Point Lobos Is Headed Toward Reservations, but Not This Winter

On a busy day at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, the real parking lot is the west shoulder of Highway 1. In early October, the ParkIT! group told The Carmel Pine Cone it estimates "250-plus parking spots being turned twice daily on peak days" along that shoulder. It called the result "500-plus cars pulling in and out of traffic," with drivers making illegal U-turns and people walking along the highway to the entrance. Inside the reserve there are about 150 spaces.

On Oct. 14, 2026, the Monterey County Planning Commission voted unanimously to change that. According to Monterey County NOW, the approved plan includes a reservation system you could book online or by phone, an entrance fee, and a shuttle from a new 100-space lot at Marathon Flats, near Highway 1 and Rio Road.

Some headlines made it sound like reservations are about to start. They aren't. The vote started a process that is still at least a year from changing a Saturday visit, and when it does, the new front door to Point Lobos will be on the Crossroads side of Rio Road.

The Vote Started a Clock

The county's planning permit register lists the project as PLN180431. It's State Parks' combined permit for the reservation system, the shuttle and the Marathon Flats improvements. State Parks applied on November 13, 2024, and the status changed to "Pending Approved" on October 14, 2026. The county uses that status for the period after approval when an aggrieved party can still file an appeal.

Several steps still stand between that status and a booking page:

1. The appeal period on the county permit. It's open now, under the "Pending Approved" status.
2. A final access management plan from State Parks. County staff will bring it back to the Planning Commission with the reservation schedule and final numbers. No date has been set.
3. Launch. The ParkIT! FAQ puts it about 12 to 18 months after Coastal Development Permit approval.
4. Public notice. ParkIT says "extensive marketing about reservation requirements will begin six months prior" to launch.

Even if that clock started with the October vote, ParkIT's own estimate points to late 2027 at the earliest. And you should hear about it about six months before anything changes at the gate. The mornings, guest visits and sunset walks of this winter and next spring work the way they do now.

The Front Door Moves to Rio Road

The biggest change for Carmel is where the system begins. The county register places the proposed 100-stall Marathon Flats lot near Highway 1 and Rio Road, between the Crossroads and the highway. The Pine Cone's preview listed the planned site work: bike racks, fencing, a ticket machine and drainage improvements. State Parks has already designed and engineered the lot, according to ParkIT.

That puts the shuttle start for one of California's best-known coastal reserves a short walk from the Crossroads' shops. For many visitors, a day at Point Lobos would begin and end in the Rio Road area instead of on the highway shoulder south of the Carmel River.

Drainage is a concern at that spot. At the hearing, one local resident raised flooding at Marathon Flats, as Monterey County NOW reported. The site plan includes drainage work. How that work holds up in a wet winter is a fair thing to watch once the lot exists.

How a Day at the Reserve Would Be Divided

The proposal gives each visitor a way in, and the numbers show who the plan was written for. Monterey County NOW reported these proposed daily allocations and noted that details could change:

Slots would be released in three batches. Half would open three to four months ahead, a quarter 48 to 72 hours ahead, and a quarter on the same day. Up to 25 percent of walk-in and bike-in reservations would be free, on top of the existing free and reduced-cost options through the library and Golden Bear passes.

That same-day batch is the part that matters most to people who live nearby. ParkIT's FAQ lays out a few cases. A local who likes to go at the last minute, or someone who "walks there every morning," would draw from reservation blocks released each morning. Docent shifts would count as a reservation. Divers would get permits with reserve parking. Every California Parks pass would be honored, along with the California State Library Parks Pass. The FAQ also says highway shoulder parking would stay an option on peak days, with the number of spaces still to be decided.

Why the County Moved Now

The ParkIT! effort started in 2018 as a community initiative to address traffic in the Highway 1 corridor between Carmel and Big Sur. The Pine Cone reports that its steering committee includes Pebble Beach Company Foundation executive director Kathleen Lee, Big Sur Land Trust's Rachel Saunders and former Monterey County Planning Director Mike Novo. ParkIT lists the removal of dangerous parking on the east side of Highway 1 among its completed milestones.

The pressure behind the vote is volume. John Hiles, who manages the Monterey Sector of State Parks, said at the hearing that worries about rising visitation go back to the reserve's 1979 General Plan, and that visits this year are expected to reach 1 million. George Nunez, West Division chief with Cal Fire's San Benito-Monterey Unit, told commissioners, "There is traffic there constantly, daily. It's not weekends only."

Speakers in favor included residents, Caltrans, the Big Sur Land Trust, emergency responders and the president of the Malpaso Creek Property Association. A California Coastal Commission spokesperson and some nearby residents questioned whether the plan would protect public access and fix the underlying problems. Commissioner Martha Diehl explained her vote this way in Monterey County NOW's account:

"We have the opportunity to try something rather than speculate how something might work."

Several pieces are still open. ParkIT says reservation and shuttle fees are "still to be determined." General admission parking is $10 today, and no one has confirmed whether that will hold. The $150,000 the state set aside under SB 178 goes to State Parks for consultants and planning support. It doesn't fund running a shuttle. The final access management plan should answer these questions, and it's the next document to watch.

The Reserve This Season

For now, visiting works the way it always has. California State Parks lists day-use hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with last entry at 6:30 p.m., and accepts both Golden Bear and California State Library Parks passes. The roughly 150 spaces inside the gate still fill first. After that, visitors park on the Highway 1 shoulder and walk in. State Parks suggests calling the park for current trail and activity conditions before you go.

If you're hosting guests over the holidays, the routine you already know still applies through this season. Arrive early, carry your parks pass, and leave the Marathon Flats shuttle for a future visit.

The details of the Point Lobos plan will shift as State Parks finishes its access plan. If you'd like to talk through how projects like this one, and the new lot by the Crossroads, fit into everyday life around Carmel, Scherling Properties would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.