

The park offers guided walks, led by volunteer docent naturalists, to see the massive creatures in their natural habitat inside the Natural Preserve. Why Do It? This is the home for elephant seals, named because of their large size and long pendulous noses on the male, which use the sand dunes here to rest and mate.

What Is It? If you’re in the area during the wintertime, from about mid-December through the end of March, be sure to visit Ano Nuevo State Park. The beach itself stretches down to where it meets the mouth of the Pajaro River, providing three miles of unobstructed, stunning shoreline. Good to Know: The beach also offers a picnic area and the largest dunes in the country, mountainous 200-foot-high sand dunes that build up in front of the coastal bluff. Dead sand dollars will be white, or off-white, in color – if they’re still alive, they’ll be reddish-brown and have a fuzzy appearance, be sure and leave those where you find them. You’ll need to check the tide tables and go about an hour before low tide. Their dried-up exoskeleton remains, which is what is commonly collected by beachgoers, are often used in DIY decorative items. Why Do It? Sand dollars are sea creatures that live on the bottom of the ocean, burrowing into the sand to stay protected from debris and predators. What Is It? Sunset State Beach, just south of Santa Cruz, is not only a wonderful place to camp near the Pacific, but it’s one of the best beaches for beachcombing for sand dollars.
