Fifty-five miles south of San Francisco and the Golden Gate, a low, rocky, windswept point juts out into the Pacific Ocean. Lonely, undeveloped, wild. Elephant seals, sea lions, and other marine mammals come ashore to rest, mate, and give birth in the sand dunes or on the beaches and offshore islands. It is a unique and unforgettable natural spectacle that hundreds of thousands of people come to witness each year.

Ano Nuevo State Reserve is the site of the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal. During the winter breeding season the males battle for mates on the beaches and the females give birth to their pups on the dunes.