Pebble Beach Off The Beaten Path

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If you are Going to the Hearst Castle from Pebble Beach and has a Multi-Day Vacation and wanting to go Back to the San Francisco Bay area via a Different Route, then Visit Paso Robles.

Paso Robles Wineries are just about a 45 minute drive from San Simeon via Highway 46 east. Visiting the fable Hearst Castle in San Simeon at the Central Coast of California can be breathtaking and more so if you are fond of wines and vinyards, it is just less than an hour drive from the nearby Paso Robles Wine Region of Central California via California Route 46 and Highway 1 South and if you are touring the Hearst Castle on your own and not on any part of a bus tour group, Paso Robles can be an exciting excursion since they have many fine wines here (althoug is is much smaller in acreage than Napa valley and Sonoma in Northern California). You will find 26,000 vineyard acres, producing more than 40 winegrape varieties ranging from Spanish to Italian, Bordeaux to Rhône, including the area's heritage variety Zinfandel. The styles of wine are diverse in this very distinct region. Wine Tasting in a local winery in Paso Robles will cost about $ 5 for regular wines and $ 8 for the vintage and premium wines.

Address: Paso Robles, Ca

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if you are visiting the Hearst Castle Historical State Park after a walk through of Monterey and Carmel, Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach with lost of spare time or having 2 to 3 day extra time, I would suggest a timely stop along Big Sur and the historic Highway 1 that straddles the Santa Lucia Mountain range and the Pacific Ocean for spectacular panoramic vistas for a picture perfect view. Big Sur is located roughly 40 miles south of monterey along the famous Bixby and Rocky Creek Bridges, Point Sur and there are many nature related activities in big sur like hiking trails, white water rafting, camping areas and more. Stay overnite then proceed to the Hearst Castle.

Address: Big Sur, Ca

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Driving up to the Highway 1 for 98 miles from Pebble Beach will lead you to Hearst Castle, It is a 2/12 hour drive along the scenic and winding roads of CA Route One where you can do several photo stops along the many points of Interests along the Route (like Bixby Bridge, Rocky Creek Bridge, Point Sur, Ragged Point, etc). In the Hearst Castle, there is no single grand tour of the complex, what the administrators did is to split the tours of the Hearst Castle into 4 kinds of tours (to be able to make more money?) and you can do all of them if you have a whole day and part of the night free time ok.

according to their website:

All tours view the Castle’s two spectacular swimming pools—the outdoor Neptune Pool and the indoor Roman Pool. All visitors will also receive a ticket for our exclusive 40-minute film Hearst Castle – Building the Dream, shown on a five-story screen at the Visitor Center’s Hearst Castle Theater. This fascinating glimpse behind the scenes is shown all day at forty-five minute intervals. The first screening begins at 8:15 am.

Grand Rooms Tour
View the magnificent ground floor rooms of La Casa Grande (big house) where Mr. Hearst's guests met their host and were entertained during their stay at La Cuesta Encantada (the Enchanted Hill). See the Assembly Room, where guests met for cocktails, the Refectory, where meals were served, the Morning Room, Billiard Room and Theater. Your knowledgeable Guide will bring this estate to life sharing stories about Mr. Hearst and his many guests who visited for nearly three decades in the early part of the last century. Stroll the grounds at your leisure at the conclusion of your guided tour inside the castle.

Upstairs Suites Tour
View guest quarters and Mr. Hearst's private floor as you climb high up inside the castle. Visit two libraries and learn how Mr. Hearst's art collection was utilized in the castle. Stroll the grounds at your leisure at the conclusion of your guided tour inside the castle.

Cottages & Kitchen Tour
Visit the Wine Cellar, two lavish guest houses (including the one Mr. Hearst used when he first stayed here), and the surprisingly modern kitchen. Stroll the grounds at your leisure at the conclusion of your guided tour.

Fondest memory: Ticket Prices:
Tours Adult Ages(5-12)
Grand Rooms Tour $25 $12
Upstairs Suites Tour $25 $12
Cottages & Kitchen Tour $25 $12
Evening Tour $36 $18

Children under 5 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Prices are subject to change without notice.

