Spyglass Cypress, Pebble Beach, CA

Spyglass Cypress takes in the western edge of Pebble Beach, where Spyglass Hill Golf Course climbs out of the forest toward the rocky shore and 17-Mile Drive follows the coast. Very little of it is built on. The residential parcels are limited, and the houses favor privacy and a natural setting over size, with plenty of terrain to work around. The shoreline is the main public asset. Fan Shell Beach is a small white-sand cove with a pull-off on 17-Mile Drive, closed each spring from April into June while seals rest with their pups, and the Seal Rock picnic area on the California Coastal Trail sits beside a creek not far away. The trees along the water are salt-pruned Monterey cypress, bent into shape by the wind. For a long walk, the Blue Trail loop leaves the Equestrian Access Area and covers about six and a half miles, brushing past the Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill fairways along the way. Stevenson School, a private high school with a boarding program, has its Pebble Beach campus on Forest Lake Road in this part of the Forest. Spyglass Hill Grill is the local stop, a patio beside the ninth green that opens at 6 a.m. For breakfast burritos and stays open for burgers and sandwiches until 6 p.m. Hay's Place and The Tap Room at the Lodge are just over half a mile east for a longer meal. Daily life in Spyglass Cypress depends on the car. Carmel and its grocery stores are reached by the Carmel Gate, and Highway 1 lies beyond the Highway 1 gate on the other side of the Forest. The road is also the main street. Tour buses and sightseers share 17-Mile Drive with anyone heading home, and that is the trade for living beside a famous stretch of coast.