Asilomar Beach and Coast Trail (Pacific Grove)
A relaxing hike for families and dogs along the coast. Sit on a bench and enjoy the view, go tide pooling, and see a variety of wildlife and wildflowers.
Ecosystems: offshore, intertidal, sandy beach, and coastal scrub.
Below is the spot where we parked and started our hike. If you’re using Apple Maps, copy and paste the following coordinates… 36.630695, -121.937219.
Some wildflowers you may see. These were blooming in late July.
Yellow Bush Lupine (Lupinus arboreus) 
Seaside Woolly Sunflower (Eriphyllum staechadifolium) 
Seacliff Wild Buckwheat (Erigonum parvifolium) 
Pink Sand Verbana (Abronia umbellata) 
Oregon Gumweed (Grindelia stricta) 
Chamisso Bush Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis) 
Coastal California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica var. maritima) 
Coastal Sagewort (Artemisia pycnocephala) 
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) 
Monterey Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja latifolia) 
Beach Suncup (Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia)
The trail starts right off the road, where you’ll park. There a bird-loved rock out in the distance. Yes, it’s white from all the bird poop.
There are several places to access the shore, for tide pooling, exploring, hanging out, or staring out into nowhere for a mental reset. When my kids were younger we came to these beaches a lot. It was their playground and a place to regain my sanity.
In the past few years they’ve upgraded the boardwalks.
One of the beach coves. This is a great place for family outings.
July is a great time to see the native plants blooming. The colors (silver green, bright green, pink, white, yellow!) are soul soothing.
This path is an offshoot from the main trail. It’s a great place to climb rocks and explore.
Take a moment to look out for otters and sea birds. Here you can see some pelicans passing.
The trail leading to Asilomar and Pebble Beach beaches was closed, so we headed to the street. You can see Inn at Spanish Bay in the background.
We walked a short way along the road.
Heading east toward Asilomar Conference Grounds.
Going straight takes you to the conference grounds, going left takes you along a nature trail.
It’s a short walk to the conference grounds. Not much to see.
Heading back, more views. There are some nice benches for resting and appreciating life.
