Elkhorn Slough Tours

Information for those new to kayaking in Elkhorn Slough:

Natural History Tours

Elkhorn Slough 3-Hour Tour

Elkhorn slough is one of 17 estuarine reserves in the US. It is home to saltwater, freshwater and marshland wildlife. In the fall and spring, many migrating shore birds and waterfowl are found here. There are also numerous types of birds that are permanent residents. Seals and otters spend time resting and playing in the calm environment of the Slough. This is an excellent paddle for beginners going in stable double kayaks. Bring binoculars, sunscreen, hat, windbreaker, and a drink. Call our Moss Landing store at 831-724-5692 to make reservations. $50.

Midweek Specials for Schools and Other Nonprofit Groups

Bring your students for a 3-hour Natural History Tour of the Elkhorn Slough during the week and receive an incredible deal: $25 per student and $50 per adult. This is an excellent field educational opportunity for your students. There's also a possibility to visit the Elkhorn Slough Visitors Center (if you've gone through their training) and make a full day field trip. Everyone will be in a double kayak and you must bring adult chaperones. Call our Moss Landing store at 831-724-5692 to make reservations.

Family Tours

Private Guided Tours

Private 3-Hour Tour: This is the standard Elkhorn Slough Tour. The cost for a private 3 hour tour for 2-3 people is $65 per person. For 4-10 people it is $60 per person.

Private 4-Hour Tour: This longer naturalist-led tour will give you a more intimate and thorough look at the natural life of the Elkhorn Slough. You'll spend more time observing the otters and harbor seals, the flocks of pelicans, terns, and the shy loons. $70 per person.

Private Ride the Tide Kayak Tour: Ride the Tide of the Elkhorn Slough and see a large portion of the very serene and quiet backwaters of the Elkhorn Slough, using our new shuttle service. $75 per person.

Private Birdwatching Tour: Join our birdwatching enthusiasts who will take you to their secret spots to watch the fascinating shorebirds, egrets, loons and birds of prey that inhabit the Slough. $75 person.
Or, you can combine this birdwatching tour with our shuttle and see the birds that nest and feed in the back of the Elkhorn Slough. $85 per person.

Sunrise Paddle

Sunset Paddle

Join us for our most popular outing in Santa Cruz and Moss Landing. We meet 2 hours before sunset and go out for a paddle in the company of otters, seals, herons, and pelicans to watch the sky turn pink as the sun sets. Paddling a double kayak is a great adventure for both beginners and experts. Bring your friends and have your own private sunset adventure out in the Monterey Bay or in the intimate setting of the Elkhorn Slough. $30.

Full Moon Paddle

Join us for the experience of a lifetime. We'll watch the sun set and the moon rise, and then paddle under the light of the full moon. Our focus for this trip is to enjoy the full moon's shimmering light on the water and experience paddling in the dark. Paddling experience is recommended but not required. Bring layerable clothing, windbreaker, and a change of warm clothing. You provide the cookies, we'll bring a warm drink! Cost: $50.

Ride the Tide Kayak Tour

Description: Already experienced the Elkhorn Slough and want more? Come and discover the back waterways of the slough with us. With the wind at our backs and the tide pushing us along, we'll effortlessly glide 4 miles, with the seals and otters as our escorts. We'll paddle past Hummingbird Island, Rubis Creek, and Moonglow Dairy while we observe pelicans, cormorants, and gulls as they fly with us. Enjoy the whole of this most special spot in our back yard. Bring your own lunch.

2008 Dates

A Birdwatcher's Paradise in Elkhorn Slough

In the fall and winter the Elkhorn Slough virtually vibrates with birds -- flocks of thousands of sandpipers, dunlins, dowitchers and other shorebirds. These flocks of birds put on a captivatingly powerful show of nature as they fly overhead -- diving and turning. In a kayak, one can view this stunning show in an intimate and unobtrusive manner.

During this time of the year, the Elkhorn Slough is a dramatic backdrop for shorebirds on their migratory path. Every bird wintering here, including the tiny sandpipers, have traveled thousands of miles to come to the Slough. From 1983 to 1990, the Elkhorn Slough held the North American record for the highest number of bird species (116) observed from a fixed point in one day!

Tour participants will be exposed to many of the active birding areas around Elkhorn Slough. Several of the exciting habitats to be visited will include the slough's main channel, tidal creeks, grasslands, transitional plant communities, and oak woodlands. The tour will last for 4 hours.

