Elkhorn Slough

This was a great natural area to go exploring. For some reason, it was much more crowded than I expected. We hiked about two miles of trails searching for great views and interesting California birds. Both were found in spades. Be aware, they charge to visit and only take credit cards. Since I only use plastic, worked for me.

A few seals, a few otters and a TON of birds.
Pleasant walk. Paddle boarders and even a tour boat on the water.

The otters are cute. The sea lions smell like salty urine. The calm waters are a lie — the winds push against you when your arms are tired and falling off and you are trying to make it back to the dock in your kayak and the waves are trying to smash you into the pylons and the other people in your party are straggling behind and you’re not sure if they’ve capsized or a shark got them and there’s a little girl crying and you can hear her from half a mile away but we had fun.

Kayaking through the Elkhorn Slough was so fun! My recommendation is to rent the kayaks when they open for the day. By midday the rental office was packed and we had to wait about 30−45min before we were able to get through the line, paperwork, and safety orientation. I knew it would be crowded (on a Saturday), so I was prepared for the wait.
The experience was amazing. We saw lots of otters, seals, sea lions, and many different types of birds. Kayaking was a great work out and I will definitely be coming back soon!

I really enjoyed sea animals by kayaking! Seals, sea otters, and birds!
They are so cute. Especially sea otters! One of them were right near the kayak and I saw his curious face!
It was a part of REI outdoor class, my third time kayaking. Because my first kayaking experience was horrible, I had been a litte nervous, but it turned out great.

A very relaxing and beautiful place to kayak. It was well worth the trip. The sights were enjoyable. The wildlife was enjoyable to see and hear

If kayaking is your hobby and you are in Monterey, please don’t miss out kayaking from Moss Landing Launch to the Elkhorn Slough. There’s an $ 11 park and kayak fee. This a must to get up close and personal to see the Otters, Sea Lions, and wildlife birds in a protected park that only kayakers and permitted boats that does excursions go through. I’ve kayaked up and down the coast. And this one place will be on my top list as a Favorite!
Recommendation: Make sure you check when high and low tides are. Makes a whirl of difference because if you paddle in to the slough during high tide, it’s easier to get into the slough and when you leave during low tide, it’s easier to get out as the current us pulling you back to the ocean. This was 101 on tides taught my my husband in a matter of a minute. lol. Also check for wind advisory. This is most important. It could dangerous for beginner paddlers.
Moss Landing launch area has it’s own paradise as well. Kayaking across the launch to the beach side are Brown Pelicans lined in rows and as you follow the shore towards the dock you’ll find several dozen Sea Lions sunbathing. As you exit out of Moss landing estuary, and head under the highway 1 bridge into the Slough, you’ll notice the pier on your left. There’s several dozen Sea Lions hanging out. Most people can watch from above.
The slough is over 6 miles long. Hug the shores and enjoy hours of kayaking with creatures that you normally wouldn’t encounter. Don’t forget to bring binoculars, water bottle, snack, sun block, hat, and a wind breaker.

We originally planned in kayaking with Monterey Bay kayaks but the winds were too high and so we were referred to their other location here at Elkhorn Slough. We came here on a Wednesday in June– pretty late in the day like 5:30 pm since we were coming from Monterey and were waiting to see if the winds would calm down.
The Elkhorn slough staff was extremely nice especially for coming later on in the day. Kayaking was $ 30 for a single kayak for all day and it comes with the wet suit, windbreaker jacket, and life jacket. You can wear your bathing suit or clothes under the wet suit. It’s to keep you warm. They were open til 7pm so we had like an hour to kayak. They give you a quick how-​to and show you the map of where you can go. George helped us out and was friendly and good-​natured.
The otters, seals, and sea lions are all really close to the kayak place. You could probably see them all on 30 – 45 minutes kayak if you really wanted to. Further out though you can see some pelicans and a few more seals. It’s crazy to see the pelicans dive in to the water for fish. You can get about 5 kayak lengths away from the animals — by law, but it’s honestly a bit intimidating to see them so close up anyways. The sea lions kinda smell and are noisy and always bickering at each other so I would stay further away from them. Some times the otters will follow you for a little bit. And the ones that I passed on the rocks just kinda stared at us!
Since we only had an hour, we had to Hurry back so it was a bit of an upper body workout. The water was against us so we had to work harder coming back in than going out. It’s a $ 25 fee if they have to come get you.
Overall, I would recommend this place if you want to see some great animals up close and personal. I didn’t have any problems with this place though and I didn’t notice a smell or anything (unless you are right in front of the sea lions). However i still would love to try the Monterey Bay experience.

My husband and I kayaked for a couple of hours through here on a vacation to the Monterey Peninsula in May, 2013. We are from Ontario, Canada and had a great time. We brought our own kayaks and launched at Moss Landing harbour and paid $ 10 to park and launch. We saw sea otters, sea lions, harbour seals, cormorants and other birds we could not identify. It was not in any way threatening and the sea animals frolicked near our kayaks. Some were quite curious and none seemed to feel threatened by our presence. It was a bit smelly right near the harbour but well into the slough we did not detect any odour. We would highly recommend this site for kayaking.

Beautiful bit of nature to take in and explore. Lots of wildlife. Just a great place to be outdoors.

My husband and I kayaked through the slough, one of the best experiences! We saw a lot of otters and sea lions. The otters would follow you it was so neat. The view of the surrounding area from your kayak is a different experience than just seeing the slough as your drive by on highway 1.
I would recommend kayaking the slough if you enjoy being in nature and want to surround yourself with the sea life.
As mentioned in previous post it does smell, but after awhile you get used to it.

delicious.
Kayaking upon the water we spotted the swimming mushrooms and the old barking mermaid, which whacked the bottom of my vessel.
Lunching otters flicked fish skin to the sea birds.
Poets rhyme about the cycles of nature, but no one writes of how it smells, less than

One of the best bird watching areas in Northern California. Great hiking and kayaking. Wonderful area to enjoy nature. There are also tours sailing out of Moss Landing that go through Elkhorn Slough.

Elkhorn Slough is completely worth the drive from Oakland. I went with two friends and enjoyed the day birdwatching and checking out the flora and fauna.
Finding the place was made easy by the big signs when you arrive in Moss Landing. Once you turn at the big factory you still have a few miles to go but don’t lose heart.
We entered the nature center and the volunteers were outstanding. They gave us succinct descriptions of the different trails. The interpretive data about plants, animals, and history was very well presented in a way that kids as well as parents will enjoy.
While we were there we got to see the barn owls nesting in the Elkhorn Dairy barn. The place used to be a working farm.
The quiet zones are well illustrated for both the owls and the zone to protect the other animals. Walking the trails is easy. There is a tiny elevation of a climb at the end when you are returning to the nature center.
We saw gopher snakes, red racers, some lizards, gophers, acorn woodpeckers, song sparrows, marsh and house wrens, flycatchers, western grebes, american egrets, common and Forster terns, and loads of hummingbirds.
The mustard was in bloom yesterday (May 2). It was striking against the blue sky.
While we did not partake of either kayaks or the educational boat (which is uncovered-​bring hats) we did see many people enjoying this method of exploration.
We saw some sea lions and sea otters at the mouth of the slough next to the street near Phil’s Seafood Restaurant.
This is an outstanding place to bring a family. You will enjoy all of the beauty.

If you like kayaking, this trip should definately be on your list of places to check out. There are hundreds of seals, sea lions and otters all around. The only bad thing is that the stench from the animals is a little bad! Bring a scarf to wrap around your face and you’ll be just fine!!!