Pacific Grove is just a 2.9-square-mile area framed by the gorgeous Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay. Nature enthusiasts flock to Pacific Grove for the gorgeous coastal views, abundance of bird watching, and overwintering monarch butterflies.

It’s the perfect destination for a relaxing weekend trip! Pacific Grove is a quaint coastal community with vintage, picturesque houses, local restaurants and coffee shops, and pristine beaches.

If you’re looking for the best things to do in Pacific Grove on your weekend getaway, look no further! Discover top hotels, things to do, and the best restaurants in this weekend guide to Pacific Grove.

How To Spend a Weekend in Pacific Grove, California

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Know Before You Go

Location: Pacific Grove is on the central California coast, next to Monterey. It’s on a unique piece of land that juts out with parts of the coast that face all four directions. This means you can watch both sunrise and sunset over the ocean!

It’s about 120 miles south of San Francisco (2 hours by car, depending on traffic).

Weather: Pacific Grove has a mild climate, staying between 60-70ºF throughout the majority of the year. Since it is coastal, there is always the chance of fog rolling in.

My best recommendation would be to wear layers that are easy to take on and off!

Where to Stay in Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove has a lovely collection of hotels, inns, and homes for rent. Many are within walking distance of the ocean, and some even have ocean views!

You can choose from a range of budget hotels to upscale, modernized inns and hotels.

Gosby House Inn - Bed and Breakfast

We stayed at Gosby House Inn, which is a part of Four Sisters Inns (boutique inns throughout California). It’s an inn from 1888 that was renovated and modernized in spring 2023, with 22 guestrooms decorated to be speakeasy-inspired.

The rooms are all unique and all include cheese and wine hour in the lobby at 4 p.m. each day and an incredible breakfast each morning in the lobby. The wine, cheese, and breakfast were all superb!

I recommend picking a room that’s located away from the front of the house since the street is noisy. We stayed in The Hart room, which is a large king room with bay windows and a nice seating area. It was pretty noisy being right at the front. Even though the room was nice, I would pick a different one next time (The Steinbeck and The Hart rooms are the two at the front on the second floor).

I’ve also stayed at the Four Sisters Inn in Mendocino, which was a luxurious and relaxing stay and I highly recommend it if you plan a trip to Mendocino!

Hotels in Pacific Grove

Budget

The Monarch Resort: Simple hotel with vintage charm and just a 5-minute walk from the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.
Butterfly Grove Inn: Quaint, pink inn located directly next to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.

Mid-range

Old St. Angela Inn: Cozy bed and breakfast with ocean view and garden view rooms, as well as an on-site coffee shop.
Centrella Hotel: Victorian-style hotel from the Kirkwood Collection just a 5-minute walk from Lovers Point and the gorgeous coastline.

Luxury

Gosby House Inn: Speak-easy-inspired bed and breakfast in a vintage Victorian inn, located close to coffee shops, restaurants, and the Pacific Grove coast.
Green Gables Inn: This is another Four Sisters Inn and was actually the very first one! Some of the rooms have gorgeous ocean views and it’s located just steps away from the most beautiful spots along the Pacific Grove coast.
The Lavender House Home: Rent an entire Victorian home with three bedrooms and a cheerful lavender exterior, located within walking distance of the coast!

Things To Do in Pacific Grove

Although it is small, there are a variety of fun things to do in Pacific Grove! Many of the activities and attractions are on the long coastline that surrounds the quaint coastal city.

Explore the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

Monarch Butterflies overwinter at different spots along the California coast before they migrate to Mexico. Between November and February, you can visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove to see these wild butterflies in their overwintering grounds.

Monarch butterflies’ wings do not fly as well in temperatures below 55F, which means you can often see them clustered in the trees with their wings closed on cooler days in winter. On warmer days, they will be more active, even venturing out of the overwintering grounds to find nectar.

Since it was a warm and sunny day when we visited (end of January), the butterflies were more active and there were fewer to see. A cool morning is your best chance to see the most butterflies!

Walk Along Ocean View Blvd.

There’s a lovely coastal trail that winds along the edge of the coast on Ocean View Blvd., starting at Lovers Point Beach.

It’s a flat, dirt trail with ocean views the entire way from Lovers Point Beach to The Great Tidepool, which then turns into Asilomar Trail which leads to Asilomar State Beach. The entire walk is 3 miles from Lovers Point to Asilomar State Beach, or 6 miles if you go there and back.

It can take as short or as long as you want! We didn’t do the full walk, but we did stop often to take in the views and snap some photos. This is definitely an “about the journey” vs. “the destination” kind of walk!

Go Tide-pooling

When the tide goes out, there are various tide pools to explore in Pacific Grove. The best tidepools can be found at Point Pinos and Asilomar State Beach, where tide pools remain exposed even at higher tides.

Check tide charts before you visit to ensure the best and safest tide-pooling experience.

One area close to town that seems to have some decent tide-pooling is Perkins Park Vista Point. There are stairs that lead down to the beach and tidepools where a Great Blue Heron and a White Egret were hunting for food when we were there!

Hang Out With Squirrels at Lovers Point

Lovers Point is a famous spot in Pacific Grove, known for its incredible rock formations and jaw-dropping views of the Pacific Ocean. The point even has an east-facing coast where you can watch the sunrise over the water!

