Pacific Marine Mammal Center

This may be a small location and parking really is a killer. However, the knowledge the volunteers have about these sea lions are amazing! The history or this location and the timeline of rescue to rehabilitation to being releat back in to the sea. Very remarkable place! I feel it was worth the time and energy to go visit. Plus I made a donation to help feed the sea lions. It was a great learning place for my youngest niece. Seeing the sea lions come out of the water pools and slide back and forth was fun to see.

It is an amazing place where they save and rehabilitate the marine mammals. Free entrance and open to the public from 10 AM to 4 PM everyday except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Great for a day trip of a family especially with kids. There is a small gift shop inside as well. Lots of opportunities if you love the oceans and volunteer......

Really cool place and experience. I was greeted upon arrival and happily shown around. The guide who assisted me was very informational and she answered all of my questions. I learned a lot about their 4 patients they have at this moment, and what the center does to help many marine mammals throughout the year. They also offer programs to engage children during the year that allow children to learn the importance of recycling to allowing them to shadow their Veterinarian! The staff were all very friendly and happy to be helping. THIS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND ALL STAFF ARE VOLUNTEERS! 👍👍👍

Awesome place!!! They are all very educated on the animals that they are caring for. Stop in and purchase something from the gift shop to help support their company and the great things that they are accomplishing there! Lots of cool stuff in their shop. Not a huge property but a fun place to visit for a few minutes. 5 star from me!

Definitely check the tides and visit 1000 steps beach at low tide! Gorgeous, but be prepared to feel like you may need to be life flighted to get back up the stairs. 🤣

If you are heading to Laguna Beach, this is a nice rest stop. It's a non-profit organization that helps ocean mammals return to their habitats when their healthy/rehabilitated. Parking is very limited, it is a very small place. You are not able to get close to the mammals. Free entrance fee. Support this center by donating or buying something from their gift store❣️

Thank goodness for this place. Learning about the different marine mammals found off the coast of California is great. And then learning about how these wonderful animals are cared for, rehabilitated and almost always released back into the wild is terrific. Watching the animals swim, eat and play is such a treat.

Small place but a great place to take kids to learn about marine mammals, ocean conservation, and animal rehabilitation. The staff there was super friendly and informative. They took the kids on a mini tour of the place and explained the process of receiving, renourish, and releasing the animals. If you're in the area, I recommend stopping by with kids and donating a few bucks to a good cause.

A solid educational experience for young ones. The care staff show towards the rescued marine mammals here is very touching. Do take your kids here to raise awareness in a positive way on how to give back to the environment!

Our daughter Simone who attends Western University told us about Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, This center: Rescues and treats Rehabilitates Releases Sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals and fur seals! Educates the public about their program! Admission is free and donations are very much appreciated. Center primarily funded by donations and volunteers! Our Tour Guide and Center Volunteer Jeff Specht was awesome! We learned so much about the center! Thank you!! Limited parking at center Metered street parking! Animal Shelter next door!

Came here for a group outing. What a great little place. Highly educational, free and fun. Learned so much about sea lions and seals. Definitely worth a stop. They will close to the public in about 3 weeks though and add to their facility. Not sure how long the construction will take and when they will reopen. Go now while you can!

Came here for a Girl Scout event, and it was so wonderfully run. The staff knew how to engage the scouts and provided a lot of wonderful information on the animals they help here. I think it's a fantastic organization, and the work they do for marine mammals is remarkable. A great place for a weekend visit. The staff is friendly and helpful!

A wonderful rehad facility for seals and sea lions! The staff is doing the very important work of helping injured or malnourished adults and abandoned pups, and the public is lucky enough to get a glimpse into that process here. There are lots of small learning stations, many native plants and of course the critters! Yes, it's free to visit this facility but please give what you can! The seals and sea lions deserve our help. (And I don't work here; I'm just a regular visitor who appreciates these great folks & the work they do.)

This place is great! I've been here a couple times already and everyone has been so pleasant. The volunteers really love their job and are very knowledgeable. The place is small so it won't take long to check everything out but is worth it. You would be contributing to a very good cause!

