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Piedras Blancas Rookery, San Simeon

Hearst Drive, San Luis Obispo County, California

Description

The Piedras Blancas Rookery is a breeding colony of elephant seals located north of San Simeon, along California's Central Coast shoreline. It is free and accessible year-round with a parking and a viewing area. Up to 17,000 elephant seals haul themselves out on the beaches of that stretch of beaches following a seasonal cycle: males fighting for territory on the beach, birthing and breeding, molting (shedding the top layer of their skin).

Access & Transport

The Elephant Seal Visitor Center and parking area are just off the Cabrillo Highway (CA-1), 7km north of San Simeon. There are other viewing points further south, heading towards Cambria.

Instructions & Recommendations

Do not go on the beach (extremely dangerous), make loud noises, or use a drone and keep your dog in leash (if you have one). In other words: be respectful of the animals. The peak season for viewing is Jan/Feb.

Meta review

A very popular stop at the start or end of a drive along Big Sur and easy to find parking and spot elephant seals - in fact visitors are surprised at how close from the colonies one can be. At first glance one might mistakenly think they are not moving but observe a group for a while and you'll see this isn't the case - plenty of action in fact happening at some time of the year. It can be windy and chilly so make sure to have a jacket with you.

Environmental & Social

Educational, not (too) intrusive and minimum visitors' infrastructure - a good recipe.

Conclusion

Even for those who have already seen seals in the wild (or in San Francisco), the numbers here are just staggering and make for a very unique experience. Adults and children alike should enjoy.

Key positive

Impressive sight

Educational and environmentally friendly

Key negative

-

Suitability

Parking spaces for the disabled are close to the observation bridge. These can be reached without stairs

About this Rating

TYPE

Onsite

RESEARCHED IN

Updated in July 2023

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit
The visitor center is open from 10h to 16h

av. transport time:0h 30m

est. visit time:1h

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightNo

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

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