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After Hours |
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What To Do When Not Birding. For couples with a non-birding spouse, the Central Coast Birding Trail offers a wide variety of things to do after-hours that go beyond the hobby. The landscape of coastal California is extraordinarily beautiful with mountains, valleys, forests and lonely beaches. The Los Padres National Forest covers a substantial part of the region. Breathtaking Highway 1 winds along the edge of the Pacific Rim between San Luis Obispo and Monterey. In spring, there can be an abundance of roadside wildflowers along this and other rural byways. Channel Islands National Park offers numerous recreational opportunities and Santa Cruz Island is the only place to find the endemic Island Scrub- Jay. Ten of the historic missions along El Camino Real are located on the Central Coast. Hearst Castle sits upon a mountain top overlooking the Pacific on Highway One. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is world famous. While you can observe whales from coastal bluffs in February and March, whale-watching excursions from Ventura, Santa Barbara and Monterey get you up close. There are three coastal sites where you can see spectacular clusters of wintering Monarch Butterflies. Among the area's golf courses are some of America's best. There are over 150 wineries and vineyards in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties that produce some of the world's finest chardonnays and pinot noirs. The region is also renowned for its restaurants that grill steaks over an oak-pit. Seafood choices are extraordinary in any of the region's main urban centers. Plan to spend at least a week along this trail and you will be rewarded with an experience you will long remember. With almost 300 species of regularly occurring birds, there is something for everyone on the Central Coast Birding Trail. Check out the hotspots in Monterey Co. | San Luis Obispo Co. | Santa Barbara Co. | Ventura Co.
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Monterey
County Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve Monterey Bay State Historic Park San Juan Bautista Mission and State Historic Park Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History The Calaveras Fault Walking Tour Sanctuary Whalewatching Cruises Cheeseman's Ecology Safaris (whalewatching) |
Highway One Coastline Elephant Seal
near Piedras Blancas Avila
Beach Wineries -- Harmony Cellars |
San Luis Obispo County Natural Attractions Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove Morro Bay Museum of Natural History Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville |
 Solvang Lompoc Flower Fields Surf
Beach Santa Barbara Harbor La Purisima Mission Hayfields
along Hwy 166 |
Lake Cachuma Guided Nature Cruises La Purisima Mission State Historic Park in Lompoc El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park Lompoc Murals, depicting area history and traditions The Santa Barbara Natural History Museum [large permanent collection of mounted bird specimens] Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Sterns Wharf Santa Maria Natural History Museum The Lompoc Museum [large collection of Chumash artifacts] The Dunes Discovery Center in Guadalupe [Visitor’s Center for the Guadalupe Dunes] Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens The Cabrillo High School Aquarium in Lompoc Ellwood Mesa Monarch Butterflies Solvang [quaint Danish community] The Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez
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Mission San Buenaventura Mt. Pinos, Los
Padres Natl. Forest |
Channel Islands National Park Visitor's Center
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Morro
Rock 
Redwoods in Big Sur
Mission San
Miguel 
Hwy 1 Coastline 
Monterey
Aquarium
Pebble
Beach Golf Course
San Juan
Bautista State Park|
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