With its 840 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, it comes as no surprise that California is home to some fantastic aquariums. From Long Beach to San Francisco, these marine life centers celebrate the diverse creatures of the sea – not only from the Pacific, but from warm and cold waters around the globe. Meet sea turtles, otters, sharks, penguins and more as you explore these 7 best aquariums in California – all while staying perfectly dry.
1. Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach
Start with an ode to the marine life of the Pacific Ocean at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Rainbow Harbor, where you can see more than 500 fish and other sea creatures from Southern California, Baja and tropical Pacific regions. At the largest aquarium in Southern California, you can see and touch zebra, grey reef, bamboo and epaulette sharks in the Shark Lagoon. Get to know the 20 Magellanic penguins at the June Keyes Penguin Habitat. In the newly imagined Tropical Pacific Gallery, learn all about colorful coral reefs and why their conservation is so vital – you’ll meet red-footed boobies, green sea turtles and flashlight fish while you gain insight into nature’s underwater cities. Head outside to the Moon Jelly Touch Lab or have an interactive encounter with seals and sea lions. Love birds? Check out the area devoted to the vividly hued Lorikeets. High-tech exhibits at Pacific Visions include stunning feature films and the chance to digitally color a fish and send it off for a swim in a virtual coral reef projection. In the Tropical Pacific Gallery, the aquarium’s largest exhibit with 350,000 gallons of water, get to know the colorful fish and coral, porcupine puffers, humphead wrasse, clownfish and more that make their home in the warm waters of Micronesia. Be sure to include a walk in Shoreline Aquatic Park in your visit. It’s right next door to the aquarium and offers great views of Rainbow Harbor, the Queen Mary Ship & Hotel, the Long Beach Skyline and a tall lighthouse tower.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach. Parking is $8 for the day and allows you to park all day and also visit The Pike and Shoreline Village.
2. Birch Aquarium, San Diego
Budding marine biologists will love the Birch Aquarium, affiliated with the Scripps Institute for Oceanography at UC San Diego and another of the 7 best aquariums in California. Explore more than 60 hands-on exhibits, touch pools and more brimming with sea stars, anemones, hermit crabs and sea cucumbers – there are more than 380 species represented. At Shark Shores, bravely meet La Jolla’s famous Leopard Sharks and a manta ray or two. Giggle at seadragons and seahorses, marvel at jellyfish and meet fish from the Pacific Northwest all the way south to Mexico in the Arthur M. and Kate F. Tode Hall of Fishes. At the two-story Giant Kelp Tank, you can gain insight into San Diego’s underwater ecosystem and its native kelp forests. Head outside to the Preuss Tide Pool Plaza to touch and learn about the adaptation of sea stars, lobsters and other creatures that reside in the rocky intertidal zone. The whole family will enjoy a virtual tour of the R/V Sally Ride, a Scripps research vessel. Learn what it’s like to live and work aboard the ship, discover specimens retrieved from the ocean depths, dress up like a scientist and sort plankton. Those with a love for all things marine will particularly enjoy the Birch Aquarium’s “Research in Action: 100 Island Challenge exhibit in the Hall of Fishes.” The exhibit assists researchers in collecting coral reef date from tropical islands around the globe to aid in the conservation of these important ecosystems.
The Birch Aquarium is located at 2300 Expedition Way in La Jolla. Three-hour parking is included in admission.
3. Monterey Aquarium, Monterey
Go hyperlocal at this Monterey aquarium, showcasing the marine life found in Monterey Bay. Several exhibits represent the area’s varied habitats and the more than 550 species that reside there. Among the ecosystems are the local beaches and dunes, where you’ll find shorebirds (including the threatened western snowy plover), sand crabs, beach hoppers, insects and clams. Learn how each adapts to the beach extremes and the shifting sand dunes. Move on to the three-story kelp forest exhibit, which emulates the submarine forests of the Pacific coast – some of which can be up to 175 feet above the ocean floor. Read about the continuous source of food that kelp provides to abalones, sea urchins, bat stars and more. Learn how to search the open seas for phytoplankton slicks, dolphins, whales and seals. And explore how the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is using undersea vehicles to dive deep into sea and learn about those animals that swim in the dark depths of the ocean. Marvel at a giant Pacific octopus, who – believe it or not – can actually solve a maze and recognize the aquarium scientists. Specially focused Monterey Bay exhibits represent the giant sea bass, sharks and other marine life that lives beneath the surface of the bay. Get to know penguins, rockfish, shark and more in the Splash Zone, and meet long-legged shorebirds and watch them forage expertly for insects. Don’t miss the walk-through wave crash exhibit – more than 600 gallons of water crashes every 30 seconds. This is an aquarium that not only showcases more than 80,000 plants and animals in more than 200 exhibits, but instills a love of and appreciation for the ocean and its inhabitants.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located at 886 Cannery Row. Parking garages and metered parking are nearby.
