Morro Bay Rock
Morro Bay, California
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Foggy, 55°
Morro Bay is a beautiful coastal city in California. It's known for Morro Rock, a 581 foot ancient volcanic mound at the end of Morro Rock Beach. The rock sits within Morro Bay State Park, home to lagoons, trails and a bird-rich saltwater marsh. Morro Bay State Park’s Museum of Natural History features exhibits on ecology and local Native American culture. Trails lead up Black Hill for views over the city and Morro Bay. It is on Pacific Coast Highway 1 about twenty miles from the Hearst Castle on Enchanted Hill near San Simeon.
The Morro Bay Campground is right next to the beach providing many different access points to the beach for walking, bird watching, and more. Arriving at the campground office, it was just minutes before they closed up for the evening and they hurriedly did the paperwork so they could go home. The campsite was on the beach side which was nice as the campground was full of people. Arriving, it was foggy with clouds covering most of Morro Rock. Since there was still plenty of daylight left, we decided to drive about 30 miles to the Elephant Seal Sanctuary and not have to backtrack in the morning since Highway 1 is still closed due to a massive mud slide last year and is not scheduled to reopen until August.
Driving up past the towns of Cambria and San Simeon, the fog lifted partially so by the time the Hearst Castle appeared on the top of the hillside several miles away the white twin towers glistened in the afternoon sun. The rolling hills on both sides of the road were filled with cattle and we could see a coyote or two running in the fields.
Arriving at the Elephant Seal Compound, there were only a few cars and one other motorhome in the parking area so it was easy to find a spot to park as the lot is big enough for about a hundred vehicles. There is about a quarter mile long viewing area to see the elephant seals lying in the sand.
Elephant Seals on beach
There were probably 150 total with a few in the water as most were snuggled up together flipping sand on each other. Several males let out some belching mating call sounds and a few were fighting for a spot in the group.
Males mating call
Driving back to Morro Bay, the fog had settled in for the evening and was still hanging low on the Rock the next morning when a beach walk was in order.
Morro Rock
There were not many people on the beach except for a group of school children being given paddle board lessons from the lifeguards close to the Rock. There were plenty of seabirds around with several pelican’s formation flying back and forth. It would have been nice if the fog had lifted to get a few pictures of Morro Rock in the morning sun.
Rocky Point
It was a nice camping spot and I can easily see why it would stay full of people enjoying the beauty of the bay, Morro Rock, and the things to do in the area.