Sea otterscan be spied from a trail that starts at Moss Landing, but many creatures remain out of sight unless you dare paddle up the channel in a kayak. Inquisitive otters like to leisurely inspect those gliding by. Kayak rentals are available at the harbor for $30 (full day rental).
Elkhorn Slough can also be accessed by boat. Elkhorn Slough Safari offers pontoon trips led by naturalists.
Outside of Elkhorn Slough, little remains of a vast seasonal wetland that covered the valley for thousands of years and was inhabited by the Calendaruc tribe (“calen” means ocean, “ruc” means houses in the Ohlone tongue).
Much of the wetland was drained for cattle ranches and row crops. Roads and railroads blocked the salt tides and flow of fresh water. Around the turn of the century, the Salinas River was diverted to where it flows today, though it’s unknown whether the 1906 earthquake changed its course or it was intentionally diverted by farmers. Today, the harbor and slough are situated over the Salinas River’s old bed.
By the early 1900s, California’s sea otters had been hunted to the brink of extinction. But their population has slowly recovered, and now rescued pups from the Monterey Bay Aquarium are released here.
Mankind’s presence has marked Elkhorn Slough in other ways. Due to a confluence of factors—including an oyster farming operation in the early 1900s and relative proximity to heavy international traffic in San Francisco Bay—Elkhorn Slough is now home to a number of aggressive nonnative invertebrates like the tiny Japanese mudsnail and the European green crab.
Jointly managed by California and the federal government, it is designated both a National Estuarine Research Reserve and a state Ecological Reserve. Portions of it fall under special protection as a state Wildlife Area.
The slough remains an important reminder of the value of conservation—many of these species are survivors of the worst we do. But with a little restoration, nature can thrive, or at least hold on in these spaces in between.
—Garrett McAuliffe
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