Huckleberry Hill at Veteran’s Park (Monterey)
A relatively short but strenuous hike for energetic kids, adults, and dogs.
Ecosystems: Monterey Pine forest and chaparral.
Below is the Google Map location where we parked. If you’re using Apple Maps, use the following coordinates: 36.598562, -121.912991
Some wildflowers you will see on the trails in the spring and summer.
Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) 
Laceleaf Sanicle (Sanicula laciniata) 
Western Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) 
Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus)
Below is the route I took, marked in red. I went on Presidio View Trail -> Bear Track Road -> Scenic Trail -> Summit Road -> Scenic Road.
Start here. There is a parking lot right at the trail head. If it’s full, you can park across the street. There is a bathroom down the trail a little ways, off to the right.
The trail turns left, up towards the stairways.
The glorious Stairway to Heaven! This is such a good workout. I often come here to just walk the stairs several times, for a quick workout.
Once you get to the top of the stairs, you’ll get a glimpse of the hill to come!
Continue along Bear Track Road. The trails are so well marked!
We found some deer tracks…
The trail is pretty steep going down in some sections, so be careful! There is a lot of gravel and can be very slippery, so I’d recommend wearing proper hiking boots.
The trail will curve to the right as you approach Hwy 1. You’ll likely start to hear the cars well before you see the highway.
The trail continues along Hwy 1.
There is open chaparral as you walk along Hwy 1, with manzanitas and sticky monkey flower.
You can continue straight on the trail, which u-turns at a DLI gate and connects to the Scenic Trail. Or you can cut it a little short and go right on the Scenic Trail from here.
This portion is really steep. The ground is mostly exposed bedrock, so it feels less slippery than the steep portion on Bear Track Road.
There are a few places to stop and enjoy the view of Pebble Beach. You get a clear view of Spanish Bay.
Unmarked fork. Go right to connect to back to Bear Track Road and back to the stairs. We went left, continuing along the Scenic Trail.
After a quick little climb, you’ll run into the Oppossum Trail, which isn’t marked. Take a right here to get to Summit Road…
After a short walk along the Oppossum Trail, you’ll continue along the Summit Road.
You can get a glimpse of Pacific Grove. You can see the intersection of Forest Ave. and Prescott Ave…
Summit Road dead-ends into a DLI gate. Continue on to Scenic Road on the right.
Continue along the fencing, until you get back to the stairs.
If you’re lucky you’ll get to see a rare endangered native orchid called Yadon’s Piperia (Piperia yadonii). There was one that looked like it had been munched on and this bud. But be careful getting a quick look because it’s surrounded in poison oak.
Back to the stairs!
