Carmel Valley Village, CA

Carmel Valley Village is an unincorporated Monterey County community inland from Carmel-by-the-Sea, set along the Carmel River. It is small, expensive, and rural-residential in feel, with vineyards, tasting rooms, ranch properties, and dry inland hills replacing the foggier coastal atmosphere of Carmel. Residents voted against incorporation in 2009, so it remains a census-designated place rather than a city. The community sits about 13 miles from Carmel-by-the-Sea and works as the main village center for the broader Carmel Valley.