The Hot Spot is centered around a public hiking trail (green line on second map) that runs north-south from the south end of Railroad Way to the edge of the Asilmar Conference Grounds on Crocker. The trail passes through Monterey Pine forest, passing by the backyards of surrounding single-family homes. The rest of the Hot Spot are streets through the "Grove Acres" portion of Pacific Grove, with principal streets being Crocker Ave. (west of the trail) and Grove Acre Ave. (east of the trail). A primary cross-street is Pico, which crosses the trail where the public may enter or exit the trail. This wide trail used to be a railroad right of way when trains ran from a sand plant back into the City of Monterey. 

The trail and neighborhoods are excellent for resident pine-forest species, including Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-shouldered Hawk, Steller's & California Scrub-Jay, Hutton's Vireo, Pygmy Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, California & Spotted Towhee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee & Oak Titmouse in live oaks, and Acorn, Hairy, and Nuttall's Woodpeckers. In summer watch for Violet-green Swallow; in fall & winter there will be "Audubon's" and Townsend's Warblers and Golden-crowned Sparrows. Passerine migrants and raptors brighten birding in spring and fall migrations. Because of its location near the ocean at the tip of the Monterey Peninsula, the backyards of local birders have records of a variety of vagrants. 

The Pacific Grove hiking trail is wide and level, but is composed of soil and gravel, so not formally ADA accessible. During rainy times in winter, water puddles (sometimes large) form on the hiking trail south of Pico.