Historic Hotel Del Monte Tour Guide

Hotel Del Monte established a scenic drive for its guests shortly after it opened in June 1880.

For several years, it was called either the Scenic Drive or the 18 Mile Drive. Today's famous Lone Cypress tree, the iconic symbol of the Pebble Beach Company, was the midway point on this excursion.

Etchings above an below are from an 1889 Hotel Del Monte booklet.

Magnificent carriages typically transported guests on the early drive however President Theodore Roosevelt chose a stallion from the Del Monte stables and raced through the pines and maritime forests.

As the automobile emerged, horsedrawn carriages and horseless carriages competed to take guests on a tour.

(Below) Scenes of the drive from a hotel booklet, circa 1905.

The early Del Monte Lodge, which was also called the Pebble Beach Lodge, was a rustic log cabin. It did not have guests rooms for overnight stays.