When you arrive in Carmel-by-the-Sea there is a sense of wonder. As you drive down the hill on Ocean Avenue and get a glimpse of the ocean, smell the ocean and feel the breeze blowing, you can’t help but want to go down that hill and take in the glorious view that is Carmel Beach. Turning onto Scenic Road you are taken to a different world, a world-class adventure that one never get tired of. Investments made by visionary leaders following destructive storms created one of the wonders of the world….the Scenic Pathway. Our goal is to restore it to the vision of its creators and we have started on that journey with our partners in the City. You can join us!
The ribbon cutting on the Scenic Pathway we see today was completed in 1988 after two-$800,000 phases and it was quickly honored as an award-winning design that protected the shoreline and improved coastal access.
The design created a serene meandering bluff pathway of 3,250 feet with unobstructed panoramic views of Carmel Bay.
The pathway was designed as the main access to the beach from Eighth Avenue to Martin Way. With many parking spaces on the street adjacent to the pathway and nine vertical access points to the beach, the design offered visitors with all levels of mobility easy access to this naturally cherished place.
There are many Carmelites who walk the path and beach daily, picking up trash, sitting on benches to read a book or walk their dog. For too many years the irrigation system has not functioned resulting in the loss of many native plants. Then, invasive plants and foxtails grew along the pathway which resulted in many dogs going to the vet. About 6 months ago it had gotten to a point where locals got permission for their landscaping companies to weed whack the foxtails. This was a temporary solution which spread seeds and the weeds quickly grew back.
On their own initiative and unknown to each other, our founder Dale Byrne, whose 6 pound dog Blue had made two trips to the vet with foxtails in his feet, started at Martin and began working north to remove the weeds at their roots. Meanwhile, Shirley Moon, who had been a passionate advocate for beautifying Carmel for many years, was doing the same around 11th going south. After reading about Carmel Cares in The Pine Cone, Shirley contacted Dale about volunteering and, after a couple days working together, Shirley took responsibility for being the Primary Caretaker for a newly defined Scenic Pathway Project. She is now leading a dedicated team that works tirelessly to restore Scenic Pathway to its former glory.
If you’ve read the Carmel Cares overview you already know that, early on, we partnered with Carmel’s Public Works Department. We consulted with Sara Davis, developed a short-term plan to clean things up, recruited some Volunteers and raised some funds to pay for professional landscapers. We started at the 8th Avenue stairway and quickly discovered that this was a bigger project than we’d anticipated. But, Shirley Moon was not to be dissuaded. Every Wednesday she arrived early with her dedicated volunteers and a large landscape trailer, filled it to the brim and, working with Sara, planned the next week’s activities.
Dead plants and roots are removed, ice plant trimmed back from walls and the path, plants that have grown far beyond their anticipated size are meticulously pruned to maintain a natural look and driftwood logs thrown haphazardly on the sand were removed.
It was discovered that a significant percentage of the Pathway had been covered in sand so it is being cleared to the wood borders. Opportunities for stand alone projects are popping up, including leveling an area by the handicap parking spot for the mobility impaired, planting ground cover to avoid erosion and repairing the antiquated and non-functional irrigation system that is fed by free spring water.
We are sharing a small number of Before/After pictures on the right. You’ll see that we are successfully restoring the original vision of full visibility from all vantage points.
Now, one year into this project we have removed over 40 landscape trailers of dead plant material, lowered the height of all the shrubs so there is a virtually unobstructed ocean view from end to end and revealed all pathway borders. Every Wednesday 5-10 volunteers and 3 professional, paid gardeners cover the entire Pathway from 8th Avenue to Martin Way…something that needs to be done to keep things under control.
We want to honor the timeless design principals that were defined in 1988 in every way possible. Our goal is to enhance what we can, making repairs with like-kind materials and doing a major clean-up for the entire 3,250 feet of pathway. It is our intent to:
The natural beauty of the setting is sacred. Keeping it pristine will require a long-term effort from many volunteers.