Pacific Marine Mammal Center Depending on the rescue, you can see Elephant, Fur, Harbor Seals and Sea Lions. This place is educational and informative. I love the employees and volunteers we encountered today. It was great to see how they switch them out to have them go swimming. We also saw how much they loved to do their version of the slip-n-slide. They also have the bones of many and even bones of a whale that had beached it's self, it was donated for education. I WOULD RECOMMEND.

Small marine center for sea lions, fur seals etc a nonprofit organization runs this place. We went this past weekend. My son loved the place. He is into sea creatures so I took him there as a surprise. I made a donation because sea creatures are life. Only con is the cages they are kept in, wish they were larger. Especially for the solitary ones, they definitely need to expand. But I guess we shall see what the future holds. Hopefully they won't need to and all the ones they have are released. Which I was told about 6-7 were released last week.

"The Pacific Marine Mammal Center Rescues, Rehabilitates, Releases Marine Mammals Inspiring Ocean Stewardship Through Research, Education And Collaboration." Set far from the beach along CA Hwy 133 in Laguna Canyon. The main focus seems to be helping sick, malnourished sea lions & seals found on the beaches so they can recover & be released back to the sea. At the same time the marIne mammals are being cared for, there is an opportunity to gleen valuble information about their physiology, psychology-animal behavior, condition of the environment where they live in since they are the sentinel species like the "canary in the coal mine". However, there are other related programs: "1) Summer & After School Programs: Calling all future marine biologists and ocean stewards! 2) Girl Scouts: Learn about the role we serve in keeping our oceans clean with our Daisy, Brownie, Junior & Cadette programs. 3)  Youth Ambassadors: Conservation-minded children can choose to support PMMC's mission and animal care needs 4)  For the Classroom: Our educational programs are a key component to increasing awareness of the issues facing marine mammals and the environment in which they live, and developing a sense of stewardship for those resources. 5) Volunteer: At Pacific Marine Mammal Center, we love our volunteers! We utilize volunteers to help us with our animal care, docent & education, and gift shop needs. 6) Ways To Give: Your support provides a second chance at life for our marine mammal patients.  Each gift makes our life-saving work possible! 7) Shop To Support: Get all your PMMC gear at our online Treasure Trove gift shop. All the profits go to the care of our patients." Also Live cam focused on the pools on their web site. To look up the above in detail: https://www.pacificmmc.org/ I was fortunate to be given a short docent led tour by Steve who is knowledgeable, informative, being able to present a breezy yet cogent narrative about the animals, functions of center, environmental issues confronting the oceans due mostly to overpopulation & associated pollution. I thoroughly enjoyed his banter. Steve took me up a flight of stairs so I could get a bird's eye view of a pilot seal making belly burpy sounds and other pools where sea lions played. Lastly he showed me what human made objects were found wrapping around & choking as well as what was found in their guts. So sad that all the human made pollution is killing invaluable wildlife. The good thing is that Pacific Marine Mammal Center is alleviating some of their suffering and chance to continue the species. 5 stars for their noble cause.

When in the new year winter/ spring months, there are more mammals to view. Great educational and a gift shop to pick something up.. Donations are always accepted

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is such a hidden gem for our community. The volunteers are so kind and educated. They spend time not only with helping the animals, but also educating the community about these beautiful ocean animals. My kids and I learned so much and cannot wait to go visit again!

Amazing place. Amazing mission. Amazing volunteers. I love what they do here. It's so cool to see the patients and hear their stories and what the PMMC does to help. Great short stop for kids and adults alike.

AMAZING and COMPASSIONATE caregivers ~ doing God's work. THANK YOU for caring for and releasing these beautiful beings back into their ocean home

We arrived about fifteen minutes before closing at 4pm. But the volunteer still showed us the three rescued seals that were there and proceeded to explain how they were rescued and why. She explained that usually in the winter months they get a lot more seals, up to 40 at one time and the center can get pretty loud! Very educational for adults and children!

