Año Nuevo State Refuge

Photo by sonofabike (Flickr) The beach of Año Nuevo State Park can be accessed from New Years Creek Road off of Highway 1 in Pescadero, San Mateo County. The park protects the scenic, biological, and ecological values of this central California coastline, including Año Nuevo Island and the inland areas from Año Nuevo Point, a windswept point named by the Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino. Today, this point remains undeveloped and wild; it is the site of the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal. Elephant seals, sea lions, and other marine mammals come ashore to rest, mate, and give birth in the sand dunes or on the beaches and offshore islands. It is a unique and unforgettable natural spectacle that hundreds of thousands of people come to witness each year. It protects the pinniped rookeries, a prime resource, and significant wildlife habitats on Año Nuevo Island and the mainland. It also boasts native dunes and coastal terrace prairie habitats, and a diversity of inland plant communities including old growth forest, freshwater marsh, and knobcone pine forest. You can find steelhead trout and coho salmon in the streams, and its wetlands are habitat to the rare San Francisco garter snake and red-legged frog. From December to March (the breeding season), daily access to the park is available via guided walks only. Advanced reservations are recommended for the walks. The elephant seals return to Año Nuevo's beaches during the spring and summer months to molt and can be observed during this time through a permit system. There is a Visitor Center that features natural history exhibits as well as restrooms, picnic tables, and drinking water. Food and beverages are not sold. Pets are not allowed in the park and cannot be left inside parked vehicles in the parking lot. No harassing or disturbing wild animals. Elephant seals are dangerous and you should never get within 25 feet of them. Collecting of shells, rocks, wood, plants or animals is prohibited. Fires of all types and smoking is not permitted in the park.