A cautious ocean pause on Mendell Road above the south end of Rodeo Beach, looking down on the rocky hump of Bird Island. Scan the offshore rocks for hauled-out harbor seals any month of the year, keep an eye out for gray whales on their spring and fall migrations, and respect both the steep unfenced coast and the fast-moving Headlands fog. The beach's colorful pebbles are look-don't-take.
You're out on Mendell Road now, curving away from Rodeo Lagoon toward the point, and off to your right the land drops away toward the water. Below you is Bird Island, that dark hump of rock just off the south end of Rodeo Beach. It sits close enough to shore that it almost looks like you could reach it on foot, but the surf between here and there says otherwise.
Keep your attention on the road along this stretch. The shoulder is narrow, and the drop to your right is steep and unfenced. If there's a legal, signed pullout ahead, that's the only place worth easing off for the view. Otherwise, let a passenger do the looking while you keep both hands on the wheel and stay well back from any edge.
This is a good place to simply watch the water. Harbor seals haul out on the offshore rocks year-round, and in spring, roughly April into May, that's their pupping season. I can't promise you'll see them. They come and go with the tides and their own business, and some days the rocks are just rocks. But when the seals are up, you'll spot them as smooth gray shapes basking above the waterline.
In spring and again in fall, gray whales pass along this coast on their long migration. A spout, a dark back rolling at the surface, maybe a tail if the timing's right. No guarantees there either. This is open ocean, not an aquarium, and half the reward is in the watching itself.
Down on Rodeo Beach, the sand is known for its colorful pebbles. They're worth admiring, and they're meant to stay put. This is National Park Service land, so collecting them isn't allowed. Look all you like, take your photographs, and leave the stones for the next set of eyes.
And remember, the Headlands make their own weather. This coast can vanish into marine-layer fog in a matter of minutes, thick in the morning and often thinning by afternoon. If Bird Island is socked in when you pass, that's just the coast doing what it does out here.
Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 3.0
