Moss Landing State Beach

This is a scenic beach that is a major draw for people who love to watch sea otters. I love coming here with my boyfriend and just watching the sea otters gliding on the waters. Apparently, at this time it is especially great to see the sea otters as there are many sea otter parents and their young according to local news. The docking pier gets filled with lounging sea lions often– a silly sight to behold! There is also a variety of shore birds here as well. Being that this beach is located near the Elkhorn Slough, there is much wild life to see. Nearby are a great selection of antique shops, restaurants, a KOA campground, the harbor office, yacht club and MBARI.
Pros:
–great place to view wildlife esp. sea otters
–located near the Elkhorn Slough
–many unique shops, restaurants and other businesses nearby
–breathtaking scenic views of the ocean esp. during sunset
–a popular place for fishing, and kayaking
Cons:
–Nothing!

One of the most amazing wildlife-​viewing spots anywhere. Get off the highway, stretch you legs, breathe in the salt air, watch otters in the shallow slough, seals in the ocean surf, whales just offshore, shorebirds, raptors… all just a stone’s throw from the power plant.
Tip – restroom facilities are crude (read: portajohns).

This is a great place to look at the sea otters. they are guaranteed to be there, abut 25 of them. Laying in water or frolicking.
This place is well known for their whale watching from the beach and for bird watching. There is a restaurant at east side of the bay,
After your otter watch or whatever, you might want to go to the Sea Harest Fish Market & Restaurant. They serve top quality sea food at a $$ pricing. No kidding. It is also the only restaurant which has a good view of sea otters, many birds, many many. I know my sea food, I am sure you’ll love it.
Bring your binoculars and telescopes.

We spent a few hours at the beach on 09÷19÷15 to hopefully spot some whales. It didn’t take very long. Maybe it was beginners luck? But we immediately spotted Humpbacks spraying, and caught their tales as they dived. Binoculars are a must. The beach was clean and dotted with fisherman. We enjoyed our stay… No issues. Porta Potties were clean. We will definately return.

Like a virgin, touched for the very first time .;-)
It’s not the first time and for sure it won’t be a last time either. But eveytime I come back here, I feel everything is new and fresh, so excited, so passionate just like being with a Virgin, lol…
I think «Nature is beautiful «for whatever it is, there’s no reason that they don’t deserve 5 star. I would give a match of the amount of stars in the sky, hehehe…
I was curious why others gave less star for this amazing beach so I read several reviews to find out. So your car got broken and your stuffs got stolen? There’s nothing to do with the beach, just because some bad people around and it got hit for 1 star? It’s not fair in my opinion, we just need to be more caferul for next time… Yeah, it was sad to see dead sea otters and birds on the shore but well I think it’s part of life and nature. For us, we’re human, we got our graveyard when we die and for them they’re belong to where they came from which is ocean .;-).So let the ocean waves bring them back to their home land.;-).
Nevertheless there’s some activities for you to do beside relaxing at the beach. I’m looking into learning how to Kayak and It’s perfect for begining here, maybe next summer. There’s some famous restaurant in the Harbor to dine in, I want to try the one called «Phil’s Seafoods.» (I don’t know excatly the name) but it was a long line so I didn’t mind asking for how long is the wait. I prefer to spent my time to visit another beach though.
Let go with all the things that didn’t serve you right.
Come visiting the beach to enjoy the beautiful life.
Sniffing on ocean breezes to feel that you’re alive.
Amazing that everything will be so fine .;)
I got to stop here before you guys start laughing at me .
Enjoy, Enjoy!!!

Didn’t go to the beach side, but on the other side of the jetty which uses the same parking lot (free!). It’s a pretty neat area due to the bewildering concentration of wildlife — all in one convenient location. Lots of sea otters, sea lions, and hundreds of shore/​sea birds. You can rent kayaks to get even a closer view of the wildlife (on the protected inner portion, behind the jetty — the waves were rough on the actual beach).

I’m torn, because it was one of the first times since living in the Bay Area that we were able to visit a beach with soft white sand. We were excited about the possibility of seeing whales, but didn’t see any the day we visited (I know they were out there in the canyon, just too far for the naked eye on shore).
Otters are great, but visitors beware… most of the wild“life” we saw was dead. Three dead sea lions on the beach, a dead harbor seal that looked like a shark victim, and a pelican that was reduced to bones.
I know it’s nature and all, but you’d think someone would take care of the carcasses on a state beach!

My favorite beach in the Santa Cruz/​Monterey area. My dad brought me here as child and I brought my son here when he was a toddler for his first beach experience. It’s a quite and clean beach with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Center just down the way.
During the season, you can see sea otters, dolphins and even whales from afar.

Two out of three of the times I’ve been here I’ve seen dolphins and not very far out.

The best place in the world to ride a horse on the beach me & my 2 sisters went last year, it was so wonderful!

Our first true stop after driving up towards Monterey! What a great location! Plenty of otters to see, without the crazy crowds that you find near the aquarium. Plenty of easy parking, and a volunteer was there to talk to us about the otters. Loved it! Call Kayak Connection to see what the otter count is ahead of time to see if there’ll be otters around or not.

