Neighborhood Information.

 

Big Sur

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the central California coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big country of the south". The terrain offers stunning views, making Big Sur a popular tourist destination. Big Sur's Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states, ascending nearly a mile (5,155 feet/1571 m) above sea level, only three miles (4.8 km) from the ocean.  

 

Although Big Sur has no specific boundaries, many definitions of the area include the 90 miles (140 km) of coastline between the Carmel River and San Carpoforo Creek, and extend about 20 miles (32 km) inland to the eastern foothills of the Santa Lucias. Other sources limit the eastern border to the coastal flanks of these mountains, only three to 12 miles (19 km) inland.

 

The northern end of Big Sur is about 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco, and the southern end is approximately 245 miles (394 km) northwest of Los Angeles.

 

Carmel

Carmel-by-the-Sea, usually called simply Carmel, is a small town in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea," and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988. The town is known for being dog-friendly, with numerous hotels, restaurants and retail establishments admitting guests with dogs. Carmel is also known for several unusual laws, including a prohibition on wearing high-heel shoes without a permit, enacted to prevent lawsuits arising from tripping accidents caused by irregular pavement. Carmel-by-the-Sea is located on the Pacific coast, about 330 miles north of Los Angeles and 120 miles south of San Francisco. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 4,081.

 

Carmel Valley

Carmel Valley Village (also known as Carmel Valley for short) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. At the time of the 2000 census the population was 4,700. In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.

 

Carmel Valley Village has a number of wine tasting rooms, as well as several high-end hotels affiliated with the wineries. Wineries with tasting rooms in Carmel Valley include Bernardus, Boëté, Chateau Julien, Chateau Sinnet, Galante, Georis, Heller Estate, Joullian Village, Joyce Vineyards, Parsonage, San Saba and Talbott. A public bus, called the Grapevine Express Route 24 and run by Monterey-Salinas Transit, stops at most of these tasting rooms.

 

Monterey

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet (8 m) above sea level . 

 

As of 2005, the city population was 30,641. The city is noted for its rich history of resident artists beginning in the late 19th century, and its historically famed fishery.  Monterey is home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

 

Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove is a coastal town in Monterey County, California, USA, with a total population of 15,522 as of the 2000 census. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey, Pacific Grove is known for its Victorian homes, Asilomar State Beach, its artistic legacy and the annual migration of the Monarch butterflies.

 

The city is endowed with more Victorian houses per capita than anywhere else in America; some of them have been turned into bed and breakfast inns. The city is also known as the location of the Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest continuously-operating lighthouse on the West Coast, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, located in the historic downtown, and the Stowitts Museum & Library.

 

Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. Pebble Beach is a small coastal resort destination, home to the famous golf course, Pebble Beach Golf Links. As well, the Inn at Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach Lodge and half of the seven golf courses inside the Pebble Beach community are among the local assets owned by the Pebble Beach Company, a subsidiary of Plaut Inc.

 

Residents pay homeowners' fees for road maintenance as well as Monterey County property taxes. Application of the property tax revenues is the realm of the Pebble Beach Community Services District, a public agency with an elected board of directors that manages essential functions including fire protection and emergency medical services, supplemental law enforcement, wastewater collection and treatment, recycled water distribution, and garbage collection, disposal and recycling (see www.pbcsd.org).

 

The community's post office is named Pebble Beach, however, the U.S. Census Bureau aggregates census returns from Pebble Beach as part of the larger census-designated place of Del Monte Forest. The area is also partly administered by the Del Monte Forest Foundation, a non-profit organization designated by Monterey County and the California Coastal Commission to acquire and manage certain properties by conservation easement and, as well, as by fee title.

 

The Foundation comprises a volunteer board of 12 members working to preserve the open space within the Del Monte Forest. Except for two representatives of the Pebble Beach Company, all must be property owners and residents of the Forest. The ZIP Code is 93953, and the community is inside area code 831.

 

Seaside

(formerly, East Monterey) is a city in Monterey County, California, USA, with a total population of 33,797 as of the 2008 census. Seaside is located 2.25 miles (3.6 km) east-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 33 feet (10 m). 

 

Seaside is the home of California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and theMonterey College of Law, both located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord. It is also the home of the Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses, once also part of the Fort Ord military base and now open to the public and host to PGA Tour events.