I did the grand rooms tour 21 years ago and on a revisit, did the Upstairs Suites Tour.

Address: 750 Hearst Castle Road, San Simeon, CA 93452-9740

Phone: 800-444-4445

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The Golf Store Souvenir Store at The Lodge at Pebble Beach has a faux Claret US Open 2010 Jug on display in the premises and if you are nice to the cashier, she will allow you to take pictures with it outside the Practice Golf Range just beside the Store in the Lodge and take many pictures as you want hehehe and I did do that!

.The 17-Mile Drive is a 17 miles (27 km) long scenic loop having five entrances, including one at California State Route 1 and one at Pacific Grove off Sunset Drive and you have to pay an entrance fee of $ 9.50 per person to enter it (will be free if you dine at any restaurants inside the pebble beach and have them validate your admission ticket and the guardhouse will refund the price upon exit).

Address: 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953

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Pebble Beach has a number of great spots to watch the sunset. My favorite has always been the Lodge at Spanish Bay where you can sit at the outdoor bar by the fire with a blanket and a beer, and watch the bagpiper on the golf course with the sun dipping low behind him. Other popular spots to watch the western skies at sunset include Point Joe, where the unsettled sea creates an interesting foreground for your view, and Bird Rock, where the birds and sea lion are silhouetted by the setting sun.

Nearby sunset spots are Carmel's white sandy beach, Monastery Beach, and Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove.

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While all the tourists are zipping up and down 17 Mile Drive snapping photos of a crowded tree and a bunch of golf courses, within a mile is one of the quietest, least visited spots on the Monterey Peninsula. The Huckleberry Hill Natural Reserve contains several hundred acres and is filled with wide trails and dirt roads. No vehicles are permitted in this park.

During my hike, I followed the main trail from Hwy 68 almost a mile to the maintenance yard. Though this wide, flat trail seems to connect to Lopez Drive, you'd have to sneak though this maintenance yard. I Decided to turn around and go back to the main trail, Trail 7. This cuts downhill through the park about one mile to Congress Road then follows along this same road. It also crosses other trails such as Trail 6 and Trail 3.

Across Hwy 68 from Pebble Beach's Huckleberry Hill Natural Area is Monterey's Huckleberry Hill Nature Preserve. Though the parks share a name and are only separated by a small, but busy road, there is no access between them. To get to Monterey's Huckleberry Hill area, you have to head into Veterans Park via downtown. The park is located at the upper end of Johnson Street, accessible from downtown via Madison or Jefferson and following the signs (about 1 mile).

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The SFB Morse Botanical Reserve consists of 84 acres surrounded by the Huckleberry Hill Natural Reserve, Poppy Hills Golf Course, and Congress Road. The reserve was created in 1972, and the Del Monte Forest Foundation acquired this land in 1976. This reserve was initially created to preserve the endangered Gowen Cypress, and other endangered species have been documented here.

The main trail through the reserve is called the Crawford Trial and is marked by a bronze plaque along Congress Road. The plaque reads, "The Crawford Trail--This trail is dedicated in memory of Rudd Crawford. His knowledge and wisdom instilled a love of nature that will endure forever in all who knew him." The Crawford Trail is marked with purple blaze and runs uphill through a very small draw formed by a tributary of Sawmill Gulch. The trail runs along the edge of the drainage until connecting with Trail 2 in the Huckleberry Hill Natural Reserve. This is a narrow, quiet trail perfect for a quiet stroll.

The 31 May 1987 Morse Fire began here in the Morse Botanical Reserve, burning 160 acres of forest and destroying 32 houses valued at $18 million back then....here is a slide show from the Monterey County Herald with historic and present day photos. The fire is believed to have escaped from an illegal fire in a trashcan, which is considered arson; no one was ever brought to justice. The official US Fire Administration report is located here: http://www.desastres.org/pdf/tr-007.pdf

Congress Road and the reserve entrance are located near the SFB Morse Gate to Pebble Beach, near the intersection with Bird Rock Road.