Pup Watch: A Photo Tour on Elkhorn Slough Safari 🦦✨
April 2025 // Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, California
Only here for the view? Jump to the gallery.
Equipment
Locations
📍 Elkhorn Slough early-morning photo tour via Elkhorn Slough Safari — 7981 Moss Landing Rd # E, Moss Landing, CA 95039
Tour company offering specialized photo tours, baby tours, and more. Adorable gift shop with a great selection of books and souvenirs. Regular tours start at ~$46 for adults.
📍 Elkhorn Slough public tour via Monterey Bay Eco Tours — 10932 Clam Way, Moss Landing, CA 95039
Tour company utilizing a custom, 37 foot electric catamaran to cruise the slough in a wildlife-friendly way. Tours start around ~$48 for adults.
📍 Sea Otter Viewing — Moss Landing, CA 95039 (see location on map below)
Small sea otter viewing area off of Moss Landing Road.
📍 The Power Plant Coffee —7990 CA-1, Moss Landing, CA 95039
Coffee shop offering drinks, sandwiches, and pastries. I kept returning for the banana date smoothie!
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Blog
It’s been a little over a week since I’ve posted, but I promise Salt + Noelle has been anything but quiet behind the scenes. Big news first: our online shop is officially live(!) and stocked with a growing collection of framed prints, laptop sleeves, desk mats, pins, apparel, and a few surprises. While the photos from this Elkhorn Slough trip are still in the editing queue (they’ll be in the shop soon, promise!), the current catalog is already filled with pieces from past travels - and yes, it’s always expanding. I’ll keep sharing new arrivals as they roll out, so if you haven’t already, go sign up for the newsletter. That’s where I spill all the fun stuff first.
Quick note: if you read the blog about the surprise sea otter birth, you might notice this trip happened before that one - on April 12th, to be exact. I’m only getting around to writing about it now (priorities: baby otter photos, obviously), but this was actually our first Elkhorn Slough Safari tour of the season. The second one will get its own full recap soon—promise!
Now, let’s talk about the opposite of sleeping in on a weekend.
Last month was my anniversary, and you’d think that meant champagne, city lights, and maybe some overpriced pasta in San Francisco. Nope. Instead, my incredible partner willingly crawled out of bed before 5am so we could drive from Santa Cruz to Moss Landing and catch one of the few early morning photo tours offered by Elkhorn Slough Safari. Love looks different when you’re clutching a travel mug in one hand and your longest telephoto lens in the other before the sun is even up.
Our tour started at 6:45am sharp, and the crowd was exactly what you’d expect: a dozen sleepy but excited photographers quietly assembling in the parking lot, all of us dragging gear bags and mentally reviewing our camera settings. Elkhorn Slough Safari currently uses gas-powered boats, but they’re introducing a 32-foot electric catamaran later this year - which I love, because fewer emissions + quieter cruising = happier wildlife. Our captain and on-board naturalist were both total gems: endlessly knowledgeable, easygoing, and full of thoughtful facts that added so much to the experience.
Once we pushed off and glided into the Slough, the sun was just starting to rise, casting a soft glow over the glassy water. And then - it was like someone flipped a wildlife switch.
Sea lions were tumbling off the docks like it was a synchronized sport. Pelicans were dive-bombing the water with their usual dramatic flair. A massive raft of sea otters floated past, paws up and snoozing, like they had zero notes for the day. One particularly bold otter had even hauled itself up onto the shoreline, which I almost missed because I didn’t have my 200-600mm lens on at the time. I had to make do with the 70-350. I know, tragic. I forgive myself, but barely.
To make things even better - it was pupping season. Which meant babies. Everywhere. Sea otter pups bobbing in the kelp, tiny harbor seals tucked up close to their moms. My camera was working overtime. In fact, I actually maxed out an SD card halfway through the tour (amateur hour), but thankfully I had backups on hand. Lesson learned: always pack extras. And maybe don’t shoot 30 versions of the same otter eating a crab… unless it’s really cute. (It was.)
A personal highlight? The nesting Brandt’s cormorants. Their turquoise throat patches absolutely glowed in the morning light, and I swear they looked straight out of a fashion editorial. I’ve seen photos of them before, but it hits different when you’re floating right beside a colony, hearing them call and watching them gather materials like little avian architects.
I also learned something else on this tour: holding a Sony 200-600mm lens for over two hours is a great way to earn a new respect for monopods. Mine is now sitting comfortably at the top of my “immediate gear upgrades” list. That lens is magic, but my shoulders were writing complaint letters by the end of the ride.
After a packed two hours of wildlife sightings, rapid-fire shutter clicks, and me softly whispering “please turn your head just a little” to oblivious sea otters, we pulled back into the dock. As is tradition, I immediately headed into the gift shop and walked out with a sea otter crewneck that is now my go-to “editing late into the night” hoodie.
We made one last stop before heading home = Power Plant Coffee, which is an essential part of any Moss Landing itinerary in my book. I grabbed a banana and date smoothie (100/10, will order again) and spent a little time at the sea otter viewing area nearby, soaking up the quiet and snapping a few more shots before we made the drive back up the coast.
We landed back in Santa Cruz around 11am, where the rest of our anniversary was spent in calm contrast - ocean-front views, room service, and me surrounded by an embarrassing number of SD cards. Honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
This little corner of California continues to give me front-row access to the natural world, and I feel so lucky I get to document it all - and share it with you. From otters in kelp rafts to nesting birds to cozy sweatshirts and smoothie runs, days like this remind me exactly why Salt + Noelle exists.
Gallery
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