Point Arena & Stornetta
Mendocino Coast · near Point Arena · North Coast
Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Dec–Apr for gray whales; seabirds & pinnipeds year-round
- Open year round
- Yes
What is here
- Wildlife
- whales · seals-otters · birds
- Species
- Gray whales, harbor seals, California sea lions, black oystercatchers, cormorants
- Amenities
- Point Arena Lighthouse · Stornetta public-lands trails · Wild bluff coastline · Whale-watching overlooks
- Best for
- Wild, uncrowded coastal wildlife walking
- Features
- One of the tallest West Coast lighthouses · Gray whales offshore · Wild Stornetta bluffs · Seals & seabirds
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Exposed, windy cliffs · Sneaker waves & unstable edges · Long open trails, little shade · Keep distance from hauled-out pinnipeds
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- trail
- Effort
- moderate
- Habitat
- coast
- Sighting
- 3
- Viewing notes
- A wild, wind-scoured point with one of the West Coast's tallest lighthouses — gray whales offshore, harbor seals and sea lions on the rocks, and seabirds along a dramatic public-lands coastline
- Intl tip
- A wild, uncrowded stretch of the Mendocino coast: one of the tallest lighthouses on the West Coast plus the raw bluff-top trails of the Stornetta public lands. Gray whales offshore in winter and spring, harbor seals and sea lions on the rocks, seabirds year-round — with sea stacks, blowholes, and hidden coves. Moderate walking on exposed, sometimes muddy paths; steep unstable cliffs, so keep back from the edge and watch sneaker waves. Wild wildlife and quiet trails.
The guide
Point Arena, crowned by one of the tallest lighthouses on the West Coast (115 feet, tied with Pigeon Point) and fringed by the …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Point Arena & Stornetta — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.95, -123.74