Carmel Valley Ranch

Right off the coast in the romantic seaside town of Carmel is a 500-acre, all-suite property in California’s Santa Lucia Mountains known as Carmel Valley Ranch. Despite a sprawling golf course and luxurious spa, the resort’s farm is as popular an amenity as anything else on site. The ranch offers a number of farmstead experiences, including a signature bee session, where adventurous guests can go behind the scenes of the onsite apiary—home to 60,000 honeybees. Weekly farm tours with organic farmer Mark Marino lead to hands-on gardening breakouts and impromptu “chicken chats.”  Other onsite artisans teach classes in soap making (featuring lavender from surrounding fields), and lessons in how to make Monterey Bay sea salt with resident “salt guy” Bob Kirkland. Guests can enjoy the fruits of their labor at monthly garden parties. They can also sip Pinot Noir from the property’s vineyards, included as part of the resort’s dinner series.