Get a close-up look at two-ton seals at a coastal preserve.

With an enormous body and a giant proboscis-like snout, even one bull elephant seal would be enough to catch your eye. Now imagine the staggering sight of thousands of these beasts hauled up on a narrow beach adjacent to State 1 just north of San Simeon. That'll get your attention.

The Piedras Blancas Rookery  offers the amazing site of a huge herd of these pinnipeds 7 miles north of San Simeon (perfect for a stop after Hearst Castle). During breeding and pupping season (generally December through March), the beach is home to some 15,000 elephant seals, coming ashore to mate, give birth, and generally hang out--an impressive feat when you're 16 feet long and 5,000-plus pounds. Whether you catch the seals when they're feeling raucous, or when they're lolling in the sun and barely twitching a flipper, you'll never forget the sight of all that life. Admission is free, and on-site docents can answer your questions. Even outside the breeding season, seals can often be seen here, though in smaller numbers.

Join us in celebrating California Western Monarch Day. The grove will be open from 10am-4pm with fun activities for the whole family from 12pm-2pm. Come for the butterfly face painting, quilt making and lifecycle bracelet making and stay for the cake and punch! This entire event is free, so bring the whole family and witness the beautiful orange and black "fairy-like" Monarch Butterflies cluster by the thousands in our Eucalyptus trees. The Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove is located on Highway 1, between Grand Avenue and the North Beach Campground.