Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Monterey, CA

Monterey

Not a farm — this is a walking ghost tour through historic Old Monterey, running since 2002. Tours last 90 minutes to two hours and cover local hauntings and a night walk through a graveyard, typically Saturday nights into early November.

Monterey

Ag Venture Tours has run wine tasting, sightseeing, and agricultural education tours around Monterey Bay since 1997, making it the region's oldest operating tour company. Owner Evan Oakes, who holds agricultural degrees from UC Davis and Fresno State and previously worked as a UC Cooperative Extension research scientist in Salinas, leads half-day and full-day van and walking tours with private tastings available on request.

Monterey

Cardinale & Wright runs its pumpkin patch each fall on the grounds of the Monterey County Fairgrounds, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a midday closure from noon to 1. Beyond the pumpkin rows there's a hay maze and a cow train ride for kids, all inside the fairgrounds' gates rather than out in an open field. It's more fairground event than working farm, but the pumpkins are real.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

The Barnyard Shopping Village is an outdoor retail center at 3663 The Barnyard in Carmel, off Highway 1, with more than 50 stores, restaurants, and galleries set among garden landscaping. The venue regularly hosts farmers markets, car shows, and live music alongside its regular tenants. Management can be reached at (831) 624-8886.

Carmel

The 16-acre Carmel Valley estate that operated as Chateau Julien Wine Estate, known for its French-style architecture and Chardonnay and Merlot dating to 1985, sold in 2015 for $12 million and now runs under new ownership as Folktale Winery.

Carmel

The Holly Farm has run as a family-owned wedding and event venue on Carmel Valley Road since 1991, not a working farm despite the name — six and a half acres of gardens, sun-filled cottages, and winding paths built out for destination weddings and retreats. Packages start around $61,000 according to third-party wedding-planning sites.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Serendipity Farms is on Carmel Valley Road, inland from Carmel-by-the-Sea in a valley known for small wine estates and produce farms between the coastal range and the Carmel River. Monterey County's mild inland climate supports year-round growing in this area.

Carmel

Carmel Valley Ranch is a luxury hotel and resort on Old Ranch Road in Carmel Valley, California, built on the site of a historic cattle ranch in the Carmel Valley wine region.

Carmel Valley

Gardener Ranch is on West Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley, California, an events property whose site currently describes itself as being reworked, with booking handled through existing partners rather than public inquiries.

Moss Landing

Monterey Bay Equestrian Center has led horseback rides along the dunes between Moss Landing and Monterey since 1981. Guides take riders out Monterey Dunes Way with views that stretch to Santa Cruz on a clear day, and the outfit also runs horse-drawn carriages for weddings and pony parties for kids. Riders must be at least 10 years old and 54 inches tall. Call ahead to book a ride.

Salinas

The Farm sits along the Salinas Valley, land growers call the Salad Bowl of the World for its lettuce, strawberry, and row-crop production. It is listed as an agritourism stop under a Salinas PO box address. Current hours, products, and ownership were not verifiable online at this time.

Crystal Bay Farm is a small organic operation on Zils Road in Watsonville that runs u-pick days on Wednesdays and Sundays, noon to 5pm, alongside its fall pumpkin patch featuring rare and heirloom varieties. A self-serve farm stand and berry u-pick run alongside the pumpkins. Entry runs $2 per person; groups over ten should call ahead.

Watsonville

High Ground Organics is on Harkins Slough Road outside Watsonville, in the Pajaro Valley, one of the Central Coast's most concentrated organic vegetable and strawberry growing areas. No further confirmed details on current crops, CSA availability, or hours.

Ambling Ambystoma Farm works 20 organic acres near La Selva Beach, half a mile from Monterey Bay outside Watsonville. Rather than selling fresh berries, the farm turns its blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries into small-batch organic fruit syrup. The farm stand closes for winter and reopens in spring — call ahead or check the website before making the drive to Peaceful Valley Drive.

Aptos

Working farm and horse ranch on Hames Road tracing back to Manuel Joaquin Silva and his wife Caroline Augusta Alm, who settled the land around 1883. Apple picking and horseback riding are the draw, along with events held on the property through the year.

Homeless Garden Project trains people experiencing homelessness through paid work on its organic farm near Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers alongside a handmade crafts program. The nonprofit runs a seasonal CSA and a farm stand selling what the crew grows, plus a retail shop and online store built on the same job-training model.

Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz's Center for Agroecology manages this 25-acre certified-organic farm and 3-acre Chadwick Garden, internationally known training grounds for organic horticulture since master gardener Alan Chadwick founded them roughly 50 years ago. The grounds are open daily 8am-6pm with no admission charge, and organic produce sales run Tuesdays and Fridays, noon to 6pm, with blueberry u-pick in June and July.