I know that December - March is the best time to visit to see the elephant seals, but has anyone been there in late September? It appears (from what I see on their web site) that you just go to the park and get a permit and then can walk the trails by yourself.

There are some elephants seals on the beaches at Año Nuevo all the time. But if you are planning to go to Hearst Castle, you get a better view of the elephant seals along hwy 1 just north of the castle entrance.

Thanks. We don't have plans to go south of San Francisco this trip, but our plane lands at SFO at 11am and thought about driving down to Ano Nuevo first(we are staying in San Francisco). I've seen it mentioned as a place to see, but haven't seen any comments on what people thought about it. I think it said that it takes about 3 hours to walk the trails there (how strenuous are they). Or would we be better just driving down to Santa Cruz and taking Highway 1 back up by Half Moon Bay? (We've already gone from Julia Pfeiffer State Park up Highway 1 to Santa Cruz and then over to 101).

The trails are sandy, but there isn't any real elevation change - so it takes some effort to do the walk because of the sand, but it isn't particularly strenuous.

Ano Nuevo is really cool and definitely worth a visit. I wouldn't drive all the way down to Santa Cruz though since you will only have half a day. I would head south on 280 and then over to the coast on 92 or 84.

Exactly what I wanted to know -- thanks.

It is easier to take Hwy 92 from Sfo to Half Moon Bay and then down to Ano Nuevo. Easier to come back the same way and then take 280 to SF.

Ano Nuevo is very nice. It's really just a long walk in soft sand, but always nice to be at the ocean.

That was my next question -- which is the better route. Thanks.

I think that the best route for someone who wants to make a day of it is to take 280 to 92 and at the crest take 35 south all the way to Alpine Rd. Go west (right) on Alpine Rd. (do not go down to Portola State Pk.), then left on Pescadero Rd. to Hwy 1, south to Año Nuevo. It gives the traveler on 35 a beautiful view over the Bay Area, and a good sense of the Santa Cruz mountains when traveling on Alpine Rd. However, Alpine is very narrow and twisty, not for those who would find even Hwy 1 a challenge.

I like Michael's route too. We live in San Jose and we often take Hwy 9 up to 35 and then go down Alpine Road. It is a narrow mountain road though, so if you are used to that sort of thing, then no worries. If you aren't, then stick to the standard highways.

Michael

That route sounds ideal. I'm looking at a map and see where all the roads are. We actually like roads like that -- when you're not in a hurry.

Which leads me to another question. About how long will it take once we leave SFO to get there taking that route? I think it said that they want you off the trails by 4PM, so, depending on how it is going that day we may just make a day trip down there one of the other days we are there and will have more time. We'd probably come back on Highway 1.

The drive will probably take 1.5 hour. Arriving at Año Nuevo between 1 and 1:30 should do it. The area is much more restricted than it used to be. Binoculars are needed to see the elephant seals very well, which in my mind means that one spends relatively little time looking at them.

Hi maj,

I used to live on Alpine Road a mile west of Skyline (35) and I do agree that it is nice way of getting to the coast and it is a pretty drive, but I would allow 2 hours at least to do 101-92-35-Alpine-1 route mentioned above, especially if you want to stop and appreciate some the scenery you will be driving through.

I'd actually prefer the route that cabo mentioned as that way has one driving next to the ocean for a longer period of time, and I like that part of the coastline.

Couldn't we go down that way and come back all the way up 1 to Pacifica? I was thinking that by taking our time coming back we could miss the rush hour traffic near San Francisco. It sounds like a couple of hours at Ano Nuevo would be plenty.

The return trip should be up hwy 1 all the way to 280.

Found it on the map -- thanks again.

I was there in May 2006 and I didn't need binoculars to see the seals. We walked the trail and once we got to the end of it they were EVERYWHERE. There was just a thin rope to keep people from getting too close to them but many of them would come up to within a foot of people. In fact, there were some seals that seemed like loners or something because they came pretty far inland and were just sunning themselves in an area away from all the others. On that particular day there must have been about 100 or more of them playing on the beach or in the water. It was incredible to watch them play... they were so active! As mentioned, the walk is flat but not strenuous and I didn't think the sand was cumbersome at all. I would describe it more like walking on pebbles for the majority of the hike and then sandy more towards the end.

Has anyone actually seen elephant seals at Ano Nuevo in September? We don't see them up here at Pt. Reyes until late November. I know there will be probably some on the island but will they be on the mainland then too?

maj - you might enjoy seeing the tule elk up at Tomales Point in Pt. Reyes instead. They are rutting at that time of year.

Supercilious

We actually are definitely planning on a day trip to Pt. Reyes with the tule elk on the list. Ano Nuevo was a thought since we arrive so early and want to drive up that part of Highway 1 sometime anyway.

We've just glanced at the Pt Reyes web site so far. Just a question while you are here -- I read somewhere on their web sight to bring spotting scopes to see the wildlife. Is that really necessary? We do have a scope and 500mm lens, but didn't really want to lug them along on this trip.

Hopefully we will make it to both places at the time of year when the seals and whales are there, but this will at least let us scope out the area.

"I read somewhere on their web sight to bring spotting scopes to see the wildlife. Is that really necessary?"

I guess it depends on how well you need to see them. It's a good idea not to get to close to the animals. We just use binoculars and are not into taking high resolution pictures.

These elk seem to be more skittish than elk in other parts of the state. For example, you can get much closer to the elk up in Prairie Creek State Park in the redwoods than you can at Pt Reyes.

Weather is another factor. If the fog is blowing in, you may hear the animals but not see them.

If you really want to see wildlife in the Bay Area in September, your best bet is to take a whale watching cruise out to the Farallon Islands. See:

http://www.oceanic-society.org/farallon

That pretty much answers that question (about the scope and lens) since we really didn't want to bring them along. I think we will be fine without them.

The whale watching cruise sounds great -- always have wanted to do one of those also, so I'm saving it in my SF file. If they have an opening, we may do it this time.

We have a few must do's (Pt.Reyes is one of them) and then lots of "others" depending on weather, time, and most important what we feel like doing. We love to see wildlife, but realize this isn't the best time of year for it -- hopefully the sea lions will be at Pier 39 and we can get our fix there.