Trinidad: Elk Head Trail Guided Nature Walking Tour｜United States

Meet your guide at the parking lot and set off on a walking tour of Elk Head in Trinidad Harbor. Follow your guide along the Elk Head Trail, an easy trail that goes through red alder and Sitka spruce forest and a thick coastal brush-field.

Along the way, your guide will identify mushrooms and point out any birds that are around. During the winter, you might see thrushes, winter wrens, or resident woodpeckers. During the spring and summer, you might find flycatchers, hummingbirds, warblers, and various swallows.

The trail leads you to the northern edge of Elk Head where you can stop for some light snacks and enjoy the views of the ocean from the cliffs. Here, watch for whales, look for puffins, or enjoy the seals that like to haul out on the tidal rocks.

Whale season is December-April for migratory gray whales and June-October for humpbacks and blue whales. There are three different rocks off of this headland where tufted puffins can be seen mid-April through July.

There is Flat Iron Rock about 0.5 miles offshore, Puffin Rock, and Green Rock that have puffin burrows. Green Rock also hosts thousands of breeding murres and some pigeon guillemots along with the puffins during the breeding season. At the headland, cormorants, grebes, and loons are frequently seen year-round.

You will need a scope or binoculars to see the puffins. The best time to book a tour to see them is early in the morning, when they rest outside their burrows before heading out to sea. Sometimes you can see them when they return about an hour before dusk. During puffin season, there is a morning bird walk along with the usual afternoon tour options.

The trail will loop around through the forest and your guide will then take you down a wooden staircase that leads down to secluded College Cove. This cove can have birds such as black oystercatchers, cormorants, marbled godwits, or the occasional whimbrel. Here, your guide will take you to see the tide pools. Learn all about the intertidal life that call the pacific coast their home. This includes seaweeds, crabs, mussels, starfish, octopus, and more.

The beach is the last stop of the tour. After the tide pools, hang out at the beach, swim, sunbathe, or head back to the parking lot with the guide and enjoy the rest of your time in the Trinidad area.