The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Oregon’s Sea Lion Cave!

The Oregon Coast (which is another one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon!) is such a beautiful and entertaining road trip! We probably only drove down a third of it, but we made countless stops along the way! The last stop we made on the Coast was at Florence’s Sea Lion Cave!

(Click here to see all my posts on the beautiful Oregon Coast!)

Directions:

The caves are very easy to find.  They are located north of Florence on Highway 101, between Florence and Heceta Head Lighthouse.  Parking is across the street from the entrance.

Tips:

• Find out how many sea lions are in the cave before you go.
• Visit their website for the most up to date prices and hours of admission.  I personally thought the cave was worth the price of admission, but I also was only paying for myself – not an entire family.  If there aren’t a lot of sea lions in the cave you can always go to the observation decks for free to view the sea lions that are outside. You won’t get to see the cave, but you will get to see the sea lions.
• Be prepared for a strong smell in the cave – especially if it’s full!
• If you didn’t call before coming, you can always check their live cams in the gift shop to make sure there are sea lions to be viewed before buying your ticket.
• My understanding is that the cave is most full during the winter.
• While you can see sea lions for free along the coast, this cave is worth the money to experience the largest Sea Cave in America!
• Make sure you take your tripod if you have a serious camera – the lighting in the cave is very poor!
• Having your binoculars handy wouldn’t be a bad idea to better enjoy these guys!
• Combine this stop with Heceta Head Lighthouse to really make a day of it!

Long story short, it’s definitely worth a stop if you are in the area! You can see sea lions for free at many places along the coast, but most likely not in this large number – and not in a sea cave!

The Sea Lion Cave is located on Highway 101, north of Florence. Tickets were $14 per person at the time of my visit, and parking was free. I wasn’t so sure about visiting since I’m a pansy when it comes to cold weather.  We came here in June, but as you can see, things were a little chilly for me! However, my sister and I decided that we might as well make the most of our trip and see what it was all about!

It actually ended up being really cool! There were only 3 sea lions in the cave when we went there, but I was told by an employee that hundreds can be in the caves during the winter months! If you’re more interested in going when the cave is full of sea lions, you can always call ahead to check how many are in the cave at the time of your visit.

They had a lot of information on sea lions down in the cave portion.  I actually now know the difference between a seal and a sea lion!   It was also really cool to learn that this is the largest sea cave in America – and one of the largest in the world!

Before you leave, don’t forget to check out the sea lions that are on the outside ledges! They have a couple of observation decks set up, as well as viewers to keep an eye out for whales!

It was fun to watch them hanging out.  You could see the little baby sea lions occasionally jump off the ledge and swim around for a bit before coming back!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment!! Have you been to the sea caves?? Have you been on Oregon’s coast?? Tell me everything!

Until next time!