4. Heal the Bay Aquarium at Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica
Small, but incredibly insightful, the Heal the Bay Aquarium at Santa Monica Pier offers exhibits on about 100 fish, crabs, seahorses, other marine life and plants. Plus, it’s a great value – kids 12 and younger are free and admission is $5 per adult. The aquarium is the marine education facility of Heal the Bay and works to educate guests about the conservation of Southern California’s coastal waters, watersheds and marine life. The aquarium offers 11 permanent exhibits. Get a glimpse beneath the Santa Monica pier and perhaps see a low-lying halibut or ray in the Under the Pier exhibit. Horn and swell sharks show off in the open-top shark exhibit. Watch moon jellies float freely and anemones and fish ride the tidal surge. Learn how fast-growing kelp provides shelter and nourishment to kelpfish, rockfish and wolf eel. Come face to face with a moray eel and sea hare in the Rocky Reef exhibit. Meet the brainy two-spot octopus and lightly caress all sorts of sea urchins, sea cucumbers and hermit crabs in the touch tanks. And look for newborn sharks and tiny sea anemones in the Kids Corner. Finally, check out the Dorothy Green Room, an interactive display that follows water through the urban landscape of Los Angeles. Are you so enamored of a sea jelly or tropical fish that you don’t want to leave it behind? Join the Aquadopt program – your animal stays at the aquarium and you earn free visits to the aquarium for a year.
The Heal the Bay Aquarium at Santa Monica Pier is located at 1600 Ocean Front Walk. There are metered parking lots on the north and south sides of the Pier.
5. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro
You’ll get to know local marine life in style at the 21,000-square-foot, Frank Gehry-designed Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. In fact, the aquarium boasts the largest collection of Southern California marine life in the world. There’s also a large exhibit hall, an outdoor tidepool touch tank, a teaching lab, an auditorium, a research lab and more. A recent expansion added the Exploration Center and Aquatic Nursery. Another great value, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is just $5 suggested donation for adults and $1 donation for children. Start in the Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Exhibit Hall, where you’ll discover rocky shores, sand and mud and open ocean habitats. Live exhibits, as well as hands-on areas introduce seaweed, worms, whales, ocean plants and more. In the Exploration Center, learn like a scientist and explore the habitats of the Cabrillo Coastal Park. You’ll be privy to experiences run by student volunteer scientists, who are also on hand to answer your questions and show you how to use a microscope to check out tiny marine life. Check out the Aquatic Nursery, where visitors have access to ongoing scientific research on the growing and caring for young marine animals – there’s always something new to see. Enhance your visit with a visit to the coastal park, the tidepools of the Point Fermin State Marine Park, the ocean and harbor beaches, the Salinas de San Pedro salt marsh, fossil cliffs and more. The aquarium offers weekend tidepool walks throughout the year, as well as whale watching, Channel Island adventures and the seasonal grunion run, when small fish return at high tide to fertilize and bury their eggs in the sand.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Parking is available at Cabrillo Beach for $1/hour.
6. Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco
One of the defining features of the Aquarium of the Bay is the Sea Lion Center, which overlooks K-Dock in the marine beside Pier 39. You’ll have the opportunity to see the wild California sea lions who have taken over this urban location and are now permanently established there. Learn about their natural history and the environmental threats they face. Inside the renowned aquarium, you can meet some of the approximately 20,000 animals who live there, including sharks and river otters, as you explore the exhibits and wander through 300 feet of clear tunnels. At Discover the Bay, you’ll see bright-orange Garibaldi (the California State Marine Fish), green moray eels and vividly hued rockfish. You might even glimpse a few bay babies, like newly hatches skates. Go with the Flow showcases more than 200 species of jellies, both Moon Jellies and Pacific Sea Nettles. In the Near Shore Tunnel, walk beneath swirling anchovies and Giant Pacific Octopuses, while in the Sharks of Alcatraz Tunnel, you’ll get up close and personal with the big guys who live in the deeper waters of San Francisco Bay. Go ahead and “Touch the Bay” at the touch pools that host sea stars, sea cucumbers, bat rays, skates, leopard sharks and other tidepool residents. And don’t miss the giggle-inducing river otters, including Shasta, who was rescued from the Louisiana fur trade, and others found throughout the Bay Area and its river systems.
The Aquarium of the Bay is located at Pier 39 at Embarcadero and Beach Street. Paid parking is available at the Pier 29 Garage and on the street.
7. Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco
Affiliated with the California Academy of Sciences, the Steinhart Aquarium is one of the world’s most biologically diverse and interactive such institutions. You’ll have the chance to meet some of the nearly 40,000 animals from 900 different species in a variety of cutting-edge exhibits. They were the first aquarium to showcase flashlight fish and coconut octopuses and have long advanced the exploration of the ocean’s mysterious “Twilight Zone.” Plan to spend the better part of a day visiting all of the fascinating areas, from the African penguin habitat to the California coast tank, which replicated the Gulf of the Farllones National Marine Sanctuary – look for eels, rockfish, starfish, anemones and more. Go inside the rainforest in the four-story exhibit that makes you feel like you’re in the Amazon, from the canopy right down to the flooded floor. Meet Claude, the famous white alligator and one of the Academy’s most famous residents. Over at the Philippine Coral Reef, you can look for giant rays and glittering schools of fish in a shallow, sandy lagoon, as well as the brilliant living coral and deep-sea life of the 25-foot-deep tank. Then, go deep into the ocean’s “Twilight Zone,” 200 to 500 feet below the water’s surface and see what the rare and diverse marine life intrepid divers see. And, finally, don’t miss the Venom exhibit to learn about spiders, scorpions, jellyfish and snakes, their venom’s defensive uses and how venom could prove vital to curing human disease.
The Steinhart Aquarium is located in Golden Gate Park. Parking is available in the Music Concourse Garage (paid) or on the street (free) throughout Golden Gate Park.
Bonus Marine Life: If you’re in San Francisco, head to Fisherman’s Wharf where you can see the mighty sea lions who flock here.