Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley, in Monterey County California, 120 miles South of San Francisco, is a place we try to visit every year. We love spending time at the beautiful Carmel Valley Ranch and in the surrounding area. Situated just a 10-minute drive from downtown Carmel, the quaint seaside town where Clint Eastwood was once mayor, the Ranch is a 500 acre gated resort with a very long list of attractions and activities, more of which below. One could easily spend an entire weekend at the resort, but the area has a lot to offer too.
Dream
Carmel Valley Ranch is our ideal resort. As soon as you enter the cozy Lodge, you immediately feel relaxed and at home, with the comforting smell of the wood burning fireplace and the rustic, yet elegant décor. The rooms are situated in groups in the hills of the resort with glorious golf course, valley and vineyard views. We suggest reserving one of the many luxurious, spacious suites, containing a living room, large bathroom and bedroom with push-button operated fireplace with sleep timer. Many of the rooms also have private decks.
Dine
The resort restaurant, Valley Kitchen, serves great breakfast and garden fresh, seasonally-inspired dinners. The setting is very casual yet California cool. The restaurant has an award-winning wine list, which includes local favorites Boete Vineyards, and Justin from nearby Paso Robles.
Lunches at the resort are also great. You can eat down at the River Ranch Café area or at the Lodge. The resort’s dining options are so tasty that we usually eat most of our meals on-site.
If you want to venture away from the Ranch, Downtown Carmel is full of great restaurants. One of our favorites is the popular La Bicyclette, a cute European bistro that serves delicious stone oven pizzas and a full menu of other dishes.
Do
The vast, beautifully maintained Carmel Valley Ranch resort prides itself on an extensive list of curated leisure activities. These include golf on the undulating Pete Dye designed 18-hole par-70 course, swimming, tennis, hiking, beekeeping and group exercise classes such as yoga, spinning and pilates. There are three swimming pools, two of which are for adults only, and a fully equipped gym which ranks among the best we have seen at any of the hotels or resorts we have visited. And every night guests can enjoy making delicious S’mores at one of the lodge’s fire pits.
If you don’t want to spend all weekend at the ranch, here are a few of the many other things we like to do in the area.
Visit Pebble Beach Golf Links and the spectacular 17-mile drive around the Pebble Beach Resorts.
Walk along the beautiful Carmel Beach with its views of Pebble Beach golf course.
Window shopping in downtown Carmel.
Drive to Big Sur and stop along the way to take pictures of the iconic Bixby Bridge and surrounding area.
If you’re taking the scenic drive from LA and need to stretch your legs, stop of at one or all of these special destinations: San Simeon (visit Hearst Castle), San Luis Obispo, San Juan Bautista (see the Mission, famous location of Hitchcock’s Vertigo), or the amazing Big Sur (have a tasty lunch and take In the views at Ventana Inn or hike in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park).
nearby destinations
