Must-see attractions in Central Coast

The tortuously winding 40-mile stretch of Hwy 1 south of Lucia to Hearst Castle is sparsely populated, rugged and remote, mostly running through national…

Beer lovers can witness the magic happen on guided spins around the massive Firestone Walker brewery. Tours leave daily from the visitor center (reserve…

A 45-minute drive north of Santa Cruz into the mountains via Hwys 9 and 236, this state park protects over 18,000 acres of redwood forest and 80 miles of…

Founded in 1797, this mission claims the largest church among California’s original 21 missions. Unknowingly built directly atop the San Andreas Fault,…

Less than 15 miles south of Carmel, this landmark spanning Rainbow Canyon is one of the world’s highest single-span bridges. Completed in 1932, it was…

Of the many lighthouses on California’s coast, few have such an evocative natural setting as this 1875 light station – one of the tallest on the West…

In the waters of Jade Cove in 1971, local divers recovered a 9000lb jade boulder that measured 8ft long and was valued at $180,000. People still comb the…

Those reverberatory bells heard around downtown emanate from this fifth California mission, founded by Padre Junípero Serra in 1772 and named for a 13th…

Big Sur's largest state park was named after the area's first European settlers who arrived in 1869. It has hiking trails looping through stately redwood…

Downtown, MMA Pacific Street is particularly strong in California contemporary art and modern landscape painters and photographers, including Ansel Adams…

Two miles south of Lucia, this park gets its name from the four remaining wood-fired kilns originally built here in the 1880s to smelt quarried limestone…

Built of sandstone in 1794, this graceful chapel is California’s oldest continuously functioning parish and first stone building. The original 1770…

The tortuously winding 40-mile stretch of Hwy 1 south of Lucia to Hearst Castle is sparsely populated, rugged and remote, mostly running through national…

Wind-tossed coastal bluffs with wild, wide-open sea views make this park a favorite spot with hikers and mountain bikers. The northern half of the park…

Your last – or first – taste of Big Sur’s rocky grandeur comes at this craggy cliff outcropping with fabulous views of the coastline in both directions,…

From the parking lot at Andrew Molera State Park, walk 0.125 miles south to this educational nature center to learn all about the endangered California…

Chumash tribespeople are the only people legally allowed to climb this volcanic rock, now the protected nesting ground of peregrine falcons. You can laze…

Escaping WWII in Europe, Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí lived and worked in the Monterey and Carmel area in the 1940s. Comprising over 300 Dalí…

Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson came to Monterey in 1879 to court his wife-to-be, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. This building, then the French Hotel…

Artists from around the Central Coast work and display their art at this collection of open studios on the eastern edge of Paso Robles' town square. Up to…