McAbee Beach, Monterey, California

Monterey's McAbee Beach: Fishermen at the wall Monterey's tiniest sand beach: McAbee Beach Tweet McAbee Beach was a tourist attraction for a short time around 1900. According to the on-site interpretive signage at the beach—just off Cannery Row—this (once) golden sand beach was owned by John B. McAbee. Cannery Row was Ocean View Avenue then. McAbee rented boats, tents and small cottages to seasonal travelers. McAbee's seaside entertainments did not turn profitable. Therefore, McAbee leased the beach to Chinese villagers, after their settlement was destroyed by a fire in 1906. The Chinese fishing village spread out along the Monterey coastline with the growth of the sardine industry.

Today, McAbee Beach is a 0.14 acre sand beach next to vibrant Cannery Row—only a few blocks away from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The “fishermen with a boat,” painted onto a McAbee-Beach wall, remind visitors of Monterey's fishing past. Locals mingle with tourists at McAbee Beach, sometimes joined by near-shore sea otters and sea lions. Divers like to use this beach for a quick access to the nearby kelp bed.

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More to explore at the Monterey Peninsula waterfront