What to See in Pacific Grove - Top Sights and Attractions

Asilomar State Marine Reserve is one of four small marine protected areas located near the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, at the southern end of Monterey Bay on California’s central coast. The four MPAs together encompass 2.96 square miles. The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited.^[1]

Lighthouse in Pacific Grove, California. Point Pinos Lighthouse was lit on February 1, 1855, to guide ships on the Pacific Coast of California. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States and even the lens is original. Alcatraz Island Lighthouse preceded Point Pinos by eight months, but was replaced in 1909 by the expanding military prison. The Point Pinos Lighthouse is still an active United States Coast Guard aid to navigation. On-site museum exhibits and other lighthouse related functions are operated by the city of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California. The lighthouse is surrounded by the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links.^[2]

Museum in Pacific Grove, California. The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is a museum of natural history located near the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Pacific Grove, California, United States. The museum is a living field guide of the California Central Coast showcasing local native plants, animals, geology, and cultural histories.

The museum opened its doors in 1883 among the first wave of natural history museums established in America. Naturalists of this era, such as John Muir and Louis Agassiz, began a national tradition of hands-on science education and nature preservation.

The museum is accredited with the American Alliance of Museums.^[3]

Hotel in Pacific Grove, California. Asilomar Conference Grounds is a conference center built for the Young Women's Christian Association. It is located east of what was known as Moss Beach on the western tip of the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove, California. Between 1913 and 1929 architect Julia Morgan designed and built 16 of the buildings on the property, of which 11 are still standing. In 1956 it became part of the State Division of Beaches and Parks of California's Department of Natural Resources, and Moss Beach was renamed Asilomar State Beach. Asilomar is a derivation of the Spanish phrase asilo al mar, meaning asylum or refuge by the sea. It is the native homeland of the Rumsen Ohlone people.^[6]

Trimmer Hill is a historic Queen Anne style house at 230 6th St. in Pacific Grove, California that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1893.

It was built for medical Dr. Oliver Smith Trimmer, first mayor of Pacific Grove, and mayor for 20 years. It was listed on the NRHP in 1982.

Its 1980 NRHP nomination asserts it is "an unaltered, exuberant example of period Queen Anne styling....one of the most outstanding examples of its type and period in a community which is known for its 19th century architecture." The house was also described as "'a very good example of the Queen Anne style'" in A Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California.^[7]

Hotel in Pacific Grove, California. The Centrella Inn, at 612 Central Ave. and other addresses in Pacific Grove, California, United States, is a complex of four historic buildings that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The first two buildings of the complex were built during 1888–89. It served the Methodist Chautauqua and other trade that grew rapidly in Pacific Grove following the Southern Pacific Railroad connection to the city, and following the 1887 fire at the historic Del Monte Hotel.

It was listed on the National Register in 1982; the listing included four contributing buildings, three being one-story and one being two and a half stories.^[8]

University department in Pacific Grove, California. Hopkins Marine Station is the marine laboratory of Stanford University. It is located ninety miles south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is home to ten research laboratories and a fluctuating population of graduate and undergraduate students. It has also been used for archaeological exploration, including of the Chinese-American fishing village that existed on the site before burning down in 1906.^[9]