This place is great for fishing! We (and when I say we, I mean other people I was with) caught some eel and fish. Fresh dinner!
I did see a lot of sea otters here but unfortunately most of them were dead. There were otter and bird carcasses that washed up to shore. Bones covered the sand and it was just a very sad sight. It was like a graveyard which is why I didn’t give it more stars. This beach is beautiful otherwise with plenty to do from kayaking to dining along the beach.

The Best place to stop and enjoy Sea Otters and Seal Lions… tons of people fish here and very quiet beach just to relax. Great parking.

On our last day in Moss Landing my family and I came here to photograph the sunset. My son is the photographer and we arrived about 15 minutes before sunset. The beach is mostly empty all the time and this time of year not great for sunbathing. Easy access from Hwy 1 with plenty of parking.

Glorious looking beach! Empty! Only a few surfers. Ok is still January, but the day was sunny, so was expecting more people visiting like me, but just a few and since the sand area is so vast, you don’t even have to bother waving hellos to fellow unknown people. I did not see any marine animals other than good looking surfers venturing the waters, whatever was peaceful and instead of Moss Landing should be called Mars Landing as you will feel you land in another planet… bring a picnic and enjoy the waves and the breeze.

What an amazing place. Located right near the Monterey Submarine Canyon and its plentiful fish, the site is a favorite with shoreline whale watchers.
Parking is free and plentiful, and the beach is cool and windy — the perfect NorCal beach experience.
I brought a chair, a blanket and a sandwich and had a fantastic day watching the majestic whales offshore as they breached and glided by. AWESOME spot to spend your day.
Yes you can go on a whale watching cruise nearby, and spend $ 35 – 50 for the up-​close whale experience, which is of course wonderful. But honestly I had such a perfect time here on the beach for free.
Stop by the Whole Enchilada for your snacking needs beforehand.

There was no one here. (Glorious) Could see whales spraying and sea otters & sea lions swimming up to say hello everywhere. Looks really crappy from the parking area, oh it’s not.
Come here for the amazing views and fantastic opportunities to get close to animals that are otherwise pretty rare to see in such numbers and close proximity to the shore.
If you’re coming here looking for a five star bathroom maybe you should just stay home or go somewhere else.
*WARNING*
I really doubt it’s very safe to swim here with all the animals around. (otters and lions are main food items for sharks) It’s also right smack in the middle of the red triangle. I would never let a kid get into this water past waist deep personally.

Heading south on Highway One to visit Moss Landing is an iconic, timeless drive. As the road dips into valleys and rises up again along the marine terraces, the vegetation changes from tall trees to the pristine rows of kale and artichokes being farmed for the rest of us. Moss Landing is recognized by the two tall towers of the power plant (a natural gas-​powered electricity generator), but take a right before the main visitors section, drive to the end of the lot, and you’ll find a beautiful, long and wide sandy beach just on the other side of the dunes. It feels raw and natural, while the distant mountains on either side of the bay look like paintings. There’s not much here in terms of amenities; if there was more than just a single port-​a-​potty, I could see it becoming a popular beach hang-​out.
We were here to see a pod of whales feeding off anchovies — something that happens about once every five years. They could be in this area for a few weeks and I’m hoping to get back out there to take photos with a real zoom lens. But even without a camera, it’s amazing to see so many whales spouting and jumping nearly 100 yards out from the harbor. If you love whales, this is the time to check them out! And if you really love them — although I don’t like how close the boats come to them — there are plenty of whale-​watching tours from Moss Landing.

Ideal place to see sea lions and sea otters throughout the year! One of my colleagues recommended taking a day trip to Moss Landing and we came here on a warm Sunday afternoon to stroll around in the beach and watch the sea otters. Lovely to watch their activities!
Plenty of free parking nearby. I highly recommend bringing your binoculars because it is pretty cool to watch the things that the otters do! Just nearby is a place where you can also watch lots of sea lions within a very close proximity. The sea lions bark so much that your ears get deafened. But kinda cool to see them become territorial with other sea lions and plunging into the waters!

We came here today specifically for the sea otters. Turned on to Jetty rd and followed it all the way down until it ended at a small lot. To your left there is a small harbor and strip of sand with a rocky shoreline with tons of sea birds. Climb up on the rocks and look towards Highway 1. I saw about 5 – 6 otters floating on their backs-​one was particularly close breaking a shell and eating his lunch.
Recommended you bring binoculars-​while they are relatively close, it was still amazing to get the zoomed in view of their furry faces. Nearby, across Highway 1, there appeared to be another viewing area that would be great for birding! We didn’t do that today but will be back!
We also saw lots of sea lions, pelicans and gulls. Overall well worth a stop before heading south to Monterey.
Fortunately we had a little time to walk out on the beach and walk around for a bit. It seemed very clean and had soft lighter sand. It might be nice to sit out on a warmer day-​no swimming though-​warnings abound for the powerful surf on the beach side.
Minus one star for the less than stellar view of the nearby power plant but overall a must visit if you’d like to see a not-​so-​crowded nature area.