6 Great Places To See Marine Wildlife Along The California Coast

California is known for having beautiful scenery and great wildlife. It definitely didn’t disappoint while we were there for ~3 months earlier this year.

I love animals and photography, so I wanted to share my favorite spots with you. Here is my list of 6 great places to see marine wildlife along the California coast.

If you follow along closely with our blog, you may see a few spots that have dedicated posts – I’ve done my best to share new images in this post for you. Remember not to feed or approach wildlife – keep them wild for their safety and yours.

Technical notes: I shot the majority of these images with my Nikon D5600 fitted with my 70-200 Tamron lens. There are a few from my phone and they don’t have the watermarks. If you’re interested in purchasing any prints, please contact us.

1) Monterey Bay, California

It was a tough call for which location should earn the top spot on this list. I have a deep love for the elephant seals in San Simeon, but for diversity of marine wildlife, Monterey Bay has to win out.

I was able to see, on both a kayaking tour and just walking around the coast, sea otters, California sea lions, harbor seals, and other marine wildlife.

2) Elephant Seal Vista Point in San Simeon, California

I went here at a few different times. With over 500 pictures of the elephant seals between the three visits, it was hard to choose just a smattering for you!

The first was July 2021 when it was molting season which is why many of the elephant seals look a little raggedy. That being said, they were much more active during that time.

I returned around 4pm (same time of day), but in March 2022 and everyone was settled in for the day with many of them being mamas and babies. I returned the next morning at sunrise and everyone was a bit more active and the light was on their faces which was nice.

3) La Jolla, California

I loved it here and it rivals the Elephant Seal Vista Point and Monterey Bay as my favorite place. There were so many California sea lions in La Jolla and it was pupping season (January 2022), so many were small and nursing.

4) Carpinteria Seal Sanctuary in Carpinteria, California

This one has the potential to be very good if you have a strong enough lens. I’m not sure if you’re normally allowed a little closer, but as it was pupping season when we visited in March 2022 (with some babies being born just hours before our visit), you can see why you have to keep a good distance.

5) Whale Watching Tours out of Newport Beach, California

I had the opportunity to go whale watching twice in Newport Beach. The first was July 2021 and while we didn’t see any whales on that trip, we did find ourselves in a super pod of over 1,000 dolphins which more than made up for it.

Stephen and I returned in March 2022 towards the end of whale migration season. Unfortunately, a sailboat on the water got too close to a mother and baby and so this was the best we got.

6) Pier 39 in San Francisco, California

One fun thing to do in San Francisco is see the California sea lions that live in and around Pier 39. As with Elephant Seal Vista Point, this location seems to fluctuate heavily based on time of year and time of day.

When I visited in the early evening in July 2021 it looked like this:

We visited in the morning in February 2022 and didn’t see anyone, but by ~5pm it still only looked like this:

Bonus: Tide Pools in Carmel, California

Tide pools, for those who don’t live near the shore, are usually small areas where marine life get trapped as the tide goes out. You can see all kinds of fun marine wildlife in them including snails, anemones, starfish, crabs and more. We found a few anemones in the tide pools at Carmel-by-the-Sea in December 2021.

Bonus: Boat Transportation and Harbor Tours

If you don’t want to see as much marine wildlife as I do but still enjoy spotting a few fun marine wildlife friends, you have the potential to see California sea lions and dolphins on boat tours out of California’s cities.

Question

Where do you love to spot marine wildlife – in California and beyond? (I’ll add it to my personal “to visit” list!)