Humans may have first chosen to live around the Monterey Bay for its natural resources — the fertile land, the bountiful ocean — but over the centuries, our perceptions of nature have changed from pure exploitation to wonder and enjoyment. Where our forebears saw fur coats and profits, visitors today see playful and character-filled sea otters and seals. Where once the bay was virtually picked clean of edibles, from abalone to sardines, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and various shoreline nature preserves help keep humans and nature in balance. Indeed, the bay here is home to nationally significant research facilities, such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Hopkins Marine Station, and Elkhorn Slough National Research Reserve. They cooperate with many groups and institutions, working together to understand and protect our oceans.

On this page, you will find links to an assortment of sites that will tell you all about our beaches (including a page of tips for Surf Safety that all parents and pet-owners should read); Monterey City parks, including Veterans Memorial Park which has information on camping; the Class A Recreation Trail that runs 19 miles from Castroville in the north to Pacific Grove in the south; and Monterey County Parks, including Jacks Peak Park which provides a superb panorama of the bay.

If you explore the California State Parks website, you’ll find even more information on places to hike or mountain bike through wildlands that have not changed much since the earliest inhabitants first established the easiest way up or down the grade. And Monterey County possess a very special park frequently referred to as the ‘crown jewel’ of the state's parks system, Point Lobos State Reserve, called “the greatest meeting of land and sea.”