Jacks Peak County Park

Jack’s Peak has stunning views of the Monterey coastline! Lots of trails. Clean bathrooms and beautiful scenery.

Amazing experience hiking here and breathtaking views. Good for kids. Lots of trails that are not that steep for kids. And markers to show points of interest. There are letter boxes on site if you’re into that. Made for a fun Girl Scout activity. Picnic tables for use.

Nice hike with views. Easy path. Up and down so not too strenuous. Clean restroom at the parking lot. Only negative is, there were no maps.

I went for a hike during Valentine’s weekend with my bf. It’s not the biggest park, but it was the only option we could find in the area. There are some good view points, not a ton though. We sort of randomly walked and covered most of the park by the end of the hike. The trails aren’t super intensive, I’d say fairly easy! Overall, not my favorite hike ever, but if you’re in the area, why not?

A decent short hike with a couple of views, but nothing incredible. Good if you live in the area and want to keep exploring.

Beautiful views of Monterey from the mountain top! Great, well maintained trails. Very close to Monterey, so if you are staying in the area, its about a 10 – 12 minute drive. Hikes are short, so its great if you have a spur of the moment idea to go hiking because it wont take you all day to do them.
I give 3 stars because the trails are not well marked AT ALL. You will come up on forks with no signs. Which way do you go?! We got lost twice. Ended up at a different parking lot/​trailhead which, was a mile away from where we parked. We had taken a picture of the posted map before starting the hike (There were no more paper copies). Not only do a lot of the trails not have signs, but they didnt seem to follow the map either. We were told by one of the regulars (a man whom we saw on one of the trails as we were lost and helped us go the right direction) that he gives rides to soooo many people to the other parking lot because a lot of people get lost on these trails. Very beautiful area, but Id rather not get lost in the woods due to unmarked (or mismarked) trails.

Great spot in Monterey for a few trails if you don’t have the time to get to Big Sur/​you just want a nice local low-​mid intensity hike.
We started with Jack’s Peak trail and were disappointed to finish in minutes (.6 miles)… So we decide to do all other trails to get our hike’s worth. Did all but Earl Moser. Wow, felt like we got pretty far inland, experienced a number of pretty good little hills, more lengthy than we expected.
Big tip: snap a picture of the map for reference. They were out of map handouts and signage on the trail was a bit spotty (and you can’t count on cellular service).
Also, few ocean views so come for inland quiet.

This place was great! We love going for runs, walks and hikes and this was perfect for that. They have trails rated at different levels of difficulty. We broth our dog with us and she loved it! You have to pay for parking unless you park outside of the park, then it’s free. The park is very big and we saw some wonderful scenery! They also have grills there.

We went by this park for a short hike before heading the the Bay Area. As we were checking out the board with the maps in the parking lot, a couple by there asked if we were there for the docent tour. We said… sure! They gave us (basically a private) a fabulous tour (Skyline Trail) of this fairly unique Monterey Pine forest, the geology (check out the seabed rocks on the road cut), the ecology and history. We so lucked out. Local docents lead tours the second Saturday of the month (I think at 11am) but check them out
. We spent a couple of fascinating hours with them! (no horse poop on the Skyline Trail) Great unique California landscape with some gorgeous views. Mary (the docent) recommended The Monterey Pine Forest Coastal California’s Living Legacy if you want to delve deeply into this landscape.

