The canyon edge offshore is the whale-watching ground. Humpbacks are present much of the year and feed spectacularly on anchovy schools; blue whales arrive in summer and autumn; grey whales pass close inshore on migration between December and April, northbound mothers with calves hugging the coast in spring.

Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough are the sea otter destination. The slough holds one of the densest otter concentrations in California, watched from kayaks or a small boat at close range alongside harbour seals and sea lions hauled out on the mudflats.

Point Lobos State Reserve, just south of Carmel, is the shore-based option and one of the finest coastal walks in California — otters in the kelp below the trail, harbour seals pupping in spring, and cormorant and brown pelican colonies on the rocks.

The kelp forest itself is the habitat that supports all of it, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's kelp exhibit is the best explanation of what you are looking at from the boat.

A particular event worth timing for: orcas gather at the canyon head in April and May to hunt grey whale calves as the migration passes — grim, extraordinary, and among the most sought-after wildlife encounters on the Pacific coast.

Practicalities

Whale watching runs year-round from Monterey and Moss Landing, and the operators here are unusually research-connected. Trips are two to five hours and the bay can be rough — take seasickness precautions seriously.

Otters are protected by federal law: keep the required distance in a kayak, and never approach a resting animal.