From their vantage point high above Drakes Bay, Jeff and Mary Peart had a breathtaking view of dozens of northern elephant seals sunning themselves on the beach, beneath cliffs rising dramatically into the air.
The Pacifica couple, who are recent transplants from the Boston area, had no idea what awaited them on a recent morning after they set off from Highway 1 for the 45-minute drive to Chimney Rock on the bay's western point.
Asked whether the view was worth the effort and gas, Jeff Peart replied, "Absolutely."
The annual winter arrival of the massive pinnipeds always draws a crowd to Point Reyes National Seashore. The seals, after traveling thousands of miles, haul themselves out at Drakes Bay to give birth and to mate, or to simply take a well-deserved nap.
"We heard there were elephant seals here, so we decided to check it out," said Don Kraus, an Alexandria, Va., resident who was with his family.
Biologists who monitor the seal population recently spotted the first pup of the season born on the beach at Point Reyes. Most pups are born in January, and initially are about 3 to 4 feet long and weigh about 60 pounds. Fully grown, a male elephant seal can reach 18 feet in length and top the scale at 18,000 pounds.
Pups born at the seashore have been tracked as far away as Canada, Alaska and Russia.
They aren't particularly friendly creatures, which is why park officials request that visitors give the animals a wide berth. That's not an issue at the overlook near Chimney Rock. A word of advice: bring binoculars.
Another tip is to try to visit the seashore on a weekday to avoid the crowds.That also applies for whale watching. Dozens of Pacific gray whales have been spotted in recent days at Point Reyes migrating past the lighthouse on their way to lagoons in Baja California.
"Guess what? The whales are still running Monday through Friday," said John A. Dell'Osso, chief of interpretation and resource education at the national seashore.
He said mornings are a better time for whale watching because the setting sun can be blinding on the western horizon. Windy days, like those at the seashore last week, also can make spotting a whale tail that much trickier.
That northern elephant seals appear to be thriving at Point Reyes is no small achievement after humans nearly hunted the pinnipeds to extinction by the late 1800s, according to the Point Reyes National Seashore Association.
The Mexican government banned elephant seal hunting in 1922, followed by the United States, at a time when only 100 of the animals were believed to still be in existence.
The seals returned to the Point Reyes Headlands in the 1970s and the first breeding pair was discovered in 1981, according to the association. The colony since then has been growing at an average annual rate of 16 percent, and worldwide, the population is estimated at 150,000.
Park officials have resumed shuttle bus service to Chimney Rock to help manage traffic and parking. The shuttle operates on weekends and federal Monday holidays in good weather.
Tickets go on sale at 9:30 a.m. at the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach and sales end at 3 p.m.
