Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Grotte de Glace
Sinquerim Beach Bastion
Port Tobacco Schoolhouse
Barracks / munitions storage.
Vloethemveld
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è Pasta... E Pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Green-Wood Cemetery, overlooking New York Harbor.
Where Our Team Looked for Joy During Pandemic Lockdowns
The 2,653-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail spans the entire West Coast from Canada to Mexico.
Meet the Volunteers Who Keep Thru-Hikers Moving
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House building on the U.S.-Canadian border.
Could New Border Restrictions Literally Tear the Haskell Free Library Apart?
A woman peering into the cave of Sarah Bishop c. 1900.
The Curious History of New England’s Hermit Tourism

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Pescadero Elephant Seals of Año Nuevo State Park

Elephant Seals of Año Nuevo State Park

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

Pescadero, California

Added By
Kevin
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Young adult male elephant seals vie for dominance   Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Elephant seals on the beach at Año Nuevo State Park   Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Elephant seals   Lost1029 / Atlas Obscura User
  jenhaas / Atlas Obscura User
Seals along beach   jenhaas / Atlas Obscura User
  Jan Roletto,
  Wiki User: Mecil
  Dave Pape
  jenhaas / Atlas Obscura User
Elephant seals   Lost1029 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Año Nuevo Beach is perhaps the most physically accessible rookery of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), as most others occur on coastal islands. 

Thousand of pups are born here each year, products of the brutish creature's rather savage mating rituals. The guided tour allows one to view these enormous wild animals in their natural habitat, an opportunity not to be missed, and one which seems quite exotic and rather out-of-place in an urban center such as the San Francisco Bay Area. It feels more like something one would encounter in the wilds of Alaska or Tierra del Fuego rather than San Mateo County.

The male elephant seals can grow to 14 feet in length, and weigh as much as 5,000 pounds, which makes them approximately the size of an old Volkswagen Bug. You're not permitted to get closer than 25 feet to these animals for obvious safety reasons, but even at a safe distance, the sheer size of these huge and powerful creatures will startle you, magnificent when viewed in their natural habitat.

All tours are guided, and the beach is otherwise effectively closed to humans during the mating season.

Related Tags

State Parks Marine Mammal Seals Animals Beaches Fauna

Know Before You Go

Año Nuevo State Park is located in San Mateo County, approximately 25 miles south of Half Moon Bay, and 25 miles north of Santa Cruz, on HWY 1. It rests on the coastal edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is a easy day trip from the cities of San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco.

Community Contributors

Added By

Kevin OKeeffe

Edited By

Rachel, jenhaas, Michelle Cassidy, Lost1029

  • Rachel
  • jenhaas
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Lost1029

Published

January 16, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Elephant Seals of Año Nuevo State Park
Cabrillo Highway
Pescadero, California, 94060
United States
37.143, -122.340045
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Año Nuevo Island

Pescadero, California

miles away

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pescadero, California

miles away

Davenport Pier Beach

Davenport, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pescadero

Pescadero

California

Places 3

Nearby Places

Año Nuevo Island

Pescadero, California

miles away

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pescadero, California

miles away

Davenport Pier Beach

Davenport, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pescadero

Pescadero

California

Places 3

Related Stories and Lists

Are There Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Ask an Elephant Seal.

science

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Happy harbor seals lounge within the rookery.

    Carpinteria, California

    Carpinteria Harbor Seal Preserve

    Happy harbor seals frolic and snooze on this warm, sandy stretch of coast.

  • Koala Conservation Reserve

    Rhyll, Australia

    Phillip Island Koala Conservation Reserve

    A conservation sanctuary for rescued koalas, some of which were saved from devastating Australian bushfires.

  • The seals at Donna Nook.

    Donna Nook, England

    Gray Seals of Donna Nook

    The adorable animals return to this nature reserve every fall to give birth to their pups.

  • Gålö Seal Training Station

    Haninge C, Sweden

    Gålö Seal Training Station

    This secret facility trained seals for the Swedish navy during the Second World War.

  • San Simeon, California

    Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery

    This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

  • Abandoned house on Año Nuevo Island

    Pescadero, California

    Año Nuevo Island

    Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

  • Foraminifera

    Taketomi, Japan

    The Star Sands of Hoshizuna-no-hama

    White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

  • Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

    Hagerman, Idaho

    Hagerman Fossil Beds

    An ordinary rancher stumbled upon one of the world’s largest collections of Pliocene horse fossils.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.