Soberanes Point
There is no better time to hike the coastal hills than after a late winter or spring storm, when a few leftover clouds grace the skies, the grass is green, the wildflowers run amok high above the ocean, and the fog is gone. That is Highway 1 curling around Soberanes Point here, about seven miles south of Carmel.
There is a trailhead there for the Rocky Ridge trail that will take you on a 3-mile loop that will take your breath away -- both for the beauty you will see and for the strenuousness, since it climbs 1800 unrelenting feet above the ocean.
For the less adventurous, or just a different experience, there is a short trail to the top of the little "bump" on Soberanes Point, and trails around the point itself, where the coastal views are a full 180 degrees.