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Central California’s famed Monterey Peninsula, like the rest of the Golden State, has undergone great changes in the half century since John Steinbeck wrote his novels Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat, set in the days when the place was rough-and-tumble and damn proud of it. These days the Monterey Peninsula crawls with Mediterranean-style condos and tony restaurants. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and wallet-zapping prices, a by-product of the area’s proximity to Silicon Valley, are the daily norm, and lodging in the Monterey Bay area can be fantastically expensive unless you come off-season and stay in Pacific Grove, a nicely bohemian enclave south of Monterey proper.

The one great constant, the thing that makes the overpopulated area so special still, is the vigorous and abundant stretch of ocean that borders it. Recognizing the area’s ecological worth, a few years ago the federal government set aside a 5,200-square-mile area as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary- the largest protected oceanic zone in the United States, and second in the world only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The sanctuary is home to countless blue whales, seals, fish, and seabirds, many of them on the endangered-species list, and it makes for a remarkable place to visit. Several local companies offer tours of the sanctuary; if you choose to take one, orientate yourself first with a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (+1) 831-648-4800 so you’ll know what to look for.

For those who prefer to travel on the briny under their own steam, so to speak, the Monterey Bay is a fine playground, with sea kayaking a favorite draw. Adventures by the Sea (+1) 831-372-1807 offers three-hour kayak tours and private kayak rentals per day; instructors are available for a quick course in kayaking techniques and water safety. Kayakers who rent are limited to a zone extending 100 yards beyond the bay’s fringe of kelp beds and bounded by the entrance to Monterey Bay to Cannery Row, a beach length of about three miles, but still with plenty of room to move. Monterey Bay Kayaks (+1) 800-649-5357 offers similar rental prices and policies. Adventures by the Sea also rents snorkeling equipment at its Lovers Point location in Pacific Grove.

All these activities bring on the crowds. Says Danny McKeever of Adventures by the Sea, “I recommend reservations for anything in Monterey Bay on a weekend.” The waters brim with sailboats and kayaks during the peak season from June through September, so visitors seeking peace and quiet on the waters would do well to wait until the off-season months of October and November.

There are no limits on sea kayaking in your own vessel, apart from those of common sense. Steer clear of the surf-pounded headlands and watch out for swirling, unpredictable currents, especially around places like the aptly named Restless Sea. Nothing is quite so embarrassing as being the subject of a Coast Guard rescue and subsequent tongue-lashing- to say nothing of drowning. Take care, too, that you don’t come too close to the sanctuary’s resident population of marine mammals: fines for disturbing them in the protected area range from $500 to $40,000, depending on the severity of the hassle.

If you’re prone to seasickness, you’ll still find plenty to do outdoors. For one thing, the Monterey Peninsula offers a good network of hiking trails. Most of them are no challenge to seasoned walkers, but they’re fine for contemplative strolls through the rolling oak-and-pine country; try the paths that wind through Garland Park, Jacks Peak (named after the Scottish immigrant David Jacks, of Monterey Jack cheese renown), and Mount Toro Peak. These paths can be crowded at times, as can the trails and campsites in adjacent areas of the Los Padres National Forest. The Santa Cruz Mountains on the north side of the bay offer plenty of easy, less populous backwoods trails, and nearby Big Sur offers much to experienced hikers, such as the 23.1-mile Pine Ridge Trail, a brambly path over rugged mountains and down poison oak-filled canyons. Inquire, as they say, into local conditions before pursuing these wild, often waterless routes, and have a look at Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown’s good book California Hiking (Foghorn Press) before setting out.

In the urban areas of the Monterey Peninsula biking is permitted on all paved roads and trails, but not elsewhere. “Going into the hills on your own path is just poaching, really,” says Paul Allen of Santa Cruz’s Bugaboo Mountain Sports (+1) 831-429-6300. “Local people frown on it.” The only really strenuous mountain-biking workout is the 8.1-mile Iris Canyon-to-Aguajito Road loop, a breeze compared to the killer 74-mile Big Sur rollercoaster. In any event, bikers have to share their part of the road with a small army of hot-dog rollerbladers. On the narrow, privately owned 17-Mile Drive from Pacific Grove to Carmel, bikers have to dodge motor vehicles ranging from golf carts to semis at every twisting turn as well. Keep your eyes open.

Traces of less-populous days linger on the Monterey Peninsula if you’re patient enough to take the time to track them down. An off-season visit can be fairly inexpensive as California sojourns go, and guests who come from October to February get to enjoy the spectacular sight of flocks of monarch butterflies wintering in the tall, windswept Monterey pines that line the coast.

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