Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove is a coastal town in Monterey County, California, stretching between Point Pinos and the city of Monterey at an elevation around 46 meters. Wooden Victorian-era houses line quiet streets, while rocky shoreline sections and forests weave natural elements through the town.

The area originally served as hunting and fishing grounds for the Ohlone Rumsen people before Methodist congregation members founded a retreat camp here in 1875. The settlement grew quickly and was formally incorporated as a city in 1889.

The name comes from the time when Methodists used this coastal area as a quiet retreat and named it after the tall pines that still shape the town today. Many residents maintain their wooden Victorian houses and protect the old trees along the streets and in their gardens.

The streets mostly run parallel to the coast, making orientation easy, and many paths are flat enough for comfortable walks along the water. Fog often arrives in the morning during summer and clears in the afternoon, so bringing warmer clothes is wise even when the sun is out.

Thousands of monarch butterflies spend each winter here in a dedicated sanctuary that is freely accessible and where the orange insects hang in clusters from the trees. The lighthouse at Point Pinos has been in continuous operation since 1855 and is still looked after by a keeper today.