Ano Nuevo Point Boardwalk

According to Access Northern CA (http://accessnca.org/access-northern-california/explore/explore-detail-view/?site_id=154): The Año Nuevo Point Trail is a wheelchair-accessible trail along the bluffs. Ocean views are often obscured but several viewing areas have great ocean views and you'll likely hear seals & elephant seals in the distance. A free hiking permit is required during molting season (April 1-August 31) and can be picked up at the Marine Eucation Center. From the center, the trail leads gently downhill to a bridge, then climbs a gentle switchback before the remainder of the trail levels out. You'll pass diverse terrain including coastal terrace prairie, wetland marshes, dune fields and coastal scrub and might see coyote brush, coffeeberry, and blackberry brambles. Several benches are along the route. At 0.8 mile you reach the Staging Area Exhibit Structure and can continue past it another third-mile before you reach dunes and need to turn back if using mobility equipment or strollers. During breeding season, all visitors must make advance reservations to tour the seals’ beach area with a park docent. These tours are not wheelchair accessible, so for those with limited mobility, the “Equal Access Tour” is offered twice a day on weekends. After you check-in for the tour at the Marine Education Center, a docent will pick you up in the parking lot in an accessible van and drive you to the Equal Access Trail––you can’t drive there in your own vehicle. The van can accommodate several passengers and two wheelchairs. The nearly .25-mile boardwalk runs across dunes on the beach and affords up-close views of the mammoth animals. Because you must stay 25 feet from the seals, the boardwalk may be off-limits if any are dozing on or near it. Tours last two hours and are only offered during breeding season; however, arrangements can be made at other times. The Marine Education Center (enter at the front; the rear entry has a very steep approach) is housed in a restored cow barn that was an operating dairy barn in the 19th century. There are exhibits about the dunes, tides, uplands, seals, and Ohlone Indians, as well as a live-feed video of the breeding grounds. The restored horse barn, behind the cow barn, serves as a classroom and theater where you can watch a film about elephant seals. ACCESSIBILITY: There is designated accessible parking that is van-accessible. The trail is dirt and estimated to be mostly gentle in slope. It is typically four feet wide or greater. There are wheelchair-accessible restrooms at the parking lot and an accessible porta-potty at the beginning of the Equal Access Trail. Beach wheelchairs are available but check with a ranger or call (650) 879-2025 for more information. There are accessible picnic areas with firm & stable path to tables, firm & stable surface, and 27" or greater knee clearance on a bluff by the Marine Education Center and by the restrooms. The Visitor Center is accessible. Please note, the ride out to the Equal Access Trail can be rough riding in the van depending on road conditions.