Morro Rock, Morro Bay

What a beautiful landmark. Parking is free and there are restrooms available. Came on Christmas so it wasn't packed but I do feel the tourist vibes and can imagine how packed it gets on a normal day. Landing of the first Filipinos structure located right at the parking area. Didn't get to see any otters or seals. 😭 To be honest getting pictures here is not the best. I want to say the best picture I got of Morro Rock was at the top of Lookout point at Morro Bay State Park.

There are so many things to see, at Morro Rock. For years, we've been driving up to the Central Coast, and casually glancing at this monstrosity of nature, but little more than that, before 1/22/23. My wife & I were sitting on a bench, at a Cambria beach the day prior, admiring the waves, crashing into this rocky shoreline. 2 soft-spoken & very kind ladies, walking a dog, approached us. They asked us where we were from, & we told them Oceanside, CA. This began an interesting discussion about Cambria, & all the amazing sights to see along California's Central Coast. I told them I'd never been able to get any up-close-and-personal pics of the sea otters, which I think are so cute! They told me, if I wanted to view sea otters up close, I should go to Morro Rock...and the rest is history. Just 1 day later, we pulled into a large gravel parking lot, & parked on the northern side of the mammoth rock, & used the restrooms there. It's worth noting, there's no charge to enter, or park at Morro Rock. What a novel concept, in this day & age! After this, I took a few panoramas of Morro Rock, then walked out to the ocean side, where some large waves were crashing into the jetty boundary rocks, creating long graceful sea spray fans. I took some photos of a few brave surfers, who were out there in frigid water, battling these waves. After standing there awhile, I noticed the truly large waves, were a rarity, & remarked about it to my wife. A guy in his car said, "Wait another 16 minutes, & there'll be another one," then laughed. I wasn't counting, but it took a long time for the next 1 to appear. During the gaps between big waves, I took the opportunity to photograph a Pacific Loon offshore, at the outer range of my camera's capabilities. We then re-parked our car on the southern end, in "The Rock's" dirt parking lot, & began walking a paved trail, which circles Morro Rock. My wife spotted a sea otter, about midway out in the protected channel, bobbing with the tidal action. We thought there was a smaller one with it, but from that distance, it was hard to tell. There were also lots of sea birds floating atop the blue-green water. We continued on the trail, which winds around the base of this humongous rock sentinel. Up high now, nearly midway up Morro Rock, I spotted a Great Blue Heron. It's shaggy neck plumage was whipping about, in the strong gusty winds. Seconds later, an Osprey rose over the massive rock's pinnacle, & headed our way. I took several pics, knowing they wouldn't be great, but a photographer's gotta try, right? We made it to the end of the paved trail, where a dirt trail takes over. I noticed that larger waves on the ocean-side of the protective jetty, were creating some impressive white fan bursts of water, upon impact. I shot some pics of this phenomenon, then we headed back to the car. Nearly back to our vehicle, I spied a Red-Tailed Hawk, which was hovering in place, right over the peak of Morro Rock. This is a rarity, & a sure sign that it's super windy, up there. While walking forward, fully-focused on this bird of prey, I shuffled into a large pothole, where the paved trail had transitioned, unbeknownst to me, into the more worn-out roadway. I wiped out, crashing to the ground. Luckily, I avoided serious injury. I was able to break my fall with both hands. A sprained wrist & road rash, were my reward for not paying attention. Just as I was assessing my physical state, my wife spotted a sea otter mother & her adorable baby, not 40 ft. from shore, & yelled out to me. I hurried over & began taking pics & video. I then re-positioned, in front of a group of people, who were equally enthralled with this small otter family As luck would have it, the mother sea otter swam up close, toward me, pulling it's baby through the water, with one paw. I got my best pics & video of the cute pair, right then. They were no more than 20 feet away! This ends my marathon review. Hope you enjoyed it. If I hadn't fallen on the beat-up black-top, I'd have given Morro Rock five ⭐'s.