People on bicycles are normally welcomed on 17-Mile Drive seven days a week, and the gate fee is waived for people on bicycles from sunrise to sunset. Note: Bicycling in Pebble Beach is temporarily restricted on some dates, because of safety concerns due to increased traffic during special events. Learn more about restricted dates later in this post.

Monterey County residents who bike Pebble Beach—including Bicycling Monterey, Naval Postgraduate School Foundation Cycling Club, Velo Club Monterey, and others—often remind visitors and locals alike: Pebble Beach is a private community, and biking there is considered a privilege, not a right. 

Some concerns of Pebble Beach residents are mentioned directly below. Respecting these concerns can help keep this beautiful area welcoming to visitors who bike.

Please:

• Follow state laws and local ordinances, including stopping at stop signs. Observe proper lane usage, and wherever possible, ride in the bike lanes (unless circumstances dictate otherwise, e.g., there is debris in a bike lane). Refer to riding skills, safety, and bike laws.
• If biking during darkness, e.g., on a morning with heavy fog, be especially mindful of state laws about lights and reflectors. Refer to CA VEH Code 21201 (d) and (e).
• Be aware of equestrian riders, and do not do anything that could spook a horse.
• Make use of the public restrooms. Refer to “Hydration” below.
• Racing is not appropriate for 17-Mile Drive. Refer to “open road” below.
• Ride single file, not two or more abreast.

On 17-Mile Drive, there are long stretches of narrow, winding road with no real shoulder. Winding areas with very tight turns include the stretch from Cypress Point to the Lodge to Huckleberry.

Throughout Pebble Beach, for safety, ride single file.

For safety, it is commonly recommended to bike 17-Mile Drive as early in the morning as possible, when there are fewer cars on the road.

What else to know about

bicycling Pebble Beach

Above: Naval Postgraduate School Foundation Cycling Club member Dena Donnell found bicycling Pebble Beach a fun way to spend her eighth month of waiting for baby. (Photo courtesy of the Donnell family.) 

Unless you’re experienced, it is most appropriate to bike only a section of 17-Mile Drive. See “Solution for the less experienced” below.

For any updates or changes to their policies,
contact the Pebble Beach Company.

About Pebble Beach gate entrance

People on bicycles are admitted at Pebble Beach gates free of charge, from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week (except on the rare restricted dates, discussed below).

This includes that Pebble Beach Company continues to allow electric bicycles. However, as the Pebble Beach Company website indicates, motorcycles are entirely prohibited in Pebble Beach. Likewise, if your wheels are in the scooter category—such as a two-stroke—be forewarned: scooters, as with motorcycles, are not admitted to PB.

Since Type 2 e-bikes—which have a throttle, and don’t require pedaling—”blur the line” between e-bikes and motorcycles (as noted at 1:25:19 of CalBike’s Oct 2021 Cycling for Sustainable Cities symposium (https://youtu.be/R4q6JpeIMy8?t=5119), check with the Pebble Beach Company’s Director of Security for any possible updates or changes to company policies on admitting e-bikes.

Temporary closures during some special event weeks

Pebble Beach is closed to bicycle traffic during some special event weeks, but that is limited— e.g., during AT&T Pro-Am and the Concours d’Elegance. Scroll down to “Restricted Dates” for more information.

Temporary closures due to road maintenance/construction

There may occasionally be temporary closures due to road construction, e.g., as was the case during the Holman Highway 68 Roundabout construction. These may be listed in the current Cone Zone Report from the Transportation Agency for Monterey County: https://www.tamcmonterey.org/cone-zone-report.

More things to know about pedaling Pebble

Hydration

Drinking water

Be sure your drinking water bottles are filled up before you set out on 17-Mile Drive, as watering stations are few and far between.

