Living Coast Discovery Center — Attraction in Chula Vista

This place was great! The kids LOVED IT. We missed the Eagle info tour because we only got to the parking lot around 10:50am/10:55am. We had to wait for the next bus pickup, which took a few minutes and then a few minutes in the bus and we ended up getting to the Discovery Center about 11:15am/11:20am. BUT we did make it in time for the trail "hiking" tour, which is really just a walk around one of the several trails they have there. It was very fun and informational. We also made it for the Ray and Shark tank/info session where we all got to try and pet the sharks and rays in the tank they have there. All of the employees and guides that we spoke to were full of information and passion about working there and what they do there to preserve and conserve the animals and habitats they have access to and just in general, everywhere around the world. It was so nice to see them at work, doing what they love. It was inspiring! They even brought out oneof the smaller birds of prey at the end, just before they closed, to let us see and hear more about it and other birds of prey. It was beautiful and watchful. This was such a great experience for the adults and the kids! We shopped in the little gift shop, where they have several interesting games, books and other things that even I wanted to get and at reasonable prices. We will likely be getting a year long membership here, to give back to this place and for us and the kids to have somewhere to go to learn. While the Center isn't free , the trails and such that are outside are open and free for...

This place is great! I've worked at and really enjoy educational centers with aquaria and wildlife, and this was one of the best examples I've seen. They had several raptors and a sea turtle, and were clear with signs that these animals are not pets and that they only have them captive because they are unreleaseable in some way, which I really appreciated. there were also cliff swallow nests on the side of the building, and we got to see the adults swooping up to feed the hungry fledgelings, which was really cute! Another highlight was the shark and ray touch tank, which was large enough that the animals had plenty of room to swim around out of reach of visitors if they did not want to be touched. But I still got to touch a curious bat ray and swell shark that came up to the edge! Another thing that I really appreciated was that there were multiple swell sharks and a tube where they could hang out together (they like to stack on top of eachother in crevices in the wild), and none of them had goiters, which is a common problem I've seen with swell sharks in aquaria in the past. The touch tank was also attached to and cycling with a larger tank, which probably makes it easier to keep the water quality appropriate despite human hands going in the touch tank all the time. The reptile enclosures were also all appropriate sizes, naturalistic, and clean. This was a really cool place, and next time I'm in the area I'm definitely going to take my...

The place seems like a tourist trap designed to exclude those who don't want to pay to access the refuge. From what we could tell, the only way to access the wildlife refuge is by parking in the offsite lot, waiting for and taking the shuttle to the Living Coast Discovery Center, and paying $18 per adult.

There are signs posted that parking is only for center customers and a towtruck driver is posted up in the parking lot. I am assuming that they are waiting to tow anyone who does not take the shuttle. Signs are posted that nobody from the public can access the refuge by car or on foot. They say it is to protect the wildlife. What? So making a pedestrian path right along the road that they paved is unacceptable to the wildlife but running a noisy polluting shuttle all day every day through the refuge is not disturbing them? This is the only wildlife refuge in the nation that I have ever been to where there is no pedestrian access allowed (oh, unless you pay lots for it).

So, from what I could tell, the government has essentially privatized this entire refuge and made it completely inaccessible without a hefty $18/adult fee. Also, $18 to visit a building with a handful of cool exhibits seems REALLY steep (especially if I can't even see it in person before devotiong 1 hour or more of my life to get...