Morro Rock Ecological Preserve

One of my favorite places to visit. Great to take a short stroll and soak in the scenery. Absolutely beautiful!

Cool little town with good seafood restaurants with an awesome view of morro rock. Lots of parking especially right under the rock. Beautiful shoreline and boats.

Easy walk from the embarcadero and our hotel! There is a convenient walking path that takes you from all the shops and restaurants out to the rock itself. Along the way you are treated to views of the bay, as well as wildlife galore. We saw a group of sea otters floating in the kelp as well as countless seabirds.
On one side is a small beach that connects to the bay itself and it seemed like a calm quiet place for families. On the other side there was more waves and you could see the surfers in the water in that area.
It’s amazing that you can walk right up to the rock, although due to dangerous rock slides, there are certain areas closed off. Just looking up and the nesting sea birds was tons of fun-​I didn’t bring binoculars but should have. Seeing the otters was a bonus.
There is parking as well if you want to drive up to the preserve, but if you are staying most anywhere in downtown Morro Bay or the embarcardero, then definitely take a nice walk out there instead.
The Unilocal 100 Challenge!

Many people just look at the big rock and don’t read the fine print! That big Rock is also an ecological Preserve! Not only are there sea gulls and egrets, and pelicans and cormorants and night herons, and great blue herons, but also peregrine falcons (endangered for those who don’t know, for those who do know please ignore the words in parenthesis). It is totally cool if you will park and get out of the car (I know this part is hard for some) and face the rock and wait. The birds materialize! and soon you see HUNDREDS of birds, and the you will star to notice more and more and more. It is fascinating! Now on most days you may see a guy in an older truck with a giant camera lens on a tripod. Sometimes he is to the left side of the rock (drive around) and sometimes in the main parking area, but always close to the rock. Go over and chat. He always lets you look through his lens, and often brings out his notebook of pictures. WOW! He is protector of the falcons and is very pleasant and incredibly informative! Come on out to Morro Rock. It is a lot more than just a rock!

Morro Rock is a nice place to visit. There’s lots of parking and a short distance to the beach. You might even see some otters playing in the water.