Lovers Point Park and Beach

Lovers Point is Pacific Grove's front porch: a rocky granite headland jutting into Monterey Bay with a small, sheltered beach on one side, terraced lawns above it, and some of the calmest, clearest water on the peninsula. It is the kind of place locals use every day, which is exactly why visitors love it. Families spread out on the grass with picnics, kids dig in the sand of the little cove, swimmers and snorkelers brave the cold water in summer, and kayakers and paddleboarders launch from the beach to paddle along the kelp beds, where sea otters, harbor seals and diving cormorants are a common sight. Walk out onto the granite point for wide views back toward Monterey and Cannery Row, or follow the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, which passes right through the park, along the shoreline toward the aquarium in one direction and Point Pinos in the other. In spring, the bluffs along Ocean View Boulevard nearby turn magenta with flowering ice plant, one of the peninsula's great seasonal sights. A seasonal snack bar and restaurant overlook the water, there are restrooms and playground-style space, and the whole park is free (street parking can be tight on sunny weekends). It is also a good spot for sunrise and for watching surf crash on the outer rocks during winter swells. Fit: families (safe, small beach and lawns), couples (the name says it, and sunset is lovely), outdoors lovers who want an easy paddle, and first-timers looking for the classic Pacific Grove scene.

Pacific Grove began as a Methodist retreat in the 1870s, and Lovers Point has been its gathering place ever since. The name has a couple of competing origin stories, and locals enjoy telling them; whatever the truth, the point has long been a favorite for strolling couples and summer swimmers, and the town has kept it simple and uncommercial.