A quick drive along the coast from Hearst Castle is the home of one of California's largest populations of elephant seals. There are around 7,500 here and it is a year round home for the seals. Highlights include seeing females giving birth to their young, huge males battling for mates and young pups frolicking in the surf!
The best time to visit is around January/February when the females birth their young and the mating begins, peaking around Valentine’s Day (what a romantic lot!). The elephant seals can be visited from 8 am to sunset all year round.
There are often guides in blue jackets on hand to allow visitors to get up close and personal with these amazing animals. This is an excellent opportunity to observe these remarkable creatures in their native habitat and along the viewing areas are a number of excellent educational and informational signs.
The beach is easily spotted from the highway with ample parking and we had a fabulous time watching the seals doze in the sun and sand, and watch as one female became bad tempered and started chasing other females off around her with loud raucous barks.
The beach is maintained by the ‘Friends of the Elephant Seal’, a non-profit organisation dedicated to educating people about elephant seals and other marine life. Their office in San Simeon is located in Plaza de Cavalier and it's a great place to get more information, gifts and other goodies.
This makes a great stopping off point on the Big Sur drive!
One last word of warning is that these seals should under no circumstances be approached closely on the beach as they are wild animals that are prone to vicious attacks if felt threatened! Male seals can weigh at 5,000lbs -- do the math!
For more information, call 1-805-924-1628 or check out their .