)
  • Hunt for "fairytale cottages" — Hugh Comstock built dozens of storybook houses you can spot scattered through town
  • Carmel Beach photo at sunset (Sierra spot)
  • Carmel Plaza — upscale shopping center, easy bathroom stop

Famous for

  • No street addresses — Carmel doesn't use them (use building names or "between 5th and 6th on Ocean")
  • Clint Eastwood was mayor of Carmel 1986-88 — his restaurant Mission Ranch is still operating
  • Bruno's Market — sandwich legend for picnic lunches
  • Carmel Coffee Roasting — local coffee shop institution

Movie locations

  • Play Misty for Me (1971) — Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, set + filmed in Carmel + Monterey
  • Vertigo (1958) — Alfred Hitchcock used Carmel Beach scenes
  • The Graduate (1967) — portions filmed in Carmel area
  • Julie (1956) — Doris Day thriller, used the Frank Lloyd Wright house at south end of Carmel Beach
  • Seems Like Old Times (1980) — Goldie Hawn + Chevy Chase
  • Basic Instinct (1992) — Carmel Highlands
  • Big Little Lies (HBO) — Carmel + Carmel Highlands + Point Lobos
  • All the Old Knives (2022) — Monterey + Carmel-by-the-Sea

Celebrity residents (past + present)

  • Clint Eastwood — actor, director, mayor of Carmel 1986-1988, still owns Mission Ranch restaurant
  • Doris Day — lived in Carmel until her death in 2019, beloved local figure
  • Elizabeth Taylor — Monterey Peninsula ties
  • Lauren Bacall — appeared in local film Carmel by the Sea – The Movie!

Thrift / consignment (Carmel-style = upscale designer)

  • Deja Vu Carmel — upscale consignment, "like-new" pieces from Louis Vuitton, Chanel, designer labels (not thrift prices, but a treasure hunt)
  • Carmel is more antiques + galleries than thrift — for real thrift, wait until Santa Cruz tonight

Hugh Comstock fairy-tale cottages

  • Hugh Comstock built dozens of "storybook" cottages around town starting in 1924
  • Steep handcrafted roofs, whimsical chimneys, small-paned windows, tiny doors
  • Originally built as dollhouses for his wife Mayotta's "Otsy-Totsy" dolls — neighbors loved them so much, they commissioned full-size versions
  • Most famous: "Hansel" (Torres + 6th), "Gretel" (Torres + 6th), "The Tuck Box" tea room (Dolores)
  • They're scattered throughout Carmel — look for them as you walk Ocean Ave + side streets

Trivia

  • Population ~3,200 in 1 square mile
  • No mail delivery — residents pick up at the post office (no street addresses)
  • High heels are technically prohibited (a leftover 1963 law to prevent lawsuits from tree-root sidewalks)
  • Monterey County has hosted over 190 films — from Cecil B. DeMille to Hitchcock to today

Pebble Beach & 17-Mile Drive

Private toll road through Pebble Beach — $11.75/car · pebblebeach.com

Landmarks

Things to do

  • Drive the full 17-mile loop (~1-1.5 hr with stops)
  • Stop at every pull-off — they're all spectacular
  • Photo at the Lone Cypress (the one)
  • The Lodge at Pebble Beach — pop into the lobby (free), watch golfers on the 18th
  • The Hay — Tiger Woods-designed 9-hole par-3 course, kid-friendly look-around

Famous for

  • Hosted the US Open 6 times
  • The Lone Cypress is the corporate logo of Pebble Beach Company
  • Carmel + Monterey + Pacific Grove are all connected by this drive

Movie locations

  • One-Eyed Jacks (1961) — Marlon Brando used a beachfront cottage on 17-Mile Drive
  • My Favorite Brunette (1947) — Bob Hope, used a castle-like mansion on the drive
  • National Velvet (1944) — Elizabeth Taylor, Pebble Beach Golf Course used for countryside-gallop scenes
  • The Fast and the Furious (1955) — Pebble Beach + Carmel
  • Big Little Lies (HBO) — multiple 17-Mile Drive scenic shots

