Sea Lion Caves — Attraction in Florence

The Sea Lion Caves is a wonderful and enchanting place! Not only do you get to see several hundred sea lions up close and personal, but touring the rest of the grounds is a treat too.

Once you park (if parking across the street please cross the Hwy with caution) you enter their store filled with a variety of jewelry, clothing, assorted trinkets and even fudge! I found all staff members very friendly and willing to answer my questions about what to expect once I descended into the cave.

Ooooh and what a descent it is! The elevator takes you all the way down about 200ft, all while a digital read out shows you how many feet you've descended. This is a charming touch that made me feel like a kid again.

Once the doors open you can immediately smell... Well them! Is it an unpleasant smell? If you're a seasoned parent who's changed a few thousand diapers no, but it's a unique smell that I want you to be prepared for.

You step a few feet and to your right us bench seating for maybe a dozen people or so with a huge flat screen TV educating you about the various species of sea lions you're about to see, the birds and other animals forming the habitat.

The video lasts a brief 6 minutes and I encourage you to watch it as I found it very informative. Did you know the some sea lions come all the way from California?

At last... It's time to make your way to the viewing area! As you walk towards it you'll see a variety of plaques teaching you in depth about each of the animals, take a look and read them, there's no need to rush an experience like this. Please be sure to turn OFF the flash on your cell phone before continuing to the sea lions. They've personally told me this is their preference.

Finally you reach the viewing area see a variety of sea lions engaged in an assortment of activities ranging from entering/exiting the water, clumbsily moving about the rocks, to well... Doing nothing. The collective sound of them bellowing out ranges from an almost calming restrained murmur, to a full on war cry! It comes in waves too. Quiet for 2 min them progressively getting loud for 20 seconds.

After being satisfied with the sea lions you can walk north, ascend a few steps and arrive at a view point of the Haceda Head Lighthouse. Be sure to get a few pics.

Time to ride that magical elevator again and marvel as the numbers on the read out decrease as you get higher. On your walk up the inclined path before you reach the shop, there a few benches you can use to rest, and even some powered binoculars enabling you to view the coast line. Be sure to ask for quarters when you buy your tickets in case you know you'll enjoy doing this.

All in all this was one of the more remarkable things I've done in recent years and it really made me feel like a kid again throughout the whole time. I look forward to returning with friends and family for...

It's very overpriced and is not worth the visit at all as even with many sea lions present there just isn't much to see or do. Please pay attention to other one-star reviews that describe exactly what you will find inside.

The price is $18 per adult. Kids get a discount only until age of 12. When you enter, there are two short paths to the left and right. To the left, you just walk up to the edge of a cliff where from a small platform you may view the sea lions lounging way down below. There are binoculars available but you have to pay extra, which I find ridiculous considering admission price.

The path on the right leads to an elevator that takes you to the cave area. There you can watch a 6-minute video, see a sea lion skeleton (it's very dark though) and get a glimpse of the cave behind the chain link fence. The view is completely obscured by the fence but it looks exactly like the pictures in the ads. That's it, that's all you will see. There are no different vantage points, nothing. There is no guided tour and not even much information offered. Oh, and if you like, there is an opening from which you can see a lighthouse in the distance.

After paying almost $60 for 2 adults and a teenager we felt incredibly disappointed and bamboozled. It felt like a tourist trap.

We also found that you can view the sea lions completely free from an overlook that is just a bit north of this establishment. And you can see the same lighthouse from another overlook too. The cave is cool but again, you can just take one look at it from one point behind the fence, that's all. And sea lions are...

The main thing you should know is that the sea lions are basically only in the cave during the winter and some parts of spring and fall. We went in early September and there were none there (checked again end of September - still none). The attraction makes it clear when you enter that this is the case and told us they wouldn't be returning until about December. It's not a zoo: the sea lions are wild and come and go according to their natural habits. They do give you a small discount because of that and a ticket for free reentry at another time in the year. It's still pretty cool to see America's largest sea cave, which is impressive (be sure to climb the stairs once inside the cave as they lead the to higher part of the cave), and the area behind the ticket building has nice views of the lighthouse. Also note that, as in my photos, there is only one small hole of about 30 ft by 20 ft where you can see into the sea lion portion of the cave and it has a wire caging across it. Did see a couple sea lions swimming far below the cliffs at the entrance to the cave. The elevator from the cliffside to the cave goes pretty fast and almost feels like it's not moving at all (20 floors in 50 seconds). There are only about 10 parking spots in front of the building but there is a larger lot slightly further south down the 101 across the street.

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