Oak Grove, Monterey, CA

Oak Grove, in eastern Monterey, spreads from the Del Monte Avenue waterfront inland toward two campuses. The Naval Postgraduate School, built around the old Hotel Del Monte, and Monterey Peninsula College sit close by. Both have libraries inside the neighborhood, giving it a campus feel that most of Monterey lacks. Residential blocks fill the space between those institutions and the water, and the Dudley Knox Library at the naval school and the college library give the area a bookish edge you don't find in the visitor districts. The waterfront is the main outdoor asset. Window on the Bay, the waterfront park closest to the wharf, offers level access from dawn to sunset, and Monterey Bay Waterfront Park runs alongside the main beach with sand volleyball courts and shaded picnic tables. The Monterey Bay Recreational Trail passes along the shore, and nearby businesses rent kayaks and bikes. Laguna Grande Park is the quieter option, with bike and walking paths, an artificial-turf soccer field and volleyball court, and picnic tables with barbecue pits. Eating inside the neighborhood is a short list. 831 Beach Kitchen at 1098 Del Monte is the grab-and-go stop for coffee, burritos and breakfast sandwiches. Nearby, El Estero Snack Bar at 777 Pearl Street does burgers and hot dogs with outdoor seating, right beside Dennis the Menace Playground, the city's most famous municipal playground, and Captain + Stoker on East Franklin Street roasts its own beans and serves avocado toast. A real dinner usually means heading into Old Town. Del Monte Avenue ties the neighborhood to Seaside on one side and downtown Monterey on the other, and most daily trips follow it. Monterey-Salinas Transit runs the local buses. Dining and shopping are the thin spots compared with the blocks nearer Alvarado Street. In exchange, Oak Grove puts the beach close and the trail right through the area.