Monterey State Historic Park is a collection of 12 historic houses and buildings interspersed throughout Old Monterey. 4 of
thehouses- Stevenson House, Larkin House, Cooper-Molera Adobe, and Casa Soberanes- can ONLY be viewed with a State Park Guide.
Step into the past on the “Monterey Walking Path of History” and view the site where Spanish explorers first landed in Monterey in 1602.
See one of the nation’s last remaining whalebone sidewalk. Walk the same streets that famed author Robert Louis Stevenson walked in 1879.
Monterey served as California's capital under Spanish, Mexican and U.S. military rule. The U.S. flag was first officially raised in
California here on July 7, 1846, bringing 600,000 square miles of land to the United States.
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Point Pinos is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast. Since February 1, 1855
In 1850, after the Mexican War and the American acquisition of Alta California, Congress appropriated funds for the construction
of lighthouses on the West Coast. In 1852, the Secretary of the Treasury ordered the building of seven beacons along the
California coast, one of which was to be located at Point Pinos. Construction began in 1853, but difficulties with the delivery
of the lenses and prisms from France delayed the opening of the lighthouse until 1855.
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Point Lobos State reserve contains headlands, coves and rolling meadows. The offshore area forms one of the richest
underwater habitats in the world popular with divers. Wildlife includes seals, sea lions, sea otters and migrating gray whales
(from December to May). Thousands of seabirds also make the reserve their home. Hiking trails follow the shoreline and lead to
hidden coves.
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