Greyhound Rock, Santa Cruz

Greyhound Rock & Greyhound Rock Beach
Hwy. 1 North of Davenport, Santa Cruz County
Phone: 831.454.7956
scparks.com

Park offers coastal access, fishing, tidal pools, nature trails and family picnic area. Open sunrise to sunset.

North of Davenport, Greyhound Rock County Park includes surf fishing under the auspices of the California Department of Fish and Game and Santa Cruz County Parks. A paved parking lot, view area and public restrooms all offer wheelchair access.

Greyhound Rock is named for the large rock in the water

Named for the rock, a seastack of Miocene Mudstone massive sea cliffs of Santa Cruz Mudstone are capped with a thick alluvial cover and marine terrace deposits, as seen from an overlook at the Greyhound Rock parking area along Highway 1. Former kitchens, now giant shell middens, lie buried beneath the seal harem. For centuries, this coastline was a thriving commercial and economic center due to the bounty of the ocean. For thousands of years, the Ohlone tribe used Greyhound Rock - Aņo Nuevo as a source of food, tools, shells, decorations, and trading items.

Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area was established in September 2007 by the California Department of Fish & Game as one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.

The critical biodiversity hotspot at Greyhound Rock is home to more than 300 species of invertebrates, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Living near or among the giant kelp underwater forests also are crabs and abalone. Because the harvest of marine life is limited here, the waters are teeming with life, and white sharks, whales and dolphins find the location ideal for finding food.

Migratory and local birds such as godwits, willets, plovers, pipits, and numerous species of gulls feast along the tidepools, beaches, and shallows. Bird watching is excellent in this location, where you'll also see brown pelicans, marbled murrelets, and birds dive bomb and gorge themselves on schools of fish. Along the protected rocky islets, thousands of seabirds breed without disturbance.

Pristine areas provide unique opportunities for scientific study. Here, scientists discovered the fossilized remains of a 15 million year-old baleen whale and are unraveling mysteries of how sharks interact with populations of elephant seals.

Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area is approximately 55 miles south of San Francisco. Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County, in California's bay area coast. The SMCA is 11.81 square miles. Fishing is prohibited except the recreational take of giant kelp, squid, salmon, and other finfish--check with DFG.gov before going.