There are a lot of famous road trips in the USA, like California’s Pacific Coast Highway and Montana’s Going to the Sun Highway. One of the best known drives in America is scenic 17-Mile Drive (actually distance depends on how you enter and leave) which extends from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach. 17 Mile Drive leads you through a quiet neighborhood, into a forested area (including some rare stands of monterey cypress), along a rugged stretch of the Pacific Ocean and past the notable “Lone Cypress” tree. The drive takes you by some of the best golf courses in the country, including world-renowned Pebble Beach, and some of the views you’ll enjoy on this short stretch of road are truly grand!
17-Mile Drive is essentially a suburban road through an exclusive neighborhood (whose owners likely wish you weren’t there). You’ll pay a toll (about $10 per car) to drive it — no motorcycles allowed. Once you get past the toll-gate, you’ll find red-painted lines on the pavement to help you follow the route.
While it’s pretty and worth doing once, I’m not going to drive it again. To me its just not worth the money. The roads along this stretch of the California coast (just south of Monterey) all offer beautiful scenery and no toll required! The Lone Cypress is an iconic symbol of California, but I’m not sure this is the same tree I saw here 30 years ago. Maybe it is, maybe it’s been replaced, but I don’t need to see it again.
The photos in this blog (with the exception of the lead photo) share with you our journey down 17-Mile Drive this spring. My friend, Neil, had never driven it before so we enjoyed a pleasant hour or so, including stops We started at the north end in Pacific Grove and ended rather non-climatically in Carmel. For photo legends, hold your mouse over the photos or click on the thumbnails below.
Breathtakingly expensive if I recall. I’m surprised that you are allowed to take photos without paying into the local coffers! 🙂
Fine houses in their pristinely manicured gardens.
Don’t think I could even afford the taxes.
I do like the areas that remain untouched by golf and the hand of fortune.
I prefer the untouched to the “candy box tin” painting of nature.
I’ve been to many places where the presence of paupers – like myself – detract from the ambiance of opulence. Even today I had a note attached to my car, that parking in a non-designated zone was being selfish. Even though they were full !
Far be it for anyone to say you are selfish, Garry!
It is one of the most expensive places to live in California, but I suspect all those drivers going through help subsidize the neighborhood more than that homeowners might want to let on.
And I’m not sure most of us could afford the taxes, even if we wanted to. Being an average guy, this is just not my scene.
I’m also surprised there’s no per photo toll imposed on the great unwashed masses visiting the shores of the drive, Mac!
Well, the unwashed mass did enjoy his time there…. 🙂
The views are really pretty, but no motorcycles??
Cars and bikes are fine, JP, but hogs aren’t.
The road is good enough so I suspect the home owners (much of the drive is through residential areas) don’t want the noise of a big pack of motorcycles passing their gates and fine-trimmed lawns.