As with all of Monterey County—and as was mentioned on past Transportation Agency for Monterey County bike maps—you may fill up your water bottles for free at any public fire station. This is true for fire stations serving Pebble Beach:

• Main station: 3101 Forest Lake Road #B (Forest Lake and Lopez)
• 4180 17-Mile Drive (Carmel Hill station, located near Highway 1 gate)

Make use of public restrooms

Sure, you want to stay hydrated. And there are plenty of dining spots in Pebble Beach where you can purchase a meal or beverages, then make use of the restrooms. There are also public bathrooms in other locations, such as at the Bird Rock parking lot.

Of course, it isn’t okay to answer “the call of nature” in other places (e.g., not okay to use Spanish Bay parking lot as a urinal). Enough said.

Entire 17-Mile Drive? Best for the experienced people who bike

Although there are adequate bike lanes along miles of beautiful stretches of Pebble Beach, many sections of 17-Mile Drive and other PB roads have no real bike lanes. That means they are best suited to experienced riders with a lot of bicycling road savvy.

Solution for the less experienced: Bike part-way

Less experienced people who bike, including children and teens, are urged to stay off the areas of PB that are only Class III routes (signed bike route, no bike lanes). Some parts of 17-Mile Drive have no real shoulder, or only a very narrow shoulder. Such stretches include from Cypress Point to the Lodge to Huckleberry; these are not good routes for inexperienced people biking.

Although there is not a Class I (off-road) bike path through Pebble Beach, less experienced people may still be comfortable biking just part of 17-Mile Drive, where there are Class II (shared with cars) bike lanes.

Example: Bike from the Pacific Grove gate to Point Joe or Spanish Bay. Here’s how to get from the Monterey Aquarium to Point Joe.

• One of the many virtually flat rides with beautiful ocean views goes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to Point Joe in Pebble Beach.There’s a brief, very gentle uphill stretch after Asilomar State Beach. (1) Start at the Aquarium and bike to Lovers Point (this stretch is all off-road Class I bike path, and it even has lanes separating people who walk from people who bike). (2) Then, from Lovers Point to Asilomar Avenue, there is a Class III signed bike route only (there is no marked bike lane). (3) After Asilomar Avenue, there is a Class II bike lane, a painted lane only, and it still shares the road with cars). The Class II bike lane continues into Pebble Beach, to Point Joe and beyond.
• Note: To locate the Pacific Grove gate into Pebble Beach, look for the right-hand turn at the stop sign after you’ve passed Asilomar State Beach, the Fishwife Restaurant, and the Russell Service Center, which features a retail shop for Peninsula Potters. Once you reach the Pebble Beach entrance gate, follow signs to Point Joe.

More places to bike

Less experienced riders can still get in lots of miles of pedaling elsewhere on the Monterey Peninsula and throughout Monterey County. Refer to “Where to Bike” or to bicycle maps for info, including about Class I portions of Monterey County’s section of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail network.

Distracted by beauty? Safety first.

Above: “Doc” Reichbaum catching the waves along 17-Mile Drive. (Photo courtesy of Rizayel Mukashev.)

Please be safe, and legal—whether traveling on two wheels or more. Beautiful views can be distracting; see “Distracted? Stay alert—cops about!” Also see this site’s section on riding skills, laws, and safety tips.

If you’re unfamiliar with the no-bike-lane stretches of 17-Mile Drive and are intent on biking them, talk with locals who bike the entire 17-Mile Drive regularly. Most (but not all) local bike shops have staff members with experience biking 17-Mile Drive. Another good resource: local bike club leaders, e.g., Velo Club Monterey, https://www.vcmonterey.org/newvcm/.

Biking Pebble Beach is a special way to experience a beautiful stretch of Monterey County coastline. Bring your bicycle, or rent one from a Monterey County rental location.

Maps

Looking for specific points of interest, such as the Lone Cypress pictured above? Refer to this 17-Mile Drive map: http://www.pebblebeach.com/content/uploads/17miledrive-map-20170920.pdf. (For bicycle map, refer to “Bicycle maps / Mapas de bicicletas – en español and English for Monterey County.”)

