Jacks Peak Park is a county park in Monterey County, California. Its central feature is Jacks Peak, the highest point on the Monterey Peninsula, rising 1,068 feet (325 m) [1] above Monterey and Carmel. The park encompasses 525 [1] acres under control of the Monterey County Parks Department.
The park is part of the Pueblo Lands tract acquired in 1859 by Scottish immigrant David Jack. [1] The first 55 acres (220,000 m2) that were to become the park were purchased by Talcott and Margaret Pardee Bates in 1964. [1] They sold it to the Nature Conservancy, who eventually sold it to Monterey County. [1] In 1971, the county purchased the remaining acres for the park from Del Monte Properties. [1] The park opened in January, 1977. [1]
The park allows picnics and day hiking. Several miles of trails, including a self-guided nature trail, wrap around Jacks Peak and through the rest of the park.
The park includes one of only three remaining native stands of the Monterey Pine. [2] Flora in the park also includes madrone (arbutus menziesii), coastal scrub (including coyote brush (baccharis pilularis), California sagebrush, black sage, and ceanothus), poison oak, and the coast live oak. [3]
17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses, mansions and scenic attractions, including the Lone Cypress, Bird Rock and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees.
The Sunol Regional Wilderness is a regional park in Alameda County, the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California. It is located near the town of Sunol, south of Pleasanton and east of Fremont.
The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley.
Henry W. Coe State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving a vast tract of the Diablo Range. The park is located closest to the city of Morgan Hill, and is located in both Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties. The park contains over 87,000 acres (35,000 ha), making it the largest state park in northern California, and the second-largest in the state. Managed within its boundaries is a designated wilderness area of about 22,000 acres (8,900 ha). This is officially known as the Henry W. Coe State Wilderness, but locally as the Orestimba Wilderness. The 89,164-acre (36,083 ha) park was established in 1959.
Uvas Canyon County Park is a 1,147-acre (464 ha) natural park located in upper Uvas Canyon on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, west of Morgan Hill, California. The park has several small waterfalls, some of which flow perennially, that feed into tributaries confluent with Uvas Creek. The park is part of the Santa Clara County Parks System, and facilitates picnics, hiking and overnight camping. It is one of the few parks in the area that allows dogs in the campgrounds.
Marina State Beach is a protected beach on Monterey Bay, located in the city of Marina in Monterey County, California.
Chalone Vineyard is located in the Chalone AVA south of San Francisco, California, United States, on an unusual geological formation called the Gavilan benchland. The soil is rich in limestone and calcium carbonate and also contains a significant amount of decomposed granite. This soil has a mineral composition similar to the Champagne region of France. Chalone is situated in an arid chaparral environment, in which temperatures can vary as much as 50°F in one day. The climate is very dry, only 12 to 14 inches (360 mm) of rain fall per year. These factors combine to create a unique terroir, the signature profile of a wine growing region.
Rancho Milpitas was a 43,281-acre (175.15 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Pastor. The grant encompassed present day Jolon.
Rancho Pescadero was a 4,426-acre (17.91 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to Fabián Barreto. Pescadero means fishing place in Spanish. The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Rancho Punta de Pinos and Seal Rocks south to Carmel by the Sea and encompassed present day Pebble Beach, California.
Rancho El Sur was a 8,949.06-acre (36.22 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California, on the Big Sur coast given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant extended from the mouth of Little Sur River inland about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) over the coastal mountains and south along the coast past the mouth of the Big Sur River to Cooper's Point. In about 1892, the rancho land plus an additional 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of resale homestead land was divided into two major parcels. The southern 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) became the Molera Ranch, later the foundation of Andrew Molera State Park. The northern 7,100 acres (2,900 ha) form the present-day El Sur Ranch.
Rancho San José y Sur Chiquito was a 8,876-acre (35.92 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Big Sur, in Monterey County, California, given in 1835 to Teodoro Gonzalez and re-granted by Governor Juan Alvarado the same year to Marcelino Escobar. The grant, including Point Lobos, was located south of the Carmel River, extending inland along the coastal mountains, and south along the Pacific coast. It included San Jose Creek, Malpaso Creek, Soberanes Creek, Tres Pinos Creek, Garrapata Creek, and ended on the north side of Palo Colorado Canyon. A hand-drawn map created c. 1853 accompanying the grant indicated a road or trail was already present along the coast.
Lovers Point State Marine Reserve (SMR) is one of four small marine protected areas located near the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, at the southern end of Monterey Bay on California’s central coast. The four MPAs together encompass 2.96 square miles (7.7 km2). The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited.
Ruislip Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve covering 726 acres (294 ha) in Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The woods became London's first national nature reserve in May 1997. Ruislip Local Nature Reserve at TQ 090 899 is part of the national nature reserve.
Moss Landing Wildlife Area is a California State wildlife preserve on the shore of Elkhorn Slough.
Anderson Canyon in the Big Sur region of California was named after pioneering homesteaders James and Peter Andersen who were the first European settlers of the area. The canyon, Anderson Creek, and Anderson Peak are south of McWay Falls and within the boundaries of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California, that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast regions. The trust was the first to conceive of and use the "conservation buyer" method in 1989 by partnering with government and developers to offer tax benefits as an inducement to sell land at below-market rates. Since 1978, with the support of donors, funders and partners, it has conserved over 40,000 acres through conservation easements, acquisition and transfer of land to state, county and city agencies. It has placed conservation easements on 7,000 acres and has retained ownership of over 4,000 acres.
Royal Oaks Park is a 122-acre county park in Monterey County, California.
Garland Ranch Regional Park is a 3,464 acres (1,402 ha) public recreational area at 700 West Carmel Valley Road, in Carmel Valley, California. It is owned and managed by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. It is located 18 miles (29 km) from Salinas on the south side of Carmel Valley Road on a .5 miles (0.80 km) stretch of the Carmel River It was the district's first land acquisition and was purchased in 1975 from William Garland II.
The Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District is an independent special recreation district with offices in Carmel, Monterey County, California. It was formed in 1972 and serves much of northern Monterey County. For the benefit of the general public, it serves to safeguard and preserve parks and open space. The District has preserved more than 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of park and open space on the Monterey Peninsula. It is not an agency of Monterey County or of any of the local municipalities.
The Palo Corona Regional Park is a 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) park owned by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District on land east of Big Sur Coast Highway and Garrapata State Park in California. The 9,898 acres (4,006 ha) property stretches southeast about 11 miles (18 km) from the near the Carmel River State Beach to the Los Padres National Forest. The park is long from north to south, bordered on the northwest by Highway 1 and across from Carmel River State Beach. It wraps around Point Lobos Ranch and abuts Santa Lucia Preserve to the east. In the middle, it is sandwiched by Mitteldorf Preserve and Garrapata State Park. Its southern border abuts Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve. Environmental interests were concerned that it would be converted to an estate-type development like that done for Rancho San Carlos. In May 2002, the Big Sur Land trust and The Nature Conservancy joined to buy the Ranch. Overall, the park directly and indirectly connects nine conservation properties preserved for their biological, recreation and scenic values. The area includes the former Rancho Caňada Country Club and golf course in Carmel Valley.