Watching The Sea Lions In La Jolla, California

La Jolla (La-HOY-a), California is a cute seaside town that’s about 20 minutes north of downtown San Diego and 30 minutes south of Carlsbad.

During our stay in San Diego, the concierge at the Westin mentioned that a great place to see California sea lions in the wild was at Children’s Cove in La Jolla. So I packed up my camera and off we went to investigate. I captured some great pictures and had so much fun we went back the next day.

We parked for free in a nearby neighborhood and went down to see the sea caves. In the end we didn’t go visit one; we chose to make our way towards the beach instead and we weren’t disappointed.

There were a few sea lions in the water and we saw a short staircase leading to the rocks that overlook the shore. We saw one sea lion up on a rock, but when we moved further down the coast we hit the motherload – literally. It was pupping season for the sea lions and there were babies galore – snoozing and suckling while mothers dozed and watched for predators.

In addition to moms and pups, there were sea lions of all sizes snoozing, playing, swimming and sunning themselves. They were on the rocks above the water, down amongst the watery rocks and in the waves. They were truly a joy to watch and capture on film.

 

It was a real treat to see so many wild sea lions together and I spent more than an hour there both days. I ended up with over 750 pictures between the two days. Choosing the “best ones” for this post was really tough. I even have one set aside to enter in a competition later this year.

A few things to know about the La Jolla sea lions. You aren’t supposed to approach them – and you definitely shouldn’t touch them. I figured this was similar to all other wild animals – don’t go so close that you disturb their natural activities. It turns out that I was still closer than you’re supposed to be (I didn’t know the full details until after my visits) but was still much farther back than a lot of people – the close-ups you see are with a zoom lens on my camera. A friend even texted me that ~25 people a year go to the hospital in the area with sea lion bites. The stairs that we went down are for when the sea lions are not present. If they are, you’re not supposed to go down on the rocks at all.

One man was talking on his phone and got way too close – all of the sea lions sat up to watch him. Ready to move and defend the pups if necessary.

However, if you do decide to go down onto the rocks please keep your distance from these precious animals so they aren’t disturbed. This is waaaay too close.

Truffles was with us the second visit. Stephen took her for a walk while I laid around in sea lion excrement to get *just* the right shot. We didn’t allow her on the rocks at all – the apex predator she is and all – we didn’t want to disturb them.

All in all it was a truly unique experience and magical time. To sit (or lay) and watch the La Jolla sea lions go about their natural wild lives was mesmerizing. I just couldn’t get enough of their flippers, whiskers and snuggles. I hope you feel a small sense of the joy and peace through these pictures that I did while taking them.