The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay.

It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populated stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.

Geographically, the actual midpoint of the California coast lies north of Santa Cruz, near Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County.

The Central Coast area was inhabited by Chumash, Ohlone, Esselen, Salinan, and other Native American people since at least 10,000 BC.

[5] Many of these communities were coastal, where the people utilized marine resources and dwelt near freshwater inflows to the Pacific Ocean.

The Santa Ynez Valley is home to the Central Coast Film Society,[10] which celebrates filmmakers, cinema and media arts that are from the region, also known as "Hollywood's Backyard."

California State University, Monterey Bay, founded in 1994, uses facilities donated when Fort Ord was converted from military to civilian uses.

Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) operates bus services throughout Monterey County as far south as Big Sur on the coast and King City in the Salinas Valley.