When people search for hiking in Monterey, they usually find the coast walks. Those are great. But if you want a hike that actually trains your heart and legs, you have to head a little inland, into the hills that most visitors never see.
I hike and ride these areas myself. Here are the three I'd point a client to, and how to turn each into a workout.
1. Jacks Peak Park (the forest climb)
Jacks Peak is a Monterey County park right on the edge of the City of Monterey, off Highway 68. It's one of the quickest ways to get out of town and into a real forest.
Trails: about 8.5 miles of them, winding through forest up to ridgetop views.
The summit: the Skyline Self-Guided Nature Trail crosses the top. Look for the fossils from the Miocene era along the way. Yes, on top of a hill. This whole area used to be under the ocean.
Rules worth knowing: no bikes on the trails. It's a day-use park with an entry fee, so check the county's current rates.
How to train it: Jacks Peak is great for rolling, moderate climbing. Link a few trails together for 60 to 90 minutes and keep a steady pace on the uphills. The forest shade makes it a good pick on a warm day.
2. Fort Ord National Monument (the big one)
If you want room to roam, the Fort Ord National Monument is run by the Bureau of Land Management and covers more than 14,000 acres with over 86 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horses. It's open dawn to dusk, and the Creekside Terrace and Badger Hills trailheads are good starting points.
I've written about my favorite Fort Ord mountain bike trails before (my Fort Ord trail picks), but it's just as good on foot. Stay on the trails with brown or green markers; red means closed. Expect to share with bikes and horses.
How to train it: Fort Ord is perfect for long, steady efforts. Rolling hills, open views, and enough trail that you can build up your distance week by week without repeating yourself.
3. Toro County Park (the Salinas side)
Out on Highway 68 between Monterey and Salinas, Toro Park is the Salinas side's big hill workout, with open grassland climbs that are a real test. Check the county's trail map and closures before you go, especially after rain.
How to train it: This is your hill workout. Pick a climb, settle into a pace you can hold, and don't be a hero on the descent.
What makes a hike a workout
A few simple rules turn any of these into training rather than just a walk:
Go a little longer or a little steeper each week. Not both at once.
Push the climbs, recover on the flats. That's natural interval training.
Track it. Time, distance, or how many breaks you needed. Seeing progress is half the motivation.
Strength train twice a week. Hiking builds your engine. Strength work protects your knees, hips and back on the downhills and uneven ground.
The strength that makes hiking better
The strength part is what most hikers skip. Step-ups and slow step-downs, split squats, hip hinges, calf raises, and balance drills will make a bigger difference to how your legs feel on Jacks Peak than another hike will.
That's what I do with clients at home. I train people in their homes across Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Salinas, and we build the strength so the trails feel good. If that's what you're after, send me a note through the site and we'll set up a free consultation.
