17-Mile Drive

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The Lone Cypress.

The 17 Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, California, United States, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions. It also serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. Like the community, the majority of 17-Mile Drive is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Corporation. Entry into Pebble Beach costs US$9.25 per automobile. Residents of Pebble Beach and their guests enter for free. Entry is also free for bicyclists and pedestrians. Motorcycles are prohibited from entering 17-Mile Drive.

At the north end, the road originates in Pacific Grove at the intersection of Del Monte Blvd and Esplanade Street. The famous portion of 17-Mile Drive then begins a few miles south of this point. Where Highway 68 (Holman Highway/Sunset Drive) crosses 17 Mile Drive marks the entrance to Pebble Beach. The road runs inland past Spanish Bay, then adjacent to beaches and up into the coastal hills, providing scenic viewpoints. Travel along 17-Mile Drive takes as long as the traveler likes, a minimum of 20 minutes to Carmel without stops. There are numerous turnouts along the road to stop, take pictures, or get out and stroll along the ocean or among the trees. Visitors receive a map that points out some of the more scenic spots.

Chief among these is the Lone Cypress Tree, the official symbol of Pebble Beach and a frequent fixture of television broadcasts from this area.

In 1990 the Monterey Journal reported that Pebble Beach's lawyer, Kerry C. Smith, said "The image of the tree has been trademarked by us," and that it intended to control any display of the cypress for commercial purposes. The company had warned photographers that "they cannot even use existing pictures of the tree for commercial purposes."^[1]

The only services open to the public in Pebble Beach (gas stations, restrooms, restaurants) are at the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Inn at Spanish Bay; there are plenty of comfortable and scenic spots to picnic. Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills golf courses also have restaurants open to the public.

Just outside the Pacific Grove 17 Mile Drive entrance to the gated community of Pebble Beach is Pacific Grove's Sunset Drive (which becomes Ocean View Boulevard) and follows Pacific Grove's scenic coastline and is called by some the "poor man's 17-Mile Drive."

[edit] An inspirational thoroughfare

Various artists over the years have found inspiration for their paintings of flora and fauna along this famous coastal landmark. For example, Arthur Hill Gilbert, one of the founding members of the Carmel Art Association, was an American Impressionist noted for his canvases depicting this scenic area, including View of 17 Mile Drive, and The Cove, Pt. Lobos, circa 1930.