As someone who volunteers in wildlife rehabilitation (in a different city and organization), I am delighted to say I was so impressed by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center -- how clean the entire facility was, how welcoming and informative the volunteers, how enriching and well-thought out the educational aides, and most importantly, how well taken care of the animals. Watching the young seal pups going through "fish school" and the rehabilitating sea lion sunbath was so joyful. I highly recommend stopping by -- it would be a safe, fun and meaningful activity to do with kids too -- and donating or buying a memento from the surprisingly fabulous gift shop too, if you can.

We had a lovely visit on a Saturday afternoon! You can easily make reservations online via their site for a free 20 min-ish tour of the facilities. There are plenty of sea lions to look at as they rehab and we got to see their feeding time, which if I remember correctly was around 12:15 pm? Our volunteer docent was lovely and we learned a lot. The center runs on donations so buy from the gift shop or donate directly in their box! I purchased a 50th anniversary edition PMMC x Sand Cloud which has a reversible design of a beautiful whale. They also have cute plushes and wooden kits (which I also bought) The parking lot is quite small though so I'd recommend to get there a little early as it's right next to a busy one-lane road.

I really appreciate and commend the staff here for the work that they do for the innocent animals and for the environment. Given their amazing intent, I was disappointed when we actually came to visit. I brought my two little ones who are 1 and 3 on a Saturday and felt cramped and rushed to get in and out because of a large Girl Scout troop that was also there. The place was a zoo. Although mask mandates have ended and this facility is outdoors and we are about 10+ feet away from the animals, they still made us wear masks (for the protection of the animals they said,, sure where's the scientific data supporting that theory). Secondly, the place was small. We were in and out in 10 minutes. It took us much longer to find parking. We tried to make purchases at the gift shop and were planning to break some cash to donate to the facility. However the young girl working at the gift shop did not know how to use the register. She kept clicking on the same buttons over and over and held up a line of cranky Girl Scouts for over 10 minutes without successfully ringing anyone up or even bothering to ask for help. We had our cash out ready to pay and even offered to pay for the little girl scout's items who was in front of us. Eventually we got so frustrated we put our items back and went home. This place was a large disappointment. We support their work and efforts but visiting here was just a stressful experience.

Very nice staff, they don't make you feel pressured to donate and it's super small but they will tell you all about the local sea lions and seals ,. Very cool

Amazing work they do here. The workers are super nice. Every one of them. They patiently explain to my young kids all they do and listen to them too. The gift shop is awesome. Go support them. Although it's about a less than 1 hour worth of entertainment for young kiddos.

Randomly stopped by here on the way to LA and had a lovely time. Staff were super interested and helpful. I was welcomed multiple times as I walked in. One person walked me through their mission as well as all the animals that were currently there. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Lots of nice information to be read in the area and nice little gift shop where profits go to the rescue efforts themselves. FYI: If you plan ahead you can sign up for a tour of the facility which I didn't have the foresight to do. Check em out if you want to see some animals and support a good cause!

Its free to visit... Its 90% run by volunteers... At the time of our visit, they were taking care of about 70 seals... Have a heart, and make a small donation. If you're in the area, and you have a soul, this makes a quick and fun worthwhile visit. This non profit organization provides care and sanctuary for injured seals in this region. It won't take long, the small outside area has several pools for the seals whom are healthy and in their final stages of being released into the blue wild again. Live long and prosper!

Very informative place to visit. This place rehabilitates seals and sea lions and releases them when they are ready to experience the ocean again. It was pretty empty when we went because it's normally quieter around this time of the year. There were 3 seals/sea lions. One was a baby elephant seal and it was sleeping peacefully. One was playing with bait and the other was going back and fourth in the cage. Great that they rescue seals and sea lions and rehabilitate them getting back to a health level.

Delightful as always. The volunteers are amazing. Only real issue is parking or lack therof and making a left out of the parking lot can be damn near impossible.

An absolutely adorable rehabilitation center! It was very clean and they had lots of displays and informational items. We even got to watch the sea lions be fed! The staff was extremely kind as well, a big thank you to Lily for talking with me and my family at length about the animals, the center, and more!

