Del Monte Forest (''Del Monte'', Spanish for "of the mountain") is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county (United States), county located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The count ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 4,204, down from 4,514 at the 2010 census. The census area includes the separate well-known community of Pebble Beach. The Del Monte Forest is a habitat area of the same location, which originally occupied considerably more area prior to urban development of the 20th century. The forest is dominated by

Monterey pine ''Pinus radiata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Ced ...

, but also contains other important tree species and a variety of rare and

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

plant species.

Geography and ecology

Del Monte Forest is located in northwestern Monterey County at 36°35'11" North, 121°56'51" West. It occupies the western half of the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, California, Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, California, P ...

and is bordered to the east by the city of

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

and to the north by the city of Pacific Grove. The city of Carmel-by-the-Sea is to the south. Pebble Beach is in the southern part of the CDP. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Del Monte Forest has a total area of , of which are land and are water. The total area is 24.55% water. The community is a habitat for a number of limited range and

species.

History

The Del Monte Forest was originally part of the resort complex of the

Hotel Del Monte The Hotel Del Monte was a large resort hotel in Monterey, California, from its opening in 1880 until 1942. It was one of the finest luxury hotels in North America. During World War II, it closed and the building was leased to the United States ...

in Monterey. The resort hotel was built by

Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took ...

, one of California's Big Four railroad barons, through

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

's property division, the

Pacific Improvement Company The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad), Big Four, who were influential businessmen, phi ...

(PIC). The hotel first opened on June 10, 1880. Samuel Finley Brown Morse formed the Del Monte Properties Company on February 27, 1919, and acquired the extensive holdings of the PIC, which included the Del Monte Forest, the Del Monte Lodge (since renamed the Lodge at Pebble Beach) and the Hotel Del Monte.''Pebble Beach Company History''
The actual hotel building and surrounding grounds were acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to be the Navy's new location of the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Del Monte Forest had a population of 4,204. The population density was . The racial makeup of Del Monte Forest was 79.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.9%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 10.1% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.3% from other races, and 8.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.7% of the population. The census reported that 91.0% of the population lived in households, 7.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.5% were institutionalized. There were 1,749 households, out of which 15.3% included children under the age of 18, 60.8% were married-couple households, 3.5% were cohabiting couple households, 23.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 23.8% of households were one person, and 16.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.19. There were 1,245

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(71.2% of all households). The age distribution was 15.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% aged 18 to 24, 10.9% aged 25 to 44, 25.8% aged 45 to 64, and 41.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 60.0years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. There were 2,801 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,749 (62.4%) were occupied. Of these, 84.0% were owner-occupied, and 16.0% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $154,730, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $128,746. About 3.9% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government

At the county level, Del Monte Forest is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Del Monte Forest is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Del Monte Forest is in .

Education

Portions of the CDP are in the Carmel Unified School District, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, and Pacific Grove Unified School District. The respective high school of the first district is Carmel High School.

Environmental features

The

Monterey Pine ''Pinus radiata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Ced ...

forest is habitat to numerous rare and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

including Hickman's potentilla and Yadon's piperia, both of which are federally protected species.C. Michael Hogan and Michael P. Frankis. 2009
''Monterey Cypress: Cupressus macrocarpa'', GlobalTwitcher.com ed. N. Stromberg

References

External links

Del Monte Forest ConservancyDel Monte Forest Property Owners
{{authority control Census-designated places in Monterey County, California Census-designated places in California Populated coastal places in California