Año Nuevo State Park, about 55 miles south of San Francisco, is known for its rookeries of seals and sea lions. Northern elephant seals, California sea lions and sea otters come ashore to rest, mate and give birth on its dunes and beaches, and hundreds of thousands of people come to see them each year.
It is one of the largest mainland breeding colonies for the northern elephant seal. Elephant seals were hunted almost to extinction for lamp oil by the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have recovered.
From mid-December through late March, access to the reserve is by guided walk only. Most adult seals leave by mid-March, leaving the weaned pups, and the seals return in spring and summer.
More on this site: the beaches