We know many of you are traveling from far away (thank you!), and we hope you take some time to explore the area while you're here. There are so many great things to do and see within a 4 hour drive of Carmel Valley!

Below are some of our favorite places and activities, both in the area and a bit farther away. Please feel free to reach out anytime with questions, or to ask for additional suggestions. We will do our best to help point you in the right direction!

near the venue

Big Sur Area (~45 min from venue)

  • Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) — an incredible drive along the rocky shore cliffs of Big Sur. Rent a motorcycle or convertible! Also, be sure to stop by Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for a hike.

  • Rocky Point Restaurant — an excellent restaurant perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean

  • Glen Oaks Motel — a charming retro-chic motel in the heart of Big Sur. There's a short hiking trail across the street that leads you to a small river running through the redwoods!

  • Nacimiento-Fergusson Road — a difficult but beautiful drive

  • Esalen Institute — a renowned wellness center where they host public night bathing in their hot springs from 1 - 3 AM, absolutely magical on a clear night under the stars. Call in advance for reservations.

  • Elephant Seal Beach — about an hour and a half south of Big Sur, in San Simeon, you can find hundreds of elephant seals in their natural habitat

  • Hearst Castle — also in San Simeon, a sweeping estate and castle featuring gardens, art and rich history

Monterey Area (~20 min from venue)

  • Point Lobos Nature Reserve — beautiful hiking trails along the water. Last time we were here we saw seals, sea otters, and a whale!

  • Pebble Beach Golf Course — legendary golf course on the water just south of Monterey. The clubhouse is open to the public, so we recommend grabbing lunch here. The drive to the course along 17 Mile Drive is incredible as well!

  • Cannery Row — historic waterfront street in Monterey with a ton of restaurants, bars, hotels, and activities. Touristy, but fun.

  • Alvarado Street Brewing — delicious beers in a cool area of Monterey. They also have an outdoor beer garden with fire pits!

  • Fieldwork Brewing Company — outpost of a solid brewery out of Berkley. Set up in an outdoor lot with plenty of picnic tables, fire pits, and California heat lamps

  • Sushi Fly — delicious casual sushi spot owned by a very entertaining and cool guy named Troy

 

Farther away

Sonoma/Russian River Area (~4 hr from venue)

  • AutoCamp Russian River — super cool place to stay. Each room is an entire modernized Airstream trailer, and the grounds are beautiful. Walking distance to downtown Guerneville.

  • Russian River Brewing — in downtown Santa Rosa, they make an extremely sought-after IPA (Pliny the Elder) and a couple of amazing sours. They serve pizzas and snacks too. Ranu has dd’ed for Rob here at least once so Rob could get the full 18 taster flight.

  • Guerneville — cool, small, hippy-ish town with some good restaurants like Boon Eat + Drink and Seaside Metal (great name) in the heart of Sonoma, featuring a beautiful river running alongside it. The redwood trees are also amazing here.

  • Armstrong Woods — redwood forest with hiking trails very close to downtown Guerneville

  • Healdsburg — hip town with a ton of wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and shops. Also home to Bear Republic Brewing.

San Fransisco Area (~2 hr from venue)

  • Muir Woods — an incredibly beautiful redwood forest just north of SF (you’ll drive over the Golden Gate Bridge if you’re coming from the south). Some of the trees here are are more than 1,000 years old and over 250 feet tall! Highly recommended.

  • Tomales Bay — pack some lemons & hot sauce and go shuck your own oysters at Tomales Bay Oyster Company or Hog Island Oyster Company, just down the road from each other!

  • Point Reyes — very pretty national park in a region known for their views and their cheeses (especially Point Reyes Bleu Cheese). Cowgirl Creamery is another favorite spot for great cheese.

Santa Barbara Area (~4 hr from venue)