We stopped by on a Monday morning to visit the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. They only had three patients (2 sea lions: Haggis, Gouda, and 1 elephant seal Nylah) for us to see, which is good considering they are a rescue. The animals seemed well cared for and thriving! Every volunteer that greeted us and helped us was kind, informative, and clearly loved what they were doing, which is amazing. I felt inspired to give at the end of my visit, not forced to, which is rare when you visit rescues/non-profits, but you will absolutely want to support the fantastic work they do here! Definitely stop by if you are visiting Laguna Beach or the neighboring areas.

Came by today to visit and stayed long enough to see an actual feeding of the sea lions at 11am! Saw the 1 year old elephant seal, Meatball & Piper sea lions, and 4 other 6-month old sea lions. So sweet that this place does rescues, rehabilitations and release of these animals. They've housed maximum 160 animals at one time before! Peak patient months are April-July. Be sure to donate some $$ if you can to support them!

We found this little gem on our drive down the coast. We walked right in and got a personalized tour from a wonderful volunteer. It was so nice to see what amazing work this organization is doing!

This is a hidden gem in the Laguna Beach area that is free (donations accepted and appreciated) that is a rescue center for injured marine mammals. We saw sea lions and harbor seals who were being rehabilitated and then would be released back to the ocean. There is a very small parking lot but right next door is the animal shelter and you can also park there (there is also street parking with meters). We found out after we had parked on the street about the parking next door at the animal shelter and as we had already for parking, we didn't move our car. There are several docents working who explain what the rescue center is and of course you can see the animals in their water enclosures swimming around. They are behind a chain link fence so the public is safe at all times. Feeding times then were 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. We happened to be there around the 11 a.m. feeding and enjoyed it so much. There were several families with young children there (elementary age down to preschoolers and toddlers) and all were fascinated by watching the animals. Our docent, Gloria, was very knowledgeable of all the workings of the rescue center including how they get animals brought in to them (I didn't know how they would know if an animal needed rescuing, but she said they get reports of an animal on the beach not moving or barely moving and then they send people from the rescue center to check it out and see if the animal needs help. If they do, then the animal is netted brought back to the center, assessed, etc.) She said most animals there stay for about 3-4 months. Later in the small gift shop where 100% goes back to the rescue center, the clerk working said that they were in the midst of their annual fish fund to raise money for the fishes they feed to the animals there. The animals are fed like I said 3 times a day and get halibut; but only the finest quality of halibut, something we would buy at the store and be able to barbecue or grill if we wanted. The animals are weighed weekly to make sure they aren't losing weight or gaining too much weight. They are fed together in their individual enclosures but will be separated if they need more food or less food. It is definitely something to do in that area. Allow about 30 minutes if it is not around feeding time and over an hour if it is feeding time. I believe it closes at 4 p.m.

Oh, injured seals! What angels. This place picks up injured elephant seals, harbor seals, and sea lions from the beach and nurses them back to health. Usually it's because their mothers leave them a bit too early and they're too small to fend for themselves. This center is a free, small place where you can see them up close. They looked like my family's chihuahua mix. I am wishing them all a rapid recovery and future life of cool waters and freedom. We went around 4PM and they were feeding them! The noises they make are delightful. Bring a donation!

Go, visit, support this great organization. Educational for kids. A true Laguna/so cal beach icon.

While this is an impressive rescue initiative and animal shelter, I would not recommend it for little ones. It's a tiny location and viewing area. Presently there are only 4 mammals at the center of which we were able to see only 1! 2 sea lions were sat away from our sight, 1 harbor seal was apparently indoors which left 1 elephant seal in its cage but still quite a distance from the viewing area so my toddler wasn't sure what he was looking at. I understand the rationale that the mammals have to be released into the wild so they do not want humans to get close. And I think this is a noble cause running on donations. However, it's not going to keep your little one occupied for more than 5 minutes. Additionally, there is no shade and pretty brutal heat in the day. Price - Free / donations welcome.

