As you walk from Santa Cruz to Monterey you walk through many miles of white sandy dunes through Marina State Beach a part of the area known as the Marina Dunes Nature Preserve. The town of Marina is host to our Walk the Bay on night number 4. Marina was named in 1918 and became incorporated in 1975, gaining the distinction of being the youngest city on the Monterey Bay. Marina is less than 10 miles from the oldest city on the Monterey Bay, Monterey (named in 1692 by Captain Vizcaino after the Viceroy of New Spain, Count de Monte Rey). Walk the Bay walkers will not be surprised to learn that the Marina area was once a major center for industrial sand mining. The Marina State Beach has some of the finest, softest sand you will experience on Walk the Bay.