The highest point of Jack’s peak is 1,068 feet overlooking Monterey and Carmel. It was a warm day and the fog was rolling into the valleys. The view was simply breathtaking!
Jacks Peak offers pleasant, self-​guided hiking trails with amazing scenery, coastal oaks, pine trees and fossils from the Miocene epoch at the self-​guided tour point of interest #4. I was like, «No way! fossils — reallly??» This got me quite excited! When I saw the exposed shale layers, I just had to stop and pick through some of the rocks. I gave up after about 10 minutes figuring I neither have the proper tools, proper training nor the time to dig through the sediments to get any notable fossils.
Monterey pines are beautiful majestic trees. The pine cones are hard, green and conical in shape during the developmental stage but open up and turn into this light chestnut color at the latter stage. The smell of pine is intoxicating. Reminds me of Christmas in winter.
Apparently Jack’s Peak is affiliated with the Monterey Jack cheese. Originally the cheese was made by Fanciscan monks but during the 19^th century, a Californian businessman named David Jack popularized the cheese and sold it commercially. The cheese was then known as «Jack’s Cheese» and eventually became «Monterey Jack». Who would have thought that one of my favorite cheeses is associated with this man and this landmark.
Parking is $ 4 on weekdays and $ 5 on the weekends. The parking lot to the self-​guided hiking trails is a short distance drive from the gate entrance.

Great place to hike and to see a view of the Monterey bay. I have to warn you, Jack’s Peak is known for poison ivy. Also, it’s posted in the park that it’s possible you may encounter a mountain lion and what you should do if you see one. So don’t hike alone but with friends who you can have a good time with. Then when you’re done with your hike, have a picnic.

This is my preferred park for taking our dog on trail walks. For location, views, and cost, it’s a decent choice for an afternoon excursion!
Pros:
1. It’s only 5 minutes from Monterey, CA and extremely easy to find.
2. The trails are wide and clean. Views range from the ocean in Carmel, looking down on Monterey Bay and the city of Monterey, and facing the mountains toward the east.
3. Paved parking lot and $ 5 parking fee. Well maintained restrooms and picnic tables.
4. Elevation changes are very manageable for children and senior citizens.
Cons:
1. Compared to other parks in the Monterey/​Big Sur area, this park is very ‘bland’. Don’t expect anything breathtaking.

A fun and convenient day adventure. 5 bucks on the weekends, 4 on the weekdays, dogs and horses welcome, easy to moderate level trails with beautiful scenery of the bay, valleys and surrounding areas. Easy to find. We were able to walk the perimeter trails of the park in about 3 hours. Way worth it. Hope to return soon.

A pretty pine forest up on a hill with a number of trails, picnic, BBQ and bathroom facilities. Some great views of Monterey Bay. Not that many people there, even on a sunny Sunday.
And that is a problem, not enough usage and thus revenue to keep places like this open and nice. A zip line was proposed, but it was shot down. Lots of people park down the road and walk in to save $ 4.
Hardly any poop on the trails. Horse poop is ok by me while dog poop is terrible.
Views need to be opened up with some tree trimming. You hike out to a «point» and clearly at one time there was a view, but no more. Benches with a view to nowhere in some places. In the absence of fires, hire some goats or something. Or octomom so we don’t have to see her star in a porno.
I think a few open viewpoints along the trails would attract more people and could be spectacular on even rainy and stormy days. As it is, the best views are on the access road and that is not a good thing.
The maps are terrible and the signage on the trails is in many cases lacking and in some cases simply confusing.
Still, pretty nice and a respite from Cannery Row and a different sort of experience than the coast for visitors, and a good place for a contemplative hike/​walk for us more local types.
A friend who lives in the area told me he saw a lion kill a deer on a park trail, and years ago there was evidently a bear up there. I saw some birds and a squirrel.

A pretty nice little hike in the Monterey area. Nothing too strenuous but still pretty nice to get a up a few feet and get some nice views of the surrounding areas. I’m pretty sure I saw a California condor as well.

$ 5 entrance on weekends
Free for seniors on weekdays
For free view of Monterey Bay, just park outside before the entrance.
I think some people park outside and walk in, but it is a far distance to the Skyline and Jacks Peak trail from outside the park.
The 2 trails are moderate hikes, with some steep grade in certain parts but not rocky or slippery. Because there are so many trees on the trail, the vista points were actually limited in size. One is of the Monterey/​Pacific Grove area. The other vista point is of Point Lobos area.

I LOVE Jack’s Peak. It’s beautiful in any kind of weather.