Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

"The greatest meeting of land and water in the world." That was famed landscape artist Francis McComas's bold but justified claim for Point Lobos. All who come here agree that the beauty of this tree-clad headland is unequaled.

People wax poetic about Point Lobos. The Point Lobos Foundation has created this website as a vehicle for you to get important information that will help make your visit all the more enjoyable. Walk the trails. Breathe the clean air deeply. Reflect at your leisure. Discover Nature's spirit for yourself.

We also provide you with the opportunity to share your artistic interpretation of this incredible spot. You can upload your Point Lobos photography, fine art, and literary offerings, yes even your poetry to our site.

Inspiration is everywhere, here at Point Lobos. Whether you are looking for it or not, this is the place to find it.

Check it out for yourself, and then come back and tell us all about your visit.

Point Lobos Happenings

Point Lobos Foundation Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the Point Lobos Foundation will be held on, Saturday, January 21st in Asilomar Chapel (800 Asilomar Boulevard, Pacific Grove, CA). There will be time for a social at 9:00AM with the meeting to start at 10:00 AM.  All members of the Association are invited and encouraged to attend. Click to download an Asilomar grounds map. After a short business meeting we will introduce our speaker, Mark Shelley and Katie Pofahl Sea Studios
.

The Making of a Movie
 “A storm grows, a sea otter pup is separated from her mother, and a young woman bound for adventure blows in to town. On a wild and windswept beach these lives collide and an entire species’ survival gets personal.”

This is the story line of a new film Produced by the Sea Studios Foundation. Mark Shelley, Executive Director of Sea Studios Foundation and Katie Pofahl, the human heroine of the movie, will describe how this film came into being and the creative and interpretive processes that attended its completion. We will get a unique insight into the technical challenges that attend filming a story in which many of the key actors are untrained wild animals.

Mark Shelley, Executive Director of the Sea Studios Foundation, graduated from Stanford University in 1972 with honors in Biology and conducted research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for two years. Prior to beginning his film career, Mark was Program Director of Oceanics School, which ran academic programs on traditional square-­‐rigged sailing ships. While freelancing in New York City, Mark had the opportunity to work on his first National Geographic Specials, which launched his filmmaking career. As a National Geographic filmmaker and Senior Series Producer Mark has been part of numerous award-­‐winning exhibit and television programs. He is internationally recognized for his underwater filmmaking skills and has developed deep sea imaging systems for (amongst others) National Geographic Television and Film and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Mark is an expert diver, submersible pilot, an airplane pilot with an instrument rating, and an aspiring sustainable farmer. He, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Lucy live a rural life with horses, chickens, cats, and a dog.

Katie Pofahl is zoology major who worked for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program before joining Sea Studios Foundation. Although without prior acting experience, she is an accomplished surfer, diver and kayaker who brought her love of the ocean to the role.

Life in the Reserve

Lions and otters and whales, oh my

Quite a show today, this Friday the 13th of 2012, for young and slightly less young alike.  A most fortunate day, indeed.  I was privileged to assist on a school walk for a group of fabulous 8 year olds from Soquel.  They were well prepared to experience a great day and nailed a "pop quiz" on the natural environments of Point Lobos, along with the animals and plants that populate those habitats.  They especially aced the "leaves of three, let it be; if its shiny watch your hiney" part.
 
After enjoying close up views of barking Sea Lions (thanks to Docent binoculars), rafting otters in Headland Cove, lazing harbor seals, and a few inhabitants of a tide pool or two, we were treated to pod after pod of grey whales on their journey south to Baja.  Not just whales we could spot with binoculars.  Most of the pods that passed were little more than a 100 yards or so from Sea Lion Rocks.  The kids must have screamed with joy at every single whale blow they spotted, and were probably heard all the way to the top of Whalers Knoll.  Someone said they heard me as well, but I'm sure that's not correct ...
 
After the walk, we set up a scope and visitors of all ages from all over the world did a good job acting like 8 year olds themselves.  We paced off 50 feet and imagined the size and grace of these 90,000 pound behemoths gliding gracefully past.  When a pod of 12 or so spouted all at once, a few of us "older" kids were shouting just as loudly as the younger ones had earlier.  After 3 or 4 blows, their flukes slid gracefully beneath the waves, and more than a few gasps followed.  A gorgeous sunny day, shirt sleeves, and calm, calm seas made for quite a day of Sea Lion, otter and whale watching. 
 
Shiny.