Carmel-By-The-Sea Beach Getaways

Carmel-by-the-Sea is perhaps best known for being the town that had Clint Eastwood as its mayor for one term in the 1980s. Indeed, Carmel-by-the-Sea has been attracting artists of all kinds for a century: Jack London wrote about it, Mary Austin lived there, as well as Percy Gray.

Located on Monterey Bay, the mile-long beach features a bird sanctuary in a lagoon just before the Carmel River empties into the sea. Carmel River State Beach features a wide variety of waterfowl and song birds.

Monastery Beach, also known as San Jose Creek Beach, is part of the park and is popular with scuba divers. Swimming and wading are extremely dangerous at this location.