at play
exploring the great outdoors
By Traci Hukill
Monterey County is a true nature-lover’s paradise, a place of natural extremes and rugged beauty that energize the body and soothe the soul. Here, hard-core athletes will find challenging terrain and seascapes, while those who favor a more contemplative pace will find plenty to appreciate and admire.
From this perch at the meeting of mountain and sea, visitors to the Monterey Peninsula have access to two fantastically rich worlds. The Monterey Bay is the nation’s largest national marine sanctuary and home to the so-called Grand Canyon of the sea, a two-mile-deep fissure off the coast of Moss Landing. The same cold water that elicits yelps from swimmers as they venture into the ocean makes the bay teem with marine life. Each spring and summer, frigid waters rich in nutrients from decomposed flora and fauna rise from the bottom of the ocean, displacing warmer surface water. Tiny animals called krill feed on these cold-water nutrients – and in turn form the base of the food chain that keeps the bay populated with fish, birds, sea otters, sea lions, dolphins, sharks, orcas and whales. Kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving and whale-watching are excellent ways to interact with this singular marine environment.
The variety on terra firma is impressive, too. Infinite gradations lead from seashore to marine chaparral – characterized by low, stiff-branched shrubs and graceful, spreading manzanita – to oak-studded grassland and maple forests. The valleys of Big Sur’s dramatic Santa Lucia Mountains are home to the southernmost population of coast redwoods, towering trees that can reach 360 feet in height and 2,000 years of age. Mountain lions, deer and birds of prey make their home in this majestic range. The hiking and mountain biking possibilities are endless, but be reminded that it can be cool and foggy on the coast and bone-dry and scorching just a few miles inland.
Of course, it’s enough to just stroll here, too – or simply stop, sit and soak up the scenery that has inspired countless works of art.
