Seaside Aquarium

Was really fun to feed the seals 🦭. For two dollars for about six pieces of fish. Although the actual aquarium part I would describe as a moist cave. Was small dark wet and very smelly. Has a lot of interesting information about the aquarium life. All around I spent $20 to get in $12 in fish to feed seals and a fortune at the gift shop.

We just stumbled upon this aquarium while on our visit to the Oregon coast. If you’re looking for a conservation type aquarium and want to see happy animals, this is not it. It is dark and depressing inside. The tanks for the animals are small/crowded. The touch tank is small with a lot of starfish which was fun for probably 20 seconds. There is an open tank/enclosure in the center of the room that has small sharks that look dead. The seal enclosure has way too many seals and is very small. The aquarium hands you a pamphlet upon entry explaining the conditions for the seals. It says that the seals have a large dry space in the back but choose to be in the public viewing area. It also says that the seals are not released into the wild because studies show that after 1 year in captivity the seals would be less likely to survive in the wild. However, they explain that they have bred all their seals in captivity for years. Meaning these seals have never been outside, some being over 20 years old.

It's a nice little aquarium. The displays tanks are clean and you can spot the fish and crabs easily. Be sure to purchase seal food to feed the seals. Watch out, they like to splash you. Tip: Look for the coupons in the aquarium brochures around town.

During our recent visit to the Seaside Aquarium, I had mixed feelings about the experience. On one hand, I appreciated the opportunity for our family to learn about a variety of marine life. It’s always good to have a place where children can be exposed to ocean species up close and gain a better understanding of the coastal ecosystem. That being said, there were some noticeable drawbacks that were hard to ignore. The biggest issue I observed was the seal enclosure, which felt far too small for the number of seals housed there. It seemed crowded, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the quality of life for the animals in such a confined space. Additionally, the overall condition of the aquarium left something to be desired. One of the tanks appeared to be leaking, and there were several areas that looked worn down or in need of repair. The facility gave off the impression of being somewhat dated and in need of refurbishment. However, there were still some positives to our visit. I particularly enjoyed the story of Victor the Lobster, which added a fun and memorable element to the experience. Overall, while educational, the aquarium clearly could benefit from some upgrades.

My teen daughter LOVED feeding the seals. The giant pacific octopus was beautiful and active. The signage above all the tanks was helpful. The staff at the touch tanks were informative and patient. Would definitely recommend this place to visitors.

Small but super fun aquarium right in the middle of downtown Seaside. Very reasonable price for admission and for the fish to feed the seals. The little octopus was very active when we were visiting, which was really awesome. Feeding the seals was also really cool. Definitely worth a visit.

This was a very small, single room aquarium with a small touch tank. Feeding the harbor seals was fun too. My disappointment was the admission price. It was $26 for my husband and I plus 2 trays of seal food. We were only there for about 15 or 20 minutes though.

Great experience! We got to feed the seals for $2 a plate of fish! We also got to look at some of the aquatic life that is home to the area. In total we got the family bundle which was $36 for a maximum of 6 people. Great price!! Don't expect a huge huge Aquarium, small but sweet

Go feed the seals. Just do it. Thank me later. Be prepared to get wet. The rest of the aquarium isn't as cool. Very small but fun for little kids.

Have you got an hour? Do you have young kids interested in sea life? Are you closer to this aquarium than you are to Monterey Bay? If you've answered these questions with a yes, it's so well worth it. Our grandkids got to feed the seals and touch starfish. Beyond that, they had a number of aquariums that featured a variety of fish, many of which I was totally unfamiliar with. The staff was friendly and nice. There was plenty of parking and you're just a short walk in the downtown area of seaside. We don't need to go again, but we're glad that we did this one time.

If you lower your expectations of what you imagine an aquarium is and love to feed seals, this is the place for you. The workers were all very friendly and they have a small giftshop as you enter to buy your tickets. As you enter, you'll purchase tickets (which you'll need even if you all you want to do is feed the seals). The ticket will gain you entry into the aquarium area which is essentially one large room with tanks of various fish and sea life. It's not big and you'll probably be done in about 15 to 30 minutes. There is a small hands on tank and children's activity (coloring) table and they have a hand washing station. No restrooms though. The highlight was getting to feed the seals. You can buy trays of fish ($2 tray, which comes with about 6 pieces of fish). Depending on how raucous the seals are, you may get splashed with water.

Now first off don't come here thinking you are going to see some elaborate aquarium with so many unbelievable underwater creatures. Now if you want to laugh like never before and have a serious core memory that will keep you laughing and stories to relive with your partner come here !! Thees seals are worth every penny every dollar you could ever spend! They each have an amazing amount of personality that is hilarious!! Not a single person wasn't smiling or laughing their butts off. The staff is so cool and fun, but I mean a place filled with this much laughter it's hard not to enjoy work. The property has an interesting history to it, so if need a break from driving and want to laugh stop here.

BEST DEAL in SEASIDE!!!!! 5 STARS This place is a must. Every time I'm in town, I make it a point to come visit this place. The people that work here are the nicest people around. This is a Seaside staple. Thank you guys.

I remember coming here as a kid to feed the seals and having a great time! I came back recently to relive that and while I did enjoy seeing the seals and tossing them some fish I could not look past some areas of concern for me. 1. The tank size for the seals. I really hope they have a larger area they go at night or something. The pool they're in for the public feedings in far to small for the amount of seals in there. 2. The fish tanks were small and seemed very lacking of many plants, rocks, sand, coral, anything! The animals need more. 3. Many of the animals were not moving and yes I understand some do not move as much during certain times of the day or because of the kind of they are but for goodness sakes many seemed just lifeless and it just didnt seem right. Overall it felt almost like a pet store and less like an aquarium. Just made me a little sad.

This aquarium is small, but it's great for children. They have some good exhibits, like feeding the seals for a small fee.

So cute and got to feed the seals! The seals were great and there are tons of neat creatures there.

The overall aquarium was alright, but not something to be excited for. The pricing for the aquarium was amazing, but I probably think this because I paid for one child and one adult, which the total came out to be $15.50. However the price should tell something I didn't see unfortunately. The aquarium has not many exhibits and it's the smallest one I've ever seen. Unfortunately the exhibits they did have was equalavient to an average pet store. There was only fish and some other sea animals, yet it was disappointing how little there was to see. Although, there was two touch exhibits where you could touch star fish in one, and I think some sort of sea urchin if I'm not mistaken. After we were done with the exhibitions we went on we to feed some seals, thought most of them were full and didn't care too much for the food. The seals were cute, however I have an extreme concern including the male seals. They've put WAY too many males with eachother and it's dangerous. There is constant fighting and it's getting out of hand, it's all the seals will do. There are atleast 3 male seals with exposed raw skin on their neck. It's very sad, and I hope the aquarium owner could find it in their heart to separate them. Lastly, there was a gift shop, very small as-well but had nice things, I got a treasure chest and a beautiful shell. Don't go to the gift shop if you aren't ready to pay for a huge amount though, everything in there is incredibly overpriced!!

We had the best time ever! This place is a hidden gem. