Location: County: San Mateo. Nearest City: Pescadero.
Campsites, facilities: No campsite. Point of interest
to visit while on tour.
Reservations, fees: The price per person is $4.00.
Children 3 and under are free and are not included in the group
size. There are no refunds for cancellations, no shows, or late
arrivals. A parking fee is charged per vehicle at the Reserve:
Auto $5.00, bus $20.00 (10 to 24 passengers), or bus $40.00 (25
or more passengers).
Contact: Recorded Information anytime at 1-650-879-0227.
Reserve office (Not for Reservations!): 1-650-879-2025
(8:30 am - 3:30 p.m. PT) Web site: www.anonuevo.org
Año Nuevo State Reserve
New Years Creek Road
Pescadero CA 94060
Operating hours, seasons: Call the park for information;
Año Nuevo State Reserve is open from 8 am to sunset.
Directions: Año Nuevo State Reserve is located
on State Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, about
1.5 hours south of San Francisco. Reserve signs are located on
the highway in both directions. (Some people miss the brown signs.
Be alert about 27 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 20 miles north
of Santa Cruz).
Weather, clothing: The trail is muddy during wet weather.
Be prepared for possible wind, rain, and sun. Wear layered clothing
and sturdy shoes. Hooded gear is strongly advised. Cameras and
binoculars are welcome!
Trip notes: Introduction: Fifty-five miles south
of San Francisco and the Golden Gate, a low, rocky, windswept
point juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish maritime explorer
Sebastian Vizcaino sailed by the point on January 3, 1603. His
diarist and chaplain of the expedition, Father Antonio de la
Ascension, named it Punta de Año Nuevo for the day on
which they sighted it in 1603. New Year's Point. Today, the point
remains much as Vizcaino saw it from his passing ship. Lonely,
undeveloped, wild. 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. Año Nuevo State Reserve
is the site of the largest mainland breeding colony in the world
for the northern elephant seal, and the interpretive program
has attracted increasing interest every winter for the past 19
years. People who hope to see the seals during the winter breeding
season are urged to get their reservations early. The males battle
for mates on the beaches and the females give birth to their
pups on the dunes. During the breeding season, December through
March, daily access to the reserve is available via guided walks
only. Most of the adult seals are gone by early March, leaving
behind the weaned pups who remain through April. 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. Visitation: This 4,000 acre Reserve
is a major gathering area for northern elephant seals, which
may be seen year-around. The males battle for mates on the beaches.
The females give birth to their young on the dunes. During the
breeding season, December 15 through March 31, daily access to
the Reserve is available only via guided walks. Advance reservations
are recommended for walks.
© 2001, Miwok Lodge 439, Order of the
Arrow, Santa Clara County Council Inc., BSA
Revision 1.2