Comments from a recent customer:

"...I was soon at ease in my little kayak and we were off to see the birds. I was spellbound. This was the most natural way I had ever entered into the realm of birds and animals. I did not feel like an intrusive observer--I felt like I was part of the whole."

Clothing and Equipment:

Kayak, paddle, life jacket, spray skirt, and paddling jacket will be provided. It is advisable to dress warmly in layers for the trip out on the slough. There is always the possibility that you will get damp from paddling and it is important that you stay warm. It is not recommended to wear cotton clothing during the tour because it will hold the moisture next to your skin and will not insulate you from the cold. Wool or synthetic materials such as polyester fleece are strongly recommended.

Birdwatching Tour Dates and Cost:

Private Birdwatching Tour: Join our birdwatching enthusiasts who will take you to their secret spots to watch the fascinating shorebirds, egrets, loons and birds of prey that inhabit the Slough. $65 person. You can combine this birdwatching tour with our shuttle and see the birds that nest and feed in the back of the Elkhorn Slough. $75 per person. Private tours are available on dates not listed above.

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How to Sign Up

Please call us at 831-724-5692 to sign up. We will send you a letter of confirmation with directions and other pertinent information.

If you would like to sign up for a tour, full payment is required at the time you make the reservation. We need 48 hours notice for a full refund, 24 hours to reschedule. A full refund is available if we have to cancel for safety reasons. Light rain or fog will not always cancel as long as the weather conditions remain calm. Paddling in these conditions can be some of the best wildlife viewing.

For information on private tour reservations, please call 831-724-5692.

If we do not have more than 3 people for a tour or class, we reserve the right to postpone or cancel.

Winter Escapes - Paddling Elkhorn Slough

Jeff Thomas

As my kayak glides through the mirror-like stillness of Moss Landing Harbor, a parade of brown pelicans pass by in a tight aerial formation. Curious harbor seals, their round heads as smooth as the water, follow quietly behind me, escorting me into their world. In the distance, through a veritable swarm of surf and shore birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors, a sea otter floats carelessly on its back, cracking open shellfish with a rock while a lone gull patiently waits nearby for the occasional scrap or two. The winter sky above reflects crisply on the water's surface as I begin to feel the flood tide behind me and effortlessly paddle under Highway 1 and into the Elkhorn Slough.

In the heart of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey, the spectacular wildlife show at Elkhorn Slough is the perfect remedy for the winter doldrums. From the comfort of a closed deck kayak, one can stay warm, dry, and comfortable while observing the habitats of the Slough in an unobtrusive manner. It is even possible to coincide your excursion with the tides so that any current will be in your favor, and consequently, very little energy needs to be expended.

After the first mile of my "tide ride", I come upon a bend in the slough commonly referred to as "Seal Bend". I soon learn why, as the surrounding mudflats are absolutely teeming with harbor seals. They haul themselves out of the water in several locations in the slough for the purpose of drying out, warming up, and generally resting. In this particular spot, I find at least fifty of them lining the banks! As I approach in my kayak, being careful to maintain a respectful distance, I notice there are several seals in the water between me and the banks, attentive to my every move, effectively guarding their kin on shore.

What I come upon just a few hundred feet from the seals is a sight I have never before seen. It seems the sea otters have also staked their claim to part of Seal Bend, and there can usually be found a "raft" of thirty to fifty all doing the backstroke together. Some of them are crunching shellfish, but most of them are floating on their backs and preening their thick fur without a care in the world.

I continue on past the Moonglow Dairy Farm to find a narrow tidal creek that isn't any wider than my kayak is long. I can barely see above the carpet of pickleweed lining the banks of this narrow, snaking waterway. After rounding a few bends in the creek, I find a small dock to tie up to, and hike a short woodland trail to an overlook area. Now I have a pelican's- eye view of where I was just paddling, and oh, what a sight! The tide has apparently begun to ebb out of the slough, and as more and more mudflats that were until recently underwater become exposed, the birds come out in full force. Thousands of sandpipers, gulls, egrets, herons, pelicans, terns, and countless others descend on the newly- exposed mudflats to forage for their low-tide meals. Having held several national records for numbers of bird species sighted, Elkhorn Slough is a birdwatcher's paradise!

Tour Confirmation Forms

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