Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

 

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justin p.

San Francisco, CA

Wow, really cool place that I didn't even know was here.  We stopped at the visitor center and hiked out to the viewing area.  Nice views and good place to see wildlife.  Ranger was very friendly too.  She said that you can see leopard sharks and their pups and also bat rays.  Will definitely come back to see that and also would love to go kayaking, too.

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Elite '08

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375

Angela H.

Daly City, CA

The Elkhorn Slough is an amazing place where you can see sea lions, seals, sea otters, birds, and other wildlife up close and personal just a few hours drive from San Francisco.  With a kayak, you're able to explore to your heart's content, whether its just a mile and a half in, or way, way into the Slough, where it could become a ten mile paddling trip.  

This place is just chock full of wildlife.  At this time of the the year, most sea otters have had their pups, so you'll see lots of them congregated together in nurseries.  We had one of them pop up mere feet  from our kayak as it brought up a large clam that it immediately cleaned and devoured.  Needless to say, we were thoroughly charmed.  Seals are seen mostly on beaches, though a few of them were swimming around.  One large California sea lion lay at the end of a pier- we got a little too close as we fought the tides and it made its displeasure known with a loud bark.  Lots of brown pelicans abound, and you'll see them making flying maneuvers that the Blue Angels would have difficulty doing.  If you're a birder, apparently, the best time to see them is the spring and the fall, when the migrations bring a lot more species to the slough.    

Some friendly volunteers from a nature organization (I forget which one) patrolled the slough and will come up to you and ask if you have any questions.  They pointed out some interesting facts about the slough and its inhabitants and made the experience that much more rewarding.  It almost made up for the fact that we were here for the first time and not on a guided tour.  

Be careful of the tides, as high tide can make the return trip to the launching beach difficult.  I would probably recommend the morning as the time to start your paddling trip, only because it can get mighty hot with your gear on and the morning fog provides some relief from the sun.  Overall, a fantastic place to spend the day, especially if you're a big fan of nature and want to see wildlife in their natural state.

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Trina E.

CA

Possibly the coolest stateside wildlife-viewing outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the San Diego Zoo.  

A friend and I--both novice kayakers--rented a double with wetsuits (but no spray skirt, since it was a sit-on-top) from Monterey Bay Kayaks and set out into the estuary, and the first thing to greet us was one nonchalant sea otter who spared us a brief glance before returning to its snack as it bobbed on the waves.  Curious harbor seals would pop their heads up not feet from our craft, and several more of them had hauled out on the narrow banks to sun like sausages.  Or bananas, given the way they curve their heads and tails up.  The wind was at a bare few knots and the tide was flowing in, making it easier to paddle, and the cloudy day apparently brought out more shorebirds with curved, pencil-thin beaks along with the egrets and pelicans and seals.  To be approached and inspected by inquisitive otters never failed to elicit squeals, either (okay, so I couldn't help it).

We decided to explore one of the labyrinthine tidal creeks and nearly got moored in the shallows.  But what an adventure!  Bent barbed wire knotted to wooden posts askew on one bank, and, on the other, workers bent double tending the fields of strawberries carpeting the far hills--and nearly everywhere we looked was an unparalleled close-up view of the estuary's wildlife.

Apparently small (tiny!) sharks have been spotted around the slough, too, and that I would've liked to have seen.  Maybe next time...

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