If you cross the Carmel River, you have gone too far. Parking is tight in the afternoon, but seldom crowded early in the morning. To reach put-in, return to highway 1 and turn north. Continue about 9 miles to a turnout leading down to the dirt parking lot of Garland Ranch Regional Park. This area is easy to recognize because it is an open space, not a golf course or housing development.
Parking is never a problem.
There are several trails down to the river, but the least brushy access points have usually been upstream.