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Forget expensive safari trips to Africa. The Central Coast is home to a menagerie of beautiful, rare, and wild beasts, from butterflies to zebras. If you’re patient, you will witness the wonder of a gentle heron alighting from the bay, an otter popping its head out to spy on your kayak crew, or even a massive, ancient whale breaching off the coast of a private cove. So grab your binoculars and explore—and remember: Leave no trace. Our Picks!
Reader's Pick!
Educational Centers
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California's Barn Owl |
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From
roughly October through February, monarch butterflies flit and flutter to the
safety of three premier groves on the Central Coast. To see this wonder of
orange-wing-smattered eucalyptus trees is a one-of-a-kind experience. Pismo
State Beach has the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in
the U.S most years (
Channel Islands
Ann from Cambria voted for “Small, cozy, intimate San Simeon Bay with
sea otters and seals and a setting that will take your mind to a different
latitude and space” in this category, and we can’t agree more.
The exceptional setting is also home to the Central Coast’s most glorified
pinnipeds: the breeding, beaching, and bellowing elephant seals that arrive
at Piedras Blancas in droves each year. If you’ve never gone to see
it for yourself, try the late winter months through April to catch sight
of the black-coated babies. In the summer, you may catch the adult males molting;
and toward December, watch the antics as they claim their territory and
mates.
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