The best dog-friendly hikes and walks in Monterey County

Nice flat run on footpath to aquarium.

This sheltered viewpoint provides a welcome resting spot while treating visitors to picturesque coastal views. Whether you're seeking shade on a sunny day or shelter from sea mist, this historic structure serves as both a practical rest stop and a scenic reward.

This sheltered viewpoint provides a welcome resting spot while treating visitors to picturesque coastal views. Whether you're seeking shade on a sunny day or shelter from sea mist, this historic structure serves as both a practical rest stop and a scenic reward.

The actor felt that the many regulations were tyranny. So he decided - true to his image as a determined hero - to run for mayor in order to change things. He financed his campaign himself, went from house to house and introduced himself personally. With great success. On April 8, 1986, 72 percent of the community voted for him as the new mayor. Eastwood had barely been sworn in when he abolished numerous regulations. He had a new tourist parking lot built and expanded the library to include a children's book section.

Our first stop is in Carmel. Carmel had a very famous mayor: The path from actor to politician is not unusual in the USA: Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California, Ronald Reagan even became president. And Clint Eastwood was once mayor. The role of the trigger-happy inspector Harry Callahan made Eastwood a cult figure. The film fees also benefited Carmel. Eastwood saved an old ranch from demolition and converted it into a hotel. But Eastwood repeatedly came into conflict with the city's regulations. There were plenty of them in Carmel. In order to preserve the original structure of the community, the city administration had banned neon signs, fast food restaurants and public telephone booths. Even eating ice cream on the streets was not allowed for fear of too much garbage. In 1985, the authorities prohibited Eastwood from building a small office building - for reasons of historical preservation.

Kalisa Moore, known as the “Queen of Cannery Row,” was born in Latvia and came to America after World War II. She bridged the eras, opening her fine dining restaurant when most canneries had already closed. Over the years, “Kalisa’s” evolved into a bohemian coffeehouse where artists, writers and poets “hung out.” Her weekend cabaret was filled with musicians, dancers and the occasional celebrity from the Monterey Jazz Festival. As time went on and Cannery Row was reborn, Kalisa became a major factor in preserving memories of Steinbeck’s era and promoted tourism and commerce as president of the Cannery Row Foundation. For fifty years, she was a friend to the famous and a mother to the needy with a local following that knew and loved her. Kalisa's La Ida Cafe was a very special time and place, and Kalisa will always be remembered as the "Queen of Cannery Row."

Cannery Row, the waterfront district that boomed in the 1850s - For thousands of years it was home to the Ohlone, Esselen and Salinas tribes, and in the 19th century immigrants from Europe and Asia settled here to fish the waters, especially for sardines. Thanks to the canneries that resulted, Monterey became known as the "Sardine Capital of the World." John Steinbeck, born and raised in nearby Salinas, immortalized this era in his 1945 novel Cannery Row, and the name stuck.

Bruce Ariss Way is a narrow alley, the pedestrian-only continuation of Irving Avenue between Wave Street and Cannery Row. What was once an unofficial walkway between the residential area of the row, across the railroad tracks, and the waterfront canneries has been converted into a small park. In the early 1990s, the City of Monterey relocated three worker's shacks from 866 Wave Street to this site and opened them to the public. They are interpreted as being occupied by a Japanese, a Filipino, and a Spanish family, respectively, alluding to the cultural mix that characterized cosmopolitan Cannery Row and representing the living conditions of workers between the 1920s and 1950s. There were many shacks like this in the neighborhood in the early 20th century, but these are the only remaining remnants of this housing type on Cannery Row.