Pacific Grove, California, United States

Lover's Point

Lover's Point is a granite headland on the west side of Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove, with shore entry from a small protected beach on the north side of the point. The site lies within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Refuge, a State Marine Conservation Area. Underwater the bottom is a maze of granite reef covered in giant kelp, palm kelp and bull kelp, with sand patches connecting between rock outcrops. Depths along the point run from 4 metres on the inner reef to 18 metres on the deeper outer rocks. Lover's Point is a dependable place to encounter southern sea otters (a federally protected species) working the kelp canopy, harbor seals, and large schools of blue rockfish. Other regulars include lingcod, cabezon, kelp greenling, painted greenling, China rockfish, garibaldi at the south end, and clusters of strawberry anemones on the rocks. Surge can be heavy on swelly days; best windows are calm late summer and fall mornings.