Pacific Marine Mammal Center — Attraction in Laguna Beach

Listen, I know that these people do good work for animals in need, but don’t expect any kind of “wow” factor here. The “visitor yard” it’s just that… a yard. You can’t go into the building which is pictured on their website. The yard is about the size of a typical living room. Chain-link fencing separates you and the animals by a good 7 to 8 feet. The animals are also in chain-link enclosures. So my daughter (who is 3) had a hard time seeing everything. By everything, I mean the two seals that were out there. They try to keep it fun with some animal facts and displays, and yeah, maybe in time my kids might find that interesting. Honestly, this place is nothing to write home about. A better way to put it is like this, if their parking lot is full, don’t put more than 20 minutes in the meter. Also, I wouldn’t make this your primary destination if you’re looking for something to do in Laguna. More like a “side quest” or a bonus location. Three stars… staff was friendly...

We decided to journey from our home in Tarzana to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and had a great time! The animals are adorable! Fully disclosure, it’s not huge... but it’s purpose is as an active rehabilitation place for injured marine mammals and the entertainment and education factor to the public is a bonus! AND it’s free!!!

The docents are SUPER friendly, very knowledgeable and very eager to share their knowledge (not in a pushy way). There were only 13 animals when we went which apparently is far below the norm (but which is a good thing)! They’ve had as many as 167 (!!!) animals there at once and have since created a cap of 125. They recently released 33 elephant seals back in the wild! We saw 12 sea lions and a seal.

You only need about 30-40 minutes here, but it’s totally worth the trip. They’re doing amazing work and we’re so thankful they exist!

After you visit, consider visiting the nearby Laguna Beach area or...

I was in Crystal Cove today and witnessed the Pacific Marine Mammal Rescue team in action. It was a disaster. As we walked on the beach, we saw a ranger car and a sea lion with a tight circle around its neck. We asked the ranger what happened, and he said that he had already called the rescue team, and they were on their way. They arrived about 50 minutes later. Their work looked really disappointing. They acted lazily, and their 'rescue' didn't seem genuine. It appeared as if they just wanted to go home and pushed the poor sea lion back into the water. I think you should rename yourselves from Pacific Marine Mammal Rescue Center to Make Sea Lion Afraid Center because that's all they did to this...