Day 1 of June 2022 Trip to California, Monterey Vicinities

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The first day of my June 2022 trip to California, we drove from San Jose to Monterey, catching the first glimpses of California’s rugged coastlines.

Pacific Coast

Following the flight from Los Angeles to San Jose in the morning, we grabbed our rental cars and started our road trip south. Unfortunately, there were some availability issues with one rental shop (Avis), so instead we chose to have lunch in San Jose. By the time the rental issue was sorted out, it’s past noon as we left San Jose.
In addition, lane closure along CA-17 caused some further delays.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

This park was a short detour away from CA Route 17 that connected San Jose to Santa Cruz, where a grove of old-growth redwood was preserved. The redwoods were the tallest trees/creatures on earth, their soaring heights were both awesome and inspiring.

Given our limited time, we decided to take the 1.4km “Redwood Grove Loop Trail”. This was a developed trail leaving from the park’s main parking lot, threading its way through redwood groves before turning back at a tree where Lt. John C. Fremont was said to once camp inside in 1846.

Redwood Trees
The Fremont Tree
It’s said that Lt. John C. Fremont camped in the base of this tree back in 1846.
Redwood Trees
Redwood Trees
Redwood Trees
Trail among Redwood Trees
Redwood Trees
A pretty convoluted group.
Redwood Tree
One branch was growing finely straight up, while the other decided to split up.

Halfway into the loop we were at the “Fremont Tree” (p2 above), whose hollow base was said to be “larger than the typical military tent of the 1840s”. While the tree was fenced off, there was another redwood nearby with an open entrance to its base. My friends and I ventured inside, and I would say it easily fitted a dozen people.

Base of Redwood Tree
This tree wasn’t fenced off, so one could duck through the opening and get inside.
Interior of Redwood Tree Trunk
Looking up inside a redwood tree, under cell phone flash light.

Before we left the area, we checked out the nearby Roaring Camp, which was created in the 1960s to offer narrow-gauge train rides through the redwood forest, climbing the nearby “Bear Mountain”. Looking at the maps, there was a “trail” leading up to the same mountain, which wasn’t that much farther than “Fremont Tree”, so I guess the train was only for those not in the best physical shape.
As for the “camp”, it was modeled after a small western village in the peak days of rail travel. We arrived after the last train of the day so it felt rather empty.

Buildings in Roaring Camp
Buildings in Roaring Camp
Railway at Roaring Camp

After leaving Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, we headed south towards Santa Cruz, and made a stop checking out its wharf.

Santa Cruz Wharf

Interestingly, the wharf had a zoo of its own, mostly of sea lions resting underneath it. It’s not like Pier 39 of San Francisco where the sea lion population was excessively cramped, here they just scattered around in a very approachable state. The wharf had a few openings at its end where visitors could peek below the deck to watch the sea lions.

Sea Lions under Santa Cruz Wharf
Sea Lion under Santa Cruz Wharf
Sea Lions under Santa Cruz Wharf
Pillar of Santa Cruz Wharf
It appeared to me that a starfish was clinging onto the pillar.
Gull Taking Flight
Gull
Gull
Gull

In addition, I guessed that due to the abundance of food (fries) from the few restaurants on the wharf, a few sea gulls comfortably called this wharf their home.

From the end of the wharf, it’s a clear sight across the bay towards Monterey, with a few fishing boats dotting the scenery. It would be a different scene later today along 17-mile drive in Monterey.

Boats in Monterey Bay
Fishing Boat
Santa Cruz Beach Park
Roller Coaster in Santa Cruz Beach Park

With delays earlier today, by the time we left Santa Cruz, it’s 5:30pm. With some traffic along the way, we only made it to Monterey at 6:30pm, so we decided to check into the hotel first.

Hotel: Colton Inn

Among the hotels in the area with good reviews and decor, this one was on the more affordable side. It certainly lived up to its reviews, I had a good night’s rest. The breakfast was sort of mediocre, but that’s not what we picked it for, considering half the people in our group skipped breakfast on a regular basis.

One issue I had with hotels along California’s Pacific Coast was their water. For both today at Monterey and the next day at Cambria, the tap water felt too hard to the degree that showering with them was somewhat uncomfortable.

Hotel Room
Hotel Room
Hotel Room

After checking into the hotel, we still had more than an hour of daylight left, so we decided to check out 17-Mile Drive, a major attraction of Monterey.

17-Mile Drive

This was a scenic road through the tip of Monterey Peninsula, showcasing the area’s rugged coastlines and pristine beaches. Parts of the road traveled through private property and required an entrance fee, with limited time left in the day, we decided to leave the non-fee parts to tomorrow morning.

Here’s a video from a dash-mounted GoPro capturing our ride through 17-Mile Drive. It’s getting late in the day so video quality wasn’t the most ideal.

6 minutes and 3 seconds, 2160p30fps, H265 only, 10Mbps/474MB.

0:00 Leaving entrance gate.
1:06 Roadside turnout along “Spanish Bay”.
1:47 “Restless Sea” stop.
2:15 “China Rock” turnout.
2:35 A turnout south of “China Rock”.
3:22 “Bird Rock” stop.
4:55 “Fanshell Overlook”, known to harbor seals.
The video stops upon reaching “Sunset Point” as it was getting dark.

Along the road there were a series of scenic overlooks. Since we visited late in the day, they were reasonably empty. Clouds were thicker compared to earlier today in Santa Cruz, as I vaguely recalled foggy shores were the norm for California.

Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
Coastline
Coastline
Lone Tree before Ocean
Coastline
Coastline

Pacific Coast

A unique feature of the coastline along 17-Mile Drive was that, they were rocky, but not cliffy. The rocks were plentiful, making stunning sights of waves pounding them. At the same time, the shores had gradual gradients, allowing both great visibilities down the horizon, or the opportunities for brave souls to get close to the constant battle between rocks and waves.

Coastline
Boulders along Coast
Coastline
Coastline
Coastline

Bird Rock
Coastline
Coastline
Coastline
Cove

Towards the end of the day, 17-Mile Drive wrapped around southern Monterey Peninsula, where it offered us views to the south, of foggy cliffs of the Big Sur region rising spectacularly from the ocean. I liked how the soft twilight colors and the appropriate amount of fogs added some sense of illusion to the views, like a teasing preview of our roadtrip tomorrow through Big Sur.

Coastline
Distant Coastline in Fog
Lone Cypress along Coast
Boulders along Coast
The red grass field near Pescadero Point was the prefect foreground at twilight.
Coastline
The red grass field near Pescadero Point was the prefect foreground at twilight.