Elkhorn Slough

The Elkhorn Slough is a magical place full of wildlife and beauty. Meandering seven miles inland from the coast in the center of the picturesque Monterey Bay, the Elkhorn Slough harbors the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay. This biologically rich estuary provides habitat for a diversity of resident and migratory birds, plants, marine mammals and fish, and has been identified as a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Birding Conservancy. High concentration of Southern sea otters – reaching more than 125 individuals – resides in the slough. Hundreds of harbor seals loaf along the shore and large groups of California sea lions add a raucous chorus to the slough in the spring. As part of the Pacific flyway tens of thousands of birds migrate through every year. All told, over 340 species of birds have been identified in and around the slough. elkhornslough.org