Celebrity homes vibe

  • Pebble Beach is known for $50 million+ homes visible from 17-Mile Drive
  • Lots of Silicon Valley + Hollywood + sports money parked here
  • Pebble Beach Company says you can spot some of the priciest US listings just driving the loop

Trivia

  • $11.75 toll is reimbursed if you spend $35+ at Pebble Beach restaurants/shops
  • Bikes can ride for free — bikes from Bay Bikes Carmel
  • 5 gates — easiest entry is Carmel Hill Gate from Carmel
  • Del Monte Forest within Pebble Beach is 5,300 acres of Monterey cypress
  • The Witch Tree and Ostrich Tree were once landmarks but are now lost to weather

Old Fisherman's Wharf

Monterey waterfront, end of Alvarado St

Landmarks

  • 1845 working fishing wharf, oldest on the West Coast
  • Sea lions barking under the pier (loud, smelly, hilarious)
  • Working fishing boats coming and going

Things to do

  • Walk the wharf end to end — 15 min
  • Free clam chowder samples from every restaurant (it's a thing — try them all)
  • Monterey Bay Whale Watch boat tours depart here
  • Photo ops with the sea lions

Famous for

Thrift / vintage (Monterey + Pacific Grove cluster)

Cannery Row

Monterey waterfront, west of Old Fisherman's Wharf

Landmarks

Things to do

  • Walk Cannery Row from end to end — historic plaques along the way
  • Find Ed Ricketts's Pacific Biological Laboratories at 800 Cannery Row — the real-life "Doc" lab from Steinbeck's novel, small wood building still standing
  • Ghirardelli Ice Cream — sundae stop
  • Cannery Row Mirror Maze (kids' attraction, $13/adult)

Movie / pop culture

  • Cannery Row (1945) — John Steinbeck's novel about this exact street, plus the 1954 follow-up Sweet Thursday
  • Cannery Row (1982) — film adaptation starring Nick Nolte + Debra Winger. Set + partly filmed here (street scenes done in a Culver City sound studio, but the Sand Dunes north of Marina + Cannery Row waterfront are in the film)

John Steinbeck

  • Steinbeck lived in Monterey + drew his most famous characters from the people working the canneries
  • "Doc" in Cannery Row was based on his real-life best friend Ed Ricketts, a marine biologist whose Pacific Biological Laboratories was right on Cannery Row (still standing — look for the small wood building at 800 Cannery Row)
  • Ricketts's lab inspired Monterey's whole marine science identity decades later

Santa Cruz (Sleep)

~45 min north of Monterey on Hwy 1 · Pick from below

Hotel options (book ASAP for summer)

Why Santa Cruz over Monterey for tonight

  • Sets you up for Day 5 redwoods (Henry Cowell is 10 min from Santa Cruz)
  • Beach Boardwalk vibe in the evening
  • Surf town energy, way more chill than Monterey

Quick dinner options in Santa Cruz

Thrift / vintage on Pacific Ave (Sierra's heaven)

  • Pacific Avenue downtown = highest concentration of vintage shops in Santa Cruz County
  • Oasis on Pacific ⭐ — 1395 Pacific Ave, 1960s–early 2000s retro fashion, the Y2K teen heaven
  • Crossroads Trading Co. — 811 Pacific Ave, curated resale, current trendy styles
  • Cognito Clothing — 821 Pacific Ave
  • Moon Zoom — Pacific Ave, longtime local vintage standby
  • Freestyle Clothing Exchange — 100-B Pacific Ave
  • Goodwill — 204 Union St (off Pacific)
  • If you have time tonight or tomorrow morning, this is THE thrift stop of the trip

Santa Cruz on screen

  • The Lost Boys (1987) — beach, boardwalk, downtown, bridges. Set in fictional "Santa Carla"
  • Sudden Impact (1983) — Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry sequel. Carousel + Giant Dipper finale
  • The Sting II (1983) — Beach Boardwalk
  • Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) — Boardwalk
  • Chasing Mavericks (2012) — Steamer Lane + Pleasure Point
  • Bird Box (2018) — Henry Cowell Redwoods (10 min north)
  • Us (2019) — Beach Boardwalk + Main Beach + Seabright
← Previous Day 3 · Mon Jun 8 — Hearst Castle → Big Sur Lodge