The California coast hosts enormous populations of California sea lions, harbour seals, and northern elephant seals, all reliably visible year-round. Iconic encounters include the noisy colony on Pier 39 in San Francisco, La Jolla Cove near San Diego where pups snooze on city beaches, Pinnipeds hauled out at Monterey Bay's Fisherman's Wharf, the elephant seal rookery at Año Nuevo, and snorkelling with sea lions at the Channel Islands. Breeding peaks in summer (June-August) on offshore islands, with pups learning to swim close to shore.