As soon as you walk towards the point your eyes will be drawn to the adorable ground squirrels darting around the rocks, eating from the plants growing on the ground, and hanging out with seagulls.

They’re incredibly friendly and tame, likely due to being fed by tourists (please don’t feed them, they have plenty of their own squirrel-appropriate food available). It’s easy to get some great photos of them, just by kneeling down!

For my fellow grammar sticklers, you’ll notice the absence of an apostrophe in “Lovers Point.” Pacific Grove was originally founded as a Methodist retreat camp and it is said that this point used to be called “Lovers of Jesus Point,” hence the missing apostrophe.

Spend a Day at the Beach

Pacific Grove has a few pristine beaches where you can lay out, swim in the ocean, or go for a nice walk along the coast.

Lovers Point Beach (pictured below) is stunning and has bathrooms, a snack bar, and a restaurant just above it. There is also a bike rental place here too!

Bring a picnic, a towel, and sunscreen for the perfect beach day!

Asilomar State Beach has a long coastline with plenty of space to lay out, tide pool, or take a walk down the beach. There are no restrooms at this beach, so go before you visit!

Sunset Beach is great for tide-pooling and taking walks along its rocky coast. If you’re lucky, you might spot otters splashing in the waves!

Watch for Otters at Otter Point

One of the best things to do in Pacific Grove is to watch the otters floating in the waves. Otter Point is a great spot to watch for otters! We saw a few floating on their backs, getting hit by waves, without a care in the world.

Though you can spot them with your own eyes, the otters are pretty far out and will be pretty tiny. Bring binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens for the best views of them.

Depending on the tide and weather, look out for large waves that can come up over the top of the cliff. There weren’t any large waves when we were there, but the giant puddles were evidence of recent ones that made it over the wall surrounding the cliff.

There’s a small parking lot with 8 spots if you’re driving along the coast looking for good stops.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

The Point Pinos Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses constructed in California, being lit for the first time in 1855. It’s easily accessible for visitors who can go inside, which has been turned into a museum, to see some lighthouse history.

The museum and continuous restorations are managed entirely by volunteers of the Pacific Grove Heritage Society. The lighthouse museum is free to enter, but there is a recommended donation per person to contribute to their ongoing preservation efforts.

Go Birdwatching

Pacific Grove has some great birdwatching! Bird lovers will have no shortage of things to do in Pacific Grove. Just bring your binoculars and walk along the coast to find cormorants, egrets, herons, and of course, seagulls.

Point Pinos is considered the best area for birdwatching in Pacific Grove, where over 350 different species of birds have been reported!

For more information about the best birdwatching spots in Pacific Grove, visit the Birding Hotspots map.

Visit the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is one of the oldest Natural History museums in the country! It has a wealth of educational information among its many exhibits.

Their exhibits include the bird gallery, monarch gallery, biodiversity gallery, geology, native plant garden, Chinese fishing village, and native central coast baskets.

Being by the coast, Pacific Grove is no stranger to foggy and drizzly days. Pop into the museum to escape bad weather while you learn about the natural history of Pacific Grove!

Drive the 17-mile Drive

The 17-mile drive takes you from Pacific Grove to Carmel-by-the-Sea, with 17 stops along the way. It’s a stunning coastal drive that runs through Pebble Beach with two entrances: Pacific Grove entrance and Carmel-by-the-Sea entrance.

The best way to do the drive is to start at the Pacific Grove entrance. This way, you will be able to easily pull over at each stop on the right-hand side instead of crossing traffic.

Recommended:

Things To Do Near Pacific Grove

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Admire the storybook houses
Walk the coastal trail
Explore Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

Monterey

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Walk down Cannery Row
Take a Whale Watching Tour

Best Restaurants in Pacific Grove

Although beachside dining seems like the ideal way to enjoy lunch in Pacific Grove, the vast majority of restaurants are located downtown.

Most restaurants serve typical coastal cuisine, with fresh fish featured on many menus. There are also a surprising amount of Italian restaurants in Pacific Grove as well!

The best restaurants are all within a short block or two from the Gosby Hosue Inn!

Red House Cafe

Less than a block from Gosby House Inn is Red House Cafe. It’s a small restaurant with a red exterior serving contemporary American cuisine.

They’re open for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner on select days. Their menu has a great selection of dishes in addition to daily specials. Their fish tacos were incredible and a very generous serving size!

The Bookworks

Get your morning coffee and croissant at The Bookworks. It’s half cafe in the front, half bookstore in the back!

Many locals were getting their morning coffee here when we went, which is usually a sign that a place is great (it is!). I got a chai latte with oat milk and it was delicious.

If you stay at Gosby House Inn or Green Gables Inn, they have fresh coffee in their breakfast spread, but no chai latte of course.

Passionfish

If you’re a fan of seafood, this upscale, California-inspired restaurant is great for a date night out! Get sustainability-sourced, local seafood and unique wines in a casual atmosphere. Only open for dinner.

Beach House Restaurant + Bar

Beach House Restaurant + Bar is located just above Lovers Point Beach. It’s one of the only beachfront restaurants in Pacific Grove! They serve Californian cuisine with indoor seating overlooking the ocean. Only open for dinner.

Find More Places to Stay in Pacific Grove

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