Elkhorn Slough
Moss Landing (Monterey County) · near Moss Landing (Monterey County) · Central Coast
Kayaking & SUP · Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Year-round · Best spring for pups (seal and otter) · Morning departures before afternoon wind
- Best season
- Year-round; birding peaks in migration (fall & spring)
- Open year round
- Yes
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit. Launch from Moss Landing Harbor public area. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve — respect wildlife distance regulations (100 feet from marine mammals).
What is here
- Wildlife
- Sea otters (resident population, often floats in rafts of 30+) · Harbor seals · Bottlenose dolphins · Brown pelicans · Numerous shorebirds · California sea lions · Bat rays
- Wildlife
- seals-otters · birds
- Species
- Southern sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, brown pelicans, shorebirds, 340+ bird species
- Amenities
- Best sea otter viewing in CA · Kayak & pontoon tours · 340+ bird species · Reserve trails & visitor center
- Best for
- Sea otters & estuary birding
- Features
- Rafts of sea otters · Harbor seal haul-outs · One of CA's top birding spots · Easy kayak or boat tours
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Hazards
- Tidal currents (kayakers) · Keep well back from otters & pups · Wind picks up midday · Sun & water exposure
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Nickname
- Moss Landing Wildlife Corridor
- Water types
- estuary
- Exposure
- sheltered
- Sup friendly
- Yes
- Wetsuit
- 3mm to 5mm recommended · Water 54–60°F · Sea otters don't require wetsuits but humans do
- Tidal note
- Elkhorn Slough is one of California's largest coastal wetlands. Tides affect how far up the slough channels you can paddle. Outgoing tide pulls toward the Moss Landing harbor entrance — avoid getting too close to the harbor mouth on ebb tide. Kayak Connections times their tours with optimal wildlife viewing windows.
- Intl tip
- Moss Landing is 15 miles north of Monterey on Hwy 1 — the antique stores and seafood restaurants along Moss Landing Road make it a worthwhile stop regardless of paddling. Elkhorn Slough Safari (boat tours) is an alternative for non-kayakers or groups with mixed paddling ability. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, 15 miles south, provides academic context for everything you'll see in the slough.
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- boat
- Effort
- easy
- Habitat
- bay-estuary
- Sighting
- 5
- Viewing notes
- The best place in California to see sea otters up close — a tidal estuary rafting with otters, harbor seals, and hundreds of bird species, explored by kayak or pontoon tour
- Intl tip
- The best place in California to see southern sea otters up close — a calm tidal estuary reaching inland from Moss Landing. Rafts of otters cracking shellfish and cradling pups, plus harbor seals, sea lions, and 340+ bird species (pelicans, shorebirds, herons), best in migration. Explore by pontoon tour, rented kayak, or reserve trails. Easy and family-friendly, but kayakers should mind tidal currents and midday wind, and everyone should keep well back — never approach otters or pups.
The guide
No paddling experience in California puts you closer to wild sea otters than Elkhorn Slough. The otters here don't flee from ka…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Elkhorn Slough — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.8105, -121.784