The Monterey Peninsula’s Magic Purple Carpet
When I first learned about a “Magic Purple Carpet” of flowers that bloom every Spring along the coast of Pacific Grove in the Monterey Peninsula, I had to go see it for myself of course! I love the California coast and I love flowers, so what can be better than the combination of both? What I saw there was every bit as beautiful and magical as I envisioned it to be. Pacific Grove’s breath-taking coastline with its rocky cliffs were blanketed by the purple ice plants that created a spectacular pop of color as far as the eyes can see! it was love at first sight.
Visitor tip: The flowers usually open about midday and close in the evenings. Also, note that the flowers remain closed when it’s cold!
When to see the Ice Plants
The purple ice plants generally start blooming in early April and can keep blooming through late May. These pictures were taken at the end of April when the blooms were quite spectacular.
Where to See the Flowers
These ice plants are commonly found along the coastline of the Monterey Peninsula, clinging to the rocky cliffs and blanketing the areas next to it. The best place to see them is along the Pacific Grove Coastline in the city of Pacific Grove, next to the city of Monterey. It’s part of the 18-mile Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail.
Start at Lover’s Point Park and walk northwest along the coast for spectacular scenery enhanced by these colorful flowers. You can go all the way to the Asilomar State Beach if you’d like, with many beautiful and scenic outlooks on the way. Street parking is available along Ocean View Boulevard, and there is a parking area along the trail as well. In addition, there are benches throughout the trail where you can sit and enjoy the beautiful Spring day.
Located about two hours south of San Francisco, a visit to the Monterey Peninsula is the perfect weekend get-away or even a day trip. You will fall in love with the California coast all over again! The fantastic Monterey Bay Aquarium is also very close by and is definitely worth a visit.
The Origins of the Ice Plants
The ice plants were planted by the city of Pacific Grove in the early 1900s along a railroad that used to pass through it. The city continues to maintain the plants today and encourages visitors to remain on the trail and not step on or damage the plants, which have become a major tourist attraction for the city. These ice plants originated in South Africa and are considered less aggressive than other species of ice plants.
MY PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR
I love the art of photography and I love being able to capture the beauty from my travels both near and far. Here’s a quick list of the equipment that we used for this photo shoot:
Nikon D750 – a fantastic full-frame camera and one of the most economical ones on the market today.
Nikon 50 mm f/1.4G Lens – my go-to lens for portraits and for general photography.
Fuji X100 – this compact camera has a large APS-C sensor, takes very high quality pictures, and is my favorite travel camera.
I edit all my photos with Adobe Lightroom. Read more about my photography equipment here.
THANK YOU!
If you found this article helpful, please pin, share or leave a comment below! Thank you and I hope you have an amazing trip there if you have one planned! ❤️
*This post was first published May 27, 2017 and updated in January 2020.
I’m so in love with places with tons of flowers like this! I have yet to find a good one in the US. I’ll have to check these out when I visit California. Hopefully I can make it in the right season!
Wow. your pictures are so beautiful! Will definitely check this out when in back in California
The ice plants are gorgeous, as are your photos. I love the Monterey Peninsula, so it’s even better to know when to visit to see it like this.
These flowers are gorgeous, love the photos!
This is so pretty California really does have the most beautiful flower fields!