Coastal Recreation Trail - Riding the Old Rails

Photo: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Monterey Cannery Row and Waterfront, a free self-guided tour.

The smooth paved path under your feet is the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, and it has a past life. Trains of the Southern Pacific Railroad once ran along this route, linking Cannery Row and the wharves to the main line at Castroville and hauling canned sardines toward markets in the Bay Area.

After the line was abandoned, local governments began turning the rail corridor into a trail in 1986. Today it runs about 18 miles along the curve of Monterey Bay, from Pacific Grove to Castroville, shared by walkers, joggers, cyclists and surrey bikes.

Keep to the right and watch for bikes as you walk. On your right, the water is calm behind the long breakwater ahead, so this is a good stretch to look for sea otters wrapped in kelp, harbor seals and the pelicans that patrol the harbor. On a clear day you can see across the bay toward Santa Cruz.

Getting here: From Custom House Plaza, follow the paved recreation trail northwest along the shore past the harbor for about five minutes.

Did you know?: If you kept walking northeast on this trail, it would carry you about 18 miles around the bay to Castroville, the farm town famous for artichokes.

Photo op: Frame the curving trail with the harbor's masts and the bay beyond.

More on Wikipedia: Monterey Bay Coastal Recreational Trail · Southern Pacific Railroad · Monterey Bay

Coastal Recreation Trail - Riding the Old Rails

Stops on this tour