When walking through the dunes, visitors are required to use the boardwalks and marked pathways to avoid disturbing the fragile dune plants. There are several signs around the resort signaling areas with fragile environments where people, pets, or children are not supposed to run or walk.
Golf Carts- Our room at the Sanctuary Resort included a golf cart, which are utilized to ensure clean air and less noise pollution. We used the golf cart all over, and sometimes to just take a ride! My son loved it, and he loved playing valet and picking up his aunt from the beach!
Beach Fires every night from 6-9PM. There are s'mores kits for purchase by calling the front desk, for $20.00. Our family loved hanging out by the fire, there are several chairs by the fire pit too, and some people had blankets on their laps.
Where to eat lunch- We went to Wild Thyme Deli and Cafe for lunch, it is only a short drive from the hotel! The soups were amazing! My son really enjoyed his grilled cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup, he wishes he would have asked for the sandwich without tomato. The other lunch recommendation was the Noodle Bar, which I look forward to trying next time.
Where to eat dinner- We ate at the Whole Enchilada in Moss Landing, about a 10 minute drive from the resort. The Mole sauce was fantastic!
Pool area- A heated pool is on the grounds, and beach towels are provided in a basket in each room.
Some educational background about the sand dunes:
The unique plants of the Marina Dunes are well adapted for life in a harsh environment. These plants tolerate strong winds, salt spray, and sand burial, as well as low moisture and nutrient levels. The diverse community of plants that survive in these tough conditions is not found anywhere else in the world.
Without plants, these dunes would suffer severe erosion from the strong prevailing winds. The hardiest of the dune plants are found right along the shoreline in the fore dune, where they are exposed to the full effects of wind and waves. Here, low-growing, thick-leafed plants such as sea rocket, beach bur, salt brush, and sand verbena hold their own against the windblown sand and salt.
Just back from the shore is the mid-June, an area protected from the direct action of wind and wave. More delicate plants are found here, including Beach Sagewort, Beach Morning Glory, Beach Aster, and Bluff Lettuce.
Int the rear dunes, away from the effects of wind and wave, dense bushes such as Mock Heather, Lupine, and Lizardtail can be found.
The coastal dune plants are as beautiful as they are hardy. In the spring, the dunes are covered with yellow California Poppy (the CA state flower), Purple Beach Lupine, Lavender Seaside Daisy and Delicate Pink Thrift. In the summer, Pink Buckwheat, Golden Lizardtail, and the Brilliant Red Seaside Painted Cup are in full bloom.
Living among these dune plants are a diverse community of animals. Black Legless Lizards and Brown Scarab Beetles tunnel under the sand in search of food. Rabbits and mice often scurry under the protective cover of the dune shrubs, hidden from the watchful eye of an occasional hawk or owl. Shorebirds like Plovers, Killdeers, and Stilts lay their eggs in the dunes.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Monterey Bay's coastal dunes have been threatened by a new force: human activity. Building, sand mining, destruction by off-road vehicles and foot traffic, and the introduction of invasive non-native plants have badly damaged the dunes.
As the dunes disappear, so do many of the plants and animals that live there. They are especially vulnerable, because their unique adaptation for survival in the dunes has limited their ability to live anywhere else. As a result, several of the natural inhabitants of the Marina Dunes have become so rare that their survival may be at stake. State and federal laws now protect these plants and animals, and the dune habitat they require for their survival.
Among the species protected by state and federal law are the following:
Sand Gilia- A low-growing, purple flowered member of the phlox family found only in the dunes of Monterey County.
Menzies' Wallflower- a beautiful yellow flower found in only three locations along the California Coast.
Smith's Blue Butterfly- a small butterfly which lays its eggs only on buckwheat plants.
Snowy Plover- a small shore bird that nests in open sand areas near the shore.
Resources:
Sanctuary Beach Resort, Monterey Bay
3295 Dunes Road, Marina, CA
93933
(831) 883-9478
www.The SanctuaryBeachResort.com
Wild Thyme Restaurant
445 Reservation Rd.
Marina, CA
The Noodle Bar
215 Reservation Rd.
Marina, CA
Build-A-Castle
(castle building kit, perfect for the beach, all nestled in a small backpack)
item No TY684
d&d Distributing
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