Bike-and-ride to Pebble Beach

If you’d like to bicycle in Pebble Beach but your schedule, stamina, or other reasons make it challenging, consider a bike-and-ride option, such as a hotel shuttle or a bicycle rack on a private car.

Strenuous rides and elegant evenings

Maybe you are not staying overnight on the Monterey Peninsula, and you want to get a good workout on a strenuous bike ride, then follow it up with an evening out. Can you do both? Sure; refer to shower and change locations for day visitors. And if you are lodging here overnight, look for “How Monterey County’s Accommodations Show It’s a Bicycling Friendly Place.“

If you’re enthused about combining bicycling in Pebble Beach with a touch of elegance, and the amenities that typically accompany a special date, refer to “Bike Valet Parking” and “Cycling chic a la Monterey” for some inspiration, as well as our Bike Date in Monterey County video.

Hey, open road—let’s race! (Not.)

Racing is not appropriate for 17-Mile Drive. Racers are encouraged to enjoy high-speed cycling at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Fort Ord, and other Monterey County locations suited to racing. Racing is not appropriate for 17-Mile Drive.

See the Serious Cyclists section of this site’s 20-section guide, Tips for Bicycling Monterey County, to connect with some racers and good racing locations. Also see section 10, “Where to Bike.”

Find recreational ride companions

• Velo Club Monterey (a fun bunch of partiers, as well as being “Knights of the Central Coast“) and NPS Cycling Club regularly bike all of 17-Mile Drive. The public is welcome to bike with Velo Club Monterey in Pebble Beach or elsewhere; visit their website for schedule and tips on participating in group rides: https://www.vcmonterey.org/newvcm/
• An excellent local resource on bicycling Fort Ord is the Monterey Off-Road Cycling Association (MORCA). Visit their website, https://morcamtb.org/.
• For additional local cycling resources, refer to Bicycling Monterey’s 35-section directory of Monterey County Bicycling Resources / Bike Community Leaders.

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As of the start of Bicycling Monterey’s 14th year, May 2022, the founder continues to provide this site and all Bicycling Monterey projects as a unpaid volunteer. Contributions to help support this public service are appreciated.

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Restricted Dates:

Special Event Weeks

For many years, the Pebble Beach Company has restricted bicycle access for some annual special events, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Concours d’Elegance, and some other special events, e.g., the U.S. Open. Company representatives have expressed this is due to safety concerns. You will normally see signs up at Pebble Beach at those exceptional times, indicating that bicycles are not allowed. At other special events, bicycling may be discouraged, although allowed, by Pebble Beach Company, because of their concerns about heavy motor vehicle traffic.

For all special events, Pebble Beach Company—event by event—decides their policy on bicycles. How to know what the decision is for a particular event? Feel free to phone Bicycling Monterey, or contact Pebble Beach Company and ask for their Director of Security to inquire.

You may see a small number of bicycles at some “bikes excluded” special events: some members of the Pebble Beach cycling medical team found bicycles were the best way to quickly reach people in need. Other times (e.g., AT&T Pro-Am 2014 and 2015), emergency teams travel in golf carts rather than by bicycle.

Some people ask about the Monterey County Weekly’s Squid column on February 12, 2018, “Squid tries going for a bike ride, gets blocked at Pebble Beach gates” http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/opinion/squidfry/squid-tries-going-for-a-bike-ride-gets-blocked-at/article_aa3f3918-1025-11e8-9ab4-ef245929c466.html, which referred to California Coastal Commission regulations.

Learn about some of the Commission’s rulings regarding Del Monte Forest: https://www.delmonteforestconservancy.org/history/

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See “Piping in the New” to join me on a winter bike ride on 17-Mile Drive. Below are some scenes from other special times for me in Pebble Beach.

Come make your own memories soon!

Spanish Bay was just the place for Mom and Daughter to celebrate the 16th Birthday!

Below, the sweet 16 gal and her pal share the tough job of tackling dessert at Roy’s.

Short link to this post: http://bit.ly/bikepebblebeach

The links in this post were last checked, and any broken links updated, on 30 July 2021.