Quiet, compact Pacific Grove best suited to going car-free

The Monterey Peninsula doesn't necessarily require getting out of the car to enjoy the scenery - but it definitely rewards those who do. Case in point: the coastal trail, Cannery Row, hiking trails, the sprawling aquarium, the pedestrian mall on Alvarado Street, the Path of History walking tour.

Even after you park the car, however, some areas of tourism-magnet Monterey can still feel like a highway at rush hour. A car-free getaway that includes a little solitude requires traveling a little farther down the coast (west and north, actually) to Pacific Grove.

Once called the "Mayberry of the Monterey Peninsula" by Via magazine, Pacific Grove offers the same sort of coastal trails, bike rentals and easily walkable downtown as some of its neighbors, but with a fraction of the crowds. Pacific Grove's stretch of the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, for instance, is not nearly as busy as the stretch between Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row (which on a sunny summer weekend can look a bit like the Tour de France right after the starter's gun).

Why now? You're kidding, right? With gas approaching $5 per gallon, towns that are particularly bike- and foot-friendly are welcome options to the typical summer road trip. For what you would pay for gas to drive to San Diego, you can spend another night in a Pacific Grove bed and breakfast.

Backstory: The city started as a Methodist Episcopal summer retreat in 1875 and, after expanding into a religious-based community, was incorporated as the city of Pacific Grove in 1889. Some of the "moral codes" are still on the books, although Pacific Grove did finally allow the sale of liquor - in 1969. (The town's best-known property still is the Asilomar Conference Grounds, now part of the state park system.)

The town is wedged between the Cannery Row crowds to the east and the famously costly greens and streets of Pebble Beach and Carmel to the south. Pacific Grove's identity centers on its 1,000 or so Victorian homes; its role as pit stop for migrating monarch butterflies; and the fact that it is not Monterey, Carmel or Pebble Beach.

Checking in: The Anton Inn is an old-school cabin motel with seriously updated, chic design in the lounge/lobby and kitchen, and contemporary amenities in the rooms. It's a little farther from downtown than a number of respected Victorian bed-and-breakfast inns, but is still within reasonable walking distance (although be aware that not all of Lighthouse Avenue has sidewalks).

Spend your day: If you skip breakfast at the inn, Lighthouse Avenue is loaded with cafes that dish up a decent variety of morning meals (including an excellent chorizo omelet at Monte Cafe). Light eaters should stop at the Works, a coffeehouse and bookstore downtown with standard coffeehouse fare and plenty of windows for people-watching when the weather is good, and weather-watching when it's not.

After exploring downtown (all five or six blocks of it), stroll north three blocks on 17th Street to find Monterey Bay, Lovers Point Park and the Adventures by the Sea rental office, where you can pick up bikes. Lovers Point is the southern terminus of the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail (the other end is 18 miles north in Castroville), but there's an unpaved trail that continues (most of the time) along the coast, weaving along the narrow slice of land between Ocean View Boulevard and the bay.

Where Ocean View meets Acropolis Street, take a moment to chain up the bike and explore the postcard-perfect tide pools and the rocky outcropping there, making sure to tread lightly on the life-covered stones.

Continue along the coast (some trail, some street) around the end of the peninsula to Asilomar State Beach, stopping often to admire the scenery because it's much easier to do so from a bike.