Southern California wildlife was the highlight of our amazing California Road Trip. We never in our wildest dreams expected to see such an abundance of wonderful wildlife in Southern California! And one of our wildlife highlights was seeing the San Simeon Seals. Right after our visit to Hearst Castle we stopped off at the San Simeon Elephant Seal rookery to find much more than we ever imagined!
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San Simeon the Town
To get from Hearst Castle to the Elephant Seal Rookery you first travel through the tiny coastal town of San Simeon. San Simeon is on the famous Highway 1, exactly half-way between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
San Simeon is known for being a pristine beach hotspot, so we made sure we took a detour to check out the local pier and beach area.
This is a spectacularly beautiful beach which looks quite sheltered and safe to swim in, evident by the dozens of happy swimmers. Although sheltered, there was a very strong afternoon sea-breeze during our visit.
After a stroll out along the pier, we started heading North along Highway 1 to look for the famous San Simeon Elephant Seals.
6 Miles of San Simeon Seals
The main Elephant Seal Rookery located 4 miles North of San Simeon on Highway 1. We discovered quite by chance that the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery is actually spread out over about a 6 mile stretch of coastline.
As a part of our sight-seeing road trip we had a habit stopping at almost road side stop and vista points. You just never know when you’re going to see something unexpected and amazing on Highway 1.
We stopped at one roadside stop just a couple of miles North of San Simeon to find a tiny car park atop the cliffs. From the car park scrambled for about 50 yards North along the top of the cliff and couldn’t believe our eyes. We found the colony of Northern Elephant Seals!
This part of the colony was not on the tourist map because we were the only tourists there. No signs, no other indication that seals were down below. They were the first Elephant Seals we had ever seen in the wild, and we could not believe our eyes.
Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
Back in the car, just a little further North along Highway 1 we saw the Elephant Seal Rookery signs. We turned into the main carpark and were met with dozens of cars, and hordes of tourists. After all, the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal colony is famous, and is a must-see attraction that no passing tourist can resist.
About 17,000 Northern Elephant seals are reported inhabit this secluded cove. The walk from the car-park to the Elephant Seal colony is short, flat, and very accessible. The seals on the beach are within 20 yards from the trail so you get a really close look at these creatures.
And entertaining they are, a non-stop spectacle of fighting, playing, chasing and generally annoying the heck out of each other. And you get to hear the unforgettable Elephant Seal symphony of gargles, grunts, snorts, belches, bleats, whimpers, squeaks, squeals, and trumpeting!
Not only do you get to see the seals up close, there are also many information boards on display. Here you can learn lots of interesting facts about elephant seals and their annual breeding cycle.
This colony is many times bigger than the previous one we saw, however we were glad to have stopped at both because the first one felt more private; more like a discovery than a major tourist attraction.
There’s actually not much else to do at the seal colony but … er… watch Elephant Seals! We did spot a few cute little rabbits here and there, but basically when you’ve had enough of watching the Elephant Seal antics it’s time to continue driving.
Map of Elephant Seal Rookeries
Here is a map of the San Simeon elephant seal rookery locations.
- Spot number 1 is the ‘secret spot’, which has a small and basic car park.
- Spot number 2 is the official Elephant Seal Vista Point, complete with huge car park and dozens of eager tourists.
Friends of the Elephant Seal
Here’s something guaranteed to blow your mind! It’s the live webcam of the Piedras Blancas elephant seals, provided by the wonderful Friends of the Elephant Seal website. Check it out on the below link.
https://www.elephantseal.org/view.htm
Piedras Lancas Light Station
About 1.5 miles North of the Elephant Seal colony we drove past Piedras Lancas Light Station, built in 1875. It’s the only Light Station we saw in California, and it’s a very distinct landmark, well worthy of a few happy snaps.
As we kept driving North we passed several more pristine beaches, beckoning us to come down for a beachwalk. However, we were looking forward to seeing the famous BIG SUR!
Big Sur
Before we got to Big Sur we found the road was blocked at Ragged Point. There was a bridge out and some landslides making the road impassable. We were advised to take the inland route, which would take us about 4 hours to get to our next stop in Monterey. Big Sur would have to wait.
We were so happy to find these magnificent animals. They are particularly special because they were almost hunted to extinction, and only recently made a big come-back in numbers. They are truly wild animals, who can be seen in their natural habitat near San Simeon. This is another must-see destination on your California Road Trip!
They can be seen all year round so don’t worry too much about ‘the best time to see’ these San Simeon Elephant Seals. Don’t worry, the California Seal population is alive and well.
