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17-Mile Drive – Lone Cypress
· 4.2 mi · Historical Marker
Iconic 250-year-old Monterey cypress on a granite headland, one of the most photographed trees in the world.
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Tor House and Hawk Tower
· 4.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine writing some of the most powerful poetry of the 20th century, inspired by the raw beauty of this very coastline. That's what Robinson Jeffers did right here at Tor House and Hawk Tower. In 1919, Jeffers, along…
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Whalers Cabin
· 5.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time to a place where the lives of rugged whalers and skilled fishermen intertwined! This humble cabin whispers tales of a bygone era when the Pacific's bounty drew people from across the globe. Built in…
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Fort Ord, CA
· 7.6 mi · Local history
Fort Ord looms above the Monterey Bay, a sprawling landscape of scrub and sand that whispers stories of transformation. Established in 1917 as a training ground for infantry during World War I, its purpose quickly…
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Fort Ord
· 9.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine thousands of soldiers training here, preparing for war. This is Fort Ord. Before it was officially Fort Ord in 1940, this land was used for army training, starting way back in 1917. Soldiers practiced maneuvers…
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Salinas, CA
· 14.0 mi · Local history
Salinas, California, owes its identity to the land. Drive through the valley and you’ll see it: endless rows of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and strawberries stretching out to the horizon. It's a sight that earned the…
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Monterey County Jail
· 14.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This unassuming building holds a powerful story of protest and progress. Cesar Chavez, the iconic labor leader, was once held within these walls, using his imprisonment to amplify the voices of farmworkers. In 1970,…
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Born in the Front Room
· 14.2 mi
This turreted Victorian on Central Avenue is where John Steinbeck was born, on February twenty-seventh, nineteen oh two. His family had bought the house in nineteen hundred. His father later served as Monterey County…
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Rocinante on Main Street
· 14.4 mi
Here at One Main Street, the National Steinbeck Center keeps the camper truck from Travels with Charley. In nineteen sixty, John Steinbeck bought a new GMC pickup, had a custom camper shell built onto it, and named it…
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Republic Cafe
· 14.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder about the rich history hidden behind seemingly ordinary buildings? The Republic Cafe in Salinas was more than just a restaurant; it was a cornerstone of the city's Chinatown. From 1942 to 1988, this Asian…
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Home for Good
· 14.8 mi
Out on Abbott Street, in the Garden of Memories cemetery, John Steinbeck came home for good. He died in New York City on December twentieth, nineteen sixty eight. As he wished, he was cremated, and on March fourth,…
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Big Sur – Bixby Creek Bridge
· 15.7 mi · Historical Marker
Iconic open-spandrel arch bridge on Highway 1, completed in 1932.
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Name a Bowling Alley After Me
· 15.9 mi
For years, Salinas and John Steinbeck did not get along. After The Grapes of Wrath came out in nineteen thirty nine, copies were burned in Salinas, twice. Steinbeck later wrote that librarians at the Salinas Public…
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Riots in That Dear Little Town
· 15.9 mi
In September nineteen thirty six, Salinas came close to war with itself over lettuce. On September fourth, about thirty-two hundred members of the Fruit and Vegetable Workers Union walked out of the lettuce packing…
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The Book Salinas Was Afraid Of
· 15.9 mi
In nineteen forty eight, John Steinbeck moved back to the Monterey Peninsula and started digging through old files of the Salinas newspaper. He was researching what he called his marathon book, with the working title…
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Different From the Lettuce Queen Only in Degree
· 15.9 mi
In October nineteen sixty two, word came that John Steinbeck, born in Salinas, had won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy praised his realistic and imaginative writing, with its sympathetic humor and…
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Prunedale, CA
· 17.6 mi · Local history
Prunedale's story is intimately intertwined with the land and its bounty. The name itself speaks volumes: Prunedale, a valley defined by its prune orchards. While the specific origins of its early settlers remain…
