Salinas vacation rentals

Find a lodge accommodation in Salinas

As the seat of Monterey County, Salinas has a great deal to offer. Renting a Big Sur lodge here allows you access to the primary business center of the region, which includes a floral industry, vineyards, and vibrant agriculture. If you like fresh food, this is the place to stay. You can cook your own meals in a fully stocked kitchen, enjoy a glass of wine in an outdoor garden, or relax in the living room of your lodge rental after a day visiting historic locations like the John Steinbeck House or the Santa Lucia Highlands viticultural area.

Tapping the local lore, and its vintages too

Start in Oldtown at the National Steinbeck Center for insights into the celebrated author's life and his use of Salinas Valley places in his novels. Continue to the Steinbeck House, his boyhood home. Turn the page on your explorations at the Salinas Valley Model Railroad Museum and the First Mayor's House to learn about the area's pioneer history. Browse through a wine country map from the Welcome Center and then tour dozens of taprooms in the region. Monterey Aquarium is a short hop away for an adventure the whole family will enjoy.

From culture to cow-punching in Salinas

Come for the Steinbeck Festival in May to learn all you want to know about the world of the Nobel prize-winning author, who was born in Salinas and set many of his 27 books in the area. A Salinas vacation rental is a good base for the century-old California Rodeo in July, the Airshow in September, and a summer's worth of roaring car and motorcycle engines at the raceway. At nearby Pinnacles National Park you can go climbing, look for bats during a cave walk, or spy on falcons, eagles, and endangered California condors.

A breath of fresh air—and a bit of fog

Ocean winds sweep in from Monterey Bay, making Salinas's air fresher and its climate milder—perfect for outdoor activities—than other inland towns that are blocked by mountains. Summers are dry in the 50s to 70s, with winters 40s to 60s and a tad rainy. You might see white-capped peaks nearby in winter, but snow rarely falls in town. But it's foggy at times due to the marine air mass from the coast. Spring is a great time to visit nearby Monterey, and works well with a Salinas vacation rental.

Mountain lions and condors and bears and other beasts!

The Salinas Valley is a major agricultural area running east-west between the Santa Lucia and Gabilan mountains. The city itself, on the western end, lies close to sea level only 8 miles from Monterey Bay, where the Salinas River empties into the Pacific. There, amid the salt marshes that gave the city its name, a wildlife refuge hosts pelicans and plovers, plus possums, beavers, and coyotes. Nearby, stroll the sand dunes of Fort Ord. To the west, in the Gabilan range, Pinnacles National Park manages a small population of California condors and hosts bobcats, cougars, and black bears.

Traveling to and around Salinas

The nearest airport is in Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY), located 12.2 mi (19.6 km) from the city center. If you can't find a flight that works for your travel itinerary, you could also fly into Salinas, CA (SNS-Salinas Municipal), which is 2.2 mi (3.6 km) away.

If you'd prefer to travel by train, the main station is Salinas Station.