California's Elkhorn Slough and its watershed is a remarkable meeting place between land and sea.

With five state beaches, several parks and preserves, and two wildlife areas nearby, the Elkhorn Slough area offers even more places to go hiking (with and without your dog), birding, fishing, horseback riding, camping, or boating.

What is Elkhorn Slough? Curving seven miles inland from Moss Landing, Elkhorn Slough is one of California’s most important coastal wetlands.

The Elkhorn Slough Reserve features a visitor center, picnic areas, and five miles of trails through beautiful oak woodlands, calm tidal creeks, and open grasslands. We are committed to ensuring the health of Elkhorn Slough and its surrounding watershed for generations.

Elkhorn Slough is a remarkable sanctuary for wildlife, tucked into a patchwork landscape of farms, ranches, and residential communities, The slough provides habitat for a diverse population of birds, plants, marine mammals, and fish.

The Elkhorn Slough Reserve, located at 1700 Elkhorn Road, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Reserve is closed Monday and Tuesday. When the Reserve is closed, you cannot drive in, walk in, or access the trails, restrooms, or visitor center.

The goal of the Reserve research program is to inform conservation strategies for Elkhorn Slough and other estuaries. This research includes long-term monitoring to detect changes over time and short-term projects to understand and diminish threats to Slough habitats and communities.

Elkhorn Slough, a seasonal estuary extending inland for seven miles (11 kilometers) from the midpoint of Monterey Bay in Central California (Figure 1), provides extraordinary biological diversity and recreational

Jan 22, 2025 · The Elkhorn Slough Reserve will reopen on Wednesday, January 22 following advice from Monterey County Health officials that residents can return to outdoor activities. The Reserve was closed from January 17-21 due to the evacuation order and subsequent potential health risks from a fire at the Moss Landing Battery Storage Plant that started on ...

The Winter 2024 issue of Tidal Exchange, Elkhorn Slough Foundation's newsletter.