Salinas Valley

Just inland from Monterey, you’ll come upon an agricultural jewel known as the Salinas Valley. In addition to serving as the backdrop for two of America’s great literary works by John Steinbeck, the Salinas Valley is today the agricultural heart of the nation for staples like lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli, a factoid you might want to conceal from your K-12 contingent.

Salinas Valley Wine Country

If you're interested in taking a wine country vacation, the Salinas Valley is an ideal spot. With its notable vineyards and wine tasting rooms, many of which offer sweeping views of both the valley and the hills beyond, there's enough to keep you busy for an entire weekend. See our Salinas Valley itinerary for some ideas of how to spend your wine country vacation.

Salinas Valley Attractions

The Salinas Valley is home to the red-rocked Pinnacles National Monument, popular for camping, for hikes through its turbulent, seismically charged landscape, and for wildlife spotting. Lake San Antonio is a popular spot for boating and other water recreation, it hosts the celebrated Wildflower Triathlon, and is also a winter habitat for the bald eagle.

Two of California’s most historic establishments, the San Antonio de Padua Mission and the Soledad Mission, are located in the Salinas Valley. It's also the location of the Agricultural and Rural Life Museum, where kids and adults can learn how Salinas Valley farming families lived over a century ago.