Monterey Bay Coastal Trail
N 36° 36.931 W 121° 54.024
10S E 598330 N 4052784
The rails of the former "Sand Train" are now Monterey's most popular recreational spot.
Waymark Code: WMEF5
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/08/2006
Views: 31
This was once part of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The railroad was important for Monterey’s and Pebble Beach’s tourist industry but also for Pebble Beach’s only export good: Sand. The dunes in Pebble Beach were mined until the 1950s while Mother Nature constantly rebuilt them with sediments coming down the Carmel River. Ever wondered how a black volcanic island like Oahu could have white sand beaches like Waikiki? The sand was imported from Pebble Beach! In 1949, Los Padres Dam was built and the sediment supply stopped abruptly. It is estimated that today more than 1,000 acre-feet of sediment are on the bottom of the reservoir. That was the end of the “Sand Train” and starting in the 1970, the rails were replaced by asphalt and turned into one of the crown jewels of the Monterey Peninsula.
You can read more about the trail at Touchstone’s great waymark under “Mountain Bike Trailheads” (
visit link)
Only a couple of feet of rail (with two wagons on it) are left. That is where the coordinates take you.