Dubbed as the Butterfly Town of the United States of America, Pacific Grove is popularly known for sheltering wintering monarch butterflies. It is home to Monarch Butterfly Habitat Sanctuary and celebrates every October to welcome the return of the monarch butterflies. The coastal city sits perfectly on the northernmost tip of Monterey County, California. Others were eventually drawn to Pacific Grove to relax by the butterflies, fragrant pines, and salty sea air. Everyone who chooses to live in this small village will find an exceptional quality of life and welcome a warm seaside community. Pacific Grove boasts its rocky shores overlooking Monterey Bay, Spanish Bay, and the great Pacific Ocean. The most breathtaking views are waiting for you to see on your next weekend trip!
Surrounded by the vast ocean, coming to Pacific Grove means being close to large water bodies like Monterey Bay, Spanish Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. This also means more extensive and more excellent games for those who love the adrenaline of angling. Get your hands ready because angling around Pacific Grove proves to be action-packed!
Launch out to Monterey Bay and fish its entirety of 449 square miles. Deep fishing, bottom fishing, and trolling—there’s no stopping you. Looking out into the horizon and the clear skies, the beautiful view around Monterey Bay will surely give a surge of encouragement as you catch your next trophy game! The bay provides exciting recreational saltwater fishing opportunities throughout the year. Expect to bag some of these species when angling in Monterey Bay: chinook salmon, blue rockfish, lingcod, Pacific jack mackerel, Spanish mackerel, albacore tuna, and barred surfperch. Tuna trolling is one of the most popular techniques used in the bay, so don’t miss out on trying it. When surfcasting on the sandy beaches, expect a catch of none other than halibut, striped bass, surf smelt or night smelt, and walleye surfperch. Naturally, rocky shores promise some sightings of blue rockfish and cabezon on rocky shores. The Coast Guard Pier southeast of Lovers Point Park is a sweet spot for recreational fly fishing. Bring your peeled shrimps and fresh clams because, with that, the marine animals will start biting!
Southwest Pacific Grove, Spanish Bay offers lingcod, blue rockfish, cabezon, rock bass, and striped seaperch. Get yourself some mackerel and frozen squid, for lingcod or rockfish are reported to find them irresistible! Although, catching them needs a sprinkle of luck as well. Jigging, bottom fishing, and deep fishing are among other techniques you can do in Spanish Bay.
Don’t forget to check Pacific Grove’s regulations and restrictions when booking your next trip. You might want to come around May to October, where game species are usually most active. For salmon lovers, visit anywhere between July to October to ensure uninterrupted salmon fishing!
Pacific Groove is known to house and protect wintering monarch butterflies. Every October since 1939, the town has celebrated and welcomed thousands of monarch butterflies from the north back to their wintering habitat. It has been a sweet local tradition of the seaside community, waiting for you to discover and experience!
Pacific Grove has celebrated a week-long Feast of Lanterns for over a century. The community awaited many different events like a pet parade, a Chinese-style pageant, a lantern pageant, and other activities for kids—the cherry on top being the fireworks at Lover's Point Beach on the last Saturday of July. Book a week-long trip in Pacific Grove and enjoy the different events that the Feast of Lanterns has to offer!