After a handful of visits to the Monterey Peninsula, the wharf can start to feel like San Francisco’s Pier 39, if you ordered it supersize. And Carmel just seems so darn…cute. After years of bouncing back and forth between the two on weekend trips, I finally found my sweet spot: right in the middle, in Pacific Grove.

With streets of well-tended cottages and elaborate Vic-torians, where cypress and eucalyptus blow in the ocean breeze, Pacific Grove has a hometown feel and all the whiz-bang scenery of its better-known neighbors. It’s a stone’s throw from the big attractions, and in my book, it’s best enjoyed from atop a bike. In such a scenic spot, it’s a buzzkill to have to focus on steering, shifting, and parking a car. But on a bike, it’s seamless—pedal south from Pacific Grove, and you’ll slide past the line of vehicles waiting to pay the $9 toll for 17-Mile Drive. You can skim along the beaches, pull into whichever scenic points catch your fancy, or stop anywhere you want in between.

I like the ride north even better. Following Lighthouse Avenue along the wide-open Pacific, then Monterey Bay, you get a designated bike lane and a ride that’s flatter, less trafficked, and every bit as wow-inducing. Foamy waves roll to shore, and squadrons of pelicans cruise silently overhead. Pull over at Lover’s Point for a picnic on the grass, or pedal all the way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where you’ll pull up right in front while everyone else fights their way into the multistory parking garage several blocks away.

Pacific Grove specializes in B&Bs done up in full Victorian regalia, but I’ve found that the broad-beamed Julia Morgan buildings at Asilomar are more my style. Asilomar has the laid-back feel of a grown-up summer camp, but the grandeur of a national-park lodge—and a warm, hearty complimentary breakfast provides a hospitable send-off each morning. Plus, the powdery, kelp-piled beach across the street is a swell place to wander off on foot to explore the coastline. A rickety roller-coaster of a boardwalk threads through the sage-covered dunes to the south, leading you to the back door of the posh Inn at Spanish Bay for a hot cocoa at the outdoor fire pit or a drink at the bar. One sip, and my perfect oceanside weekend is complete.

Asilomar Conference Grounds: 800 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove, 831-372-8016, visitasilomar.com, from $125; Inn at Spanish Bay: 2700 17-Mile Dr., Pebble Beach, 800-654-9300, pebblebeach.com; Monterey Bay Aquarium: 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, 831-648-4800, montereybayaquarium.org, $25 adults, $16 for children over three, free for children under three.