Yelp challenge 2016 Cute little rescue center for mammals located in the canyon in Laguna Beach by the dog park and animal shelter, can't miss the red building. Look for the blue and white sign. The center acts as a "hospital" for injured marine life. Mainly sea lions and seals. Once they are better they are released into the ocean. I took my class here on a end of summer field trip. All 35 of them. Awesome experience. They had so much fun. We used my tablet to access their live cam on their website before going and looked at pictures of all their "patients" So we knew exactly what was in store for us. The center is FREE. Which is great since we were on a budget. They do offer tours/educational insights for a per person fee. We just did the self guided tour. We called ahead and made sure our class size could be accommodated. Site is super small. We were done in 30 minutes. You pretty much just look at the seals through the fence. If your lucky you can watch the employees feed them. They have an upper deck area that gives a better view. The center was extremely patient with my students. Allowed them to ask questions. This is a great stop to visit on the way to Laguna Beach. Especially if you love Seals. They are so stinkin cute!!! There is a small gift shop. There is a single bathroom with a changing table so go before you arrive. #954

This is an incredible place! I drove by on my way to the beach, and had time to look it up while stuck in traffic on Cliff Rd. I'm glad I did, because otherwise I never would have known about this place: it's a volunteer-run facility rehabilitating sea lions and seals to return to the wild. From the viewing area, you can see several enclosures with different species. The ones to the far right on those who are closest to being released back to the wild. There are some informative displays available, but you really want to wait for a volunteer to be available- Kris was amazing! She had a great energy and was so friendly and knowledgeable, telling us all about the center and how they operate, and letting us behind the rope to an upstairs viewing area where we were able to see some (rare for this lattitude!) elephant seals! Make sure you drop a donation in their box or stop by to make a purchase from their gift shop- they're doing an important service, taking in any and every animal they can, and they survive on donations and volunteers.

We decided to journey from our home in Tarzana to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and had a great time! The animals are adorable! Fully disclosure, it's not huge... but it's purpose is as an active rehabilitation place for injured marine mammals and the entertainment and education factor to the public is a bonus! AND it's free!!! The docents are SUPER friendly, very knowledgeable and very eager to share their knowledge (not in a pushy way). There were only 13 animals when we went which apparently is far below the norm (but which is a good thing)! They've had as many as 167 (!!!) animals there at once and have since created a cap of 125. They recently released 33 elephant seals back in the wild! We saw 12 sea lions and a seal. You only need about 30-40 minutes here, but it's totally worth the trip. They're doing amazing work and we're so thankful they exist! After you visit, consider visiting the nearby Laguna Beach area or Balboa Island!

Their purpose and vision helps our environment and our sea friends. Can't wait for my son to join their teen program.

Amazing stop while in Laguna Beach. Just a little bit away from the coast but near the art center. At the time of our stop, they only had 2 seals in the pools. But we were able to go back area to see some baby seals resting in their rooms. The gentleman who gave us the tour was very informative and very interested in the rescue center. It is not only a rescue center but a hospital who helps marine animals rehabilitate back to wildlife.

This was a fun, free place to visit. I enjoyed seeing the seals and sea lion that were there for rehabilitation. The facility is small and they do great work. If you go, make sure you chat with the volunteers. They have a wealth of information about the seals and were really helpful. The seals were playing with each other and sliding across the wet floor when I visited. They were adorable! I found this place on Airbnb. They have an "experience" that you can purchase for $50 per person and 100% of the proceeds go towards the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. The "experience" is a private viewing of the facility and the opportunity to watch the feeding of the seals. You get a souvenir, too. They didn't have any spots available for the "experience" so we just visited during their regular operating hours.

The employees and volunteers here are so caring and kind. I swung by this place when I was on the way to the art festivals, and I'm so glad I did. As soon as I walked in, the volunteer took the initiative to take me around the different sanctuaries and taught me about the different types of seals/sea lions that are currently housed here. She even took the time to tell me each of their stories. She gave me the opportunity to go up 2 different staircases to get a better view of the mammals. The facility itself is very clean. It is very welcoming, especially with the beautifully landscaped entrance. Even the restroom is very nice! Truly is a wonderful rehab center and great educational opportunity for the public.

So glad to support a great foundation. The center is very small but it's great what they are doing.

This rescue center is small but great. This was my 2nd time visiting and I loved it. There is a small parking lot. The sea lions are so cute to watch and the volunteers are friendly, patient and knowledgeable. They have some displays and a small gift shop.

