Morro Bay State Park and the Heron Rookery
Near Morro Bay, California
South of the town, the shoreline gives way to Morro Bay State Park, a preserve of thousands of acres that folds together salt marsh, coastal hills, and one of the finest estuaries in California. Here you will find the Museum of Natural History, a rare natural history museum inside the California state park system. Perched on a rise above the water, it draws many visitors, including schoolchildren.
Just north of the museum lies the park's living jewel, the heron rookery. Set aside as a natural preserve, this grove protects the treetop nests of great blue herons, along with double crested cormorants and snowy egrets. From about February through June, if you walk the short path in quietly, you can watch these large birds tending their gangly chicks high in the trees.
The park also holds an eight hundred acre estuary preserve, a marina, and miles of trails winding up into the morros. Together the museum, the rookery, and the wetlands make this the place to understand why Morro Bay is far more than a pretty rock. It is a whole living coast.
