Asilomar State Beach, officially Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds State Park, is a state park unit of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It provides public access to rocky coast and dune habitat on the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded i ...

. The property includes the

Asilomar Conference Grounds Asilomar Conference Grounds is a conference center built for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). It is located east of what was known as Moss Beach on the western tip of the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove, California. Between 1913 ...

, a conference center built by the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

in 1913 that is now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. The site is located in Pacific Grove and offers overnight lodging and views of the forest, surf and sand. Asilomar (meaning "Asylum or refuge by the sea" and pronounced a-SIL-o-mar) is a combination of two Spanish words: "'' asilo''" and "''

mar Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

''". It is part of the native homeland of the Rumsen Ohlone people.

Description

Beach area

Wooden pathway at the Asilomar State Beach

The beach area is a narrow, strip of sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

and rocky

cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

s. A trail, which runs through the dunes, is open to pedestrians. This trail is wheelchair-accessible, and a beach wheelchair is available at the Conference Grounds front desk, located inside the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Social Hall. Bicycling is allowed on the paved bike lane along the road, running parallel to the Coast Trail. The ocean off shore is protected as the

Asilomar State Marine Reserve Asilomar State Marine Reserve (SMR) is one of four small marine protected areas (MPAs) located near the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, California, Pacific Grove, at the southern end of Monterey Bay on California’s central coast. The four ...

, part of the

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of ...

. The rocky coves are home to thousands of species, some of which are unique to the bay. As a sanctuary, it is illegal to disturb biota, i.e., collection and removal of shells and/or live specimens.

Asilomar Conference Grounds

Asilomar State Beach incorporates Asilomar Conference Grounds, designed in the Arts & Crafts style by architect

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

. The facility was built in 1913 as a conference center and summer camp for the

. Morgan designed and built 16 buildings on the property, of which 13 are still standing. The retreat was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its role in the development of the YWCA and the resort nature of nearby Monterey, California.

Recreation

The water in the vicinity of Asilomar State Beach is known for rip tides and unpredictable surf. The water is cold compared to other beaches in the Monterey area, due to its exposure to the open ocean and the upwelling of cold water from nearby

Monterey Canyon Monterey Canyon, or Monterey Submarine Canyon, is a submarine canyon in Monterey Bay, California with steep canyon walls measuring a full 1 mile in height from bottom to top, which height/depth rivals the depth of the Grand Canyon itself. It is ...

, which funnels the icy water right to shore at this location. Despite the cold water the area is popular with surfers and visitors from around the world. The beach does not feature a bathroom facility. Bathrooms available to the public are located at the Asilomar Conference Grounds inside the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Social Hall.

In popular culture

The 2009 film ''The Shift'' by self-help advocate

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

was shot at Asilomar Beach and Conference Grounds.

References

External links

Asilomar State Beach
{{Authority control California State Beaches Beaches of Monterey County, California Parks in Monterey County, California Monterey Bay Pacific Grove, California Julia Morgan buildings Protected areas established in 1951 1951 establishments in California Beaches of Northern California