Stopped by during a day trip to Laguna Beach. The facility is pretty small with a handful of pools. There were just 6-7 seals when we went. There is free parking and free admission. We entered and Taylor welcomed us and started telling us about the seals. She was super sweet and patient with our group (some of the group had been day drinking). The concept of the center is great. They rehab animals that get hurt in the area and then set them back into the wild. If they can't return to the wild, the center finds a placement at a zoo or aquarium. Worth a quick stop by if you're in the area!

We took our 4 year old and 6 year old on a Sunday afternoon. They are only allowing you to visit with reservation right now due to COVID. My kids really enjoyed it. Although it was a short tour, they learned about marine animals and also were able to see the sea lions have some fun in their pools. Really great place with wonderful volunteers who run it. We will come back again.

My five year old is extremely interested in science and marine mammals. She watched the show Octonauts religiously for about a year as well as Magic School Bus and Puffin Rock and got really into Earth Day and caring for the earth, so this is right up my child's alley. I explained to her that this was a place where real humans rescue animals that are lost, sick, or hurt and help them, just like the Octonauts do. She was super interested even though it is only a small area you can walk in and see, she loved giving the donation and knowing it will buy food for the animals, and she liked the gift store. We loved looking at how the sea lions play in the water. The massive whale bones were fascinating as was the display that played the sounds made by animal moms & babies. My daughter's favorite feature here was a simple binder on the shaded table in the middle of the viewing area. In this binder are photos and records of all the animals the center has rescued. It had to be hundreds but each animal was so important to her. She wanted to read each and every one. It was very meaningful and I am so glad that the center does this to show how they help.I was proud to talk to her about how humans can make the world a better place when they care and my daughter said these people are real-life superheroes. The book has before & after photos of animals but don't worry, it didn't show injuries or anything gruesome. You could see that when found some of the animals were very dehydrated and hungry but the after photo shows them healthy and chubby again and that made my child so happy. It was about 1 month ago that we visited but she was inspired and talks about the visit almost daily. I made a marine mammal care center in a corner of our house for her to rescue and feed animals of her own. I feel the visit inspired her, she says she wants to work here when she grows up. I think a visit here could really benefit a child who is interested in helping animals! I kind of wish she could have talked to staff about what they do but maybe in the future, we can go back.

Never knew this place existed until my friend recommended we go! The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is a small nonprofit that rescues many seals and sea lions and nourishes them back to health. According to the informative volunteers, the seals and sea lions eat about 10% of their body weight and are served fattier fish since they arrive extremely thin and malnourished. They are taught to dive for fish on their own at first in a small pool of water and eventually put in a larger pool of water to compete for fish with the others. There are released back into the wild when they are able to sustain life on their own. If not, PMMC will contact zoos or find a place that can be their permanent home. Cost: Free but donations are welcomed Highly recommend if you are in the area.

The docents are very friendly and tell us a lot about the animals that are there. Very educational. The kids and teens loved it.

This is a wonderful place to stop by to learn about sea lions and seals. It is free to visit and you get to see the rehabilitating animals and the people that help them. The center is run entirely by volunteers and they do incredible work. I highly recommend to come here for a short visit (~30-45 mins) if you like sea lions and seals!

Absolute gem. There were 2 elephant seals, 3 harbor seals, and many playful sea lion patients on our visit.  The sea lions look like they are having so much fun in and out of the water you may be inspired to go for a swim yourself.  In addition to the marine life, the grounds, though small, are teeming with flora and fauna from beetles to butterflies to bees. All the volunteers were very friendly and shared great information.  Wonderful introductory tour from knowledgeable docent Jake. Inspiring a place like this exists to rehabilitate marine mammals for reintroduction into the wild and shares their work to educate visitors.  Great for any age. Look forward to another visit.

Fun seals and sea lions to see. Friendly staff and a good stop on a long drive. Fun for people of all ages and educational but entertaining.

Super cool place to check out in or out of Laguna. This place always has the cutest sea lions here. All of the sea lions have been rescued and helped. They are then released back to sea. There are always volunteers here ready to educate (JT, AWESOME PERSON). This is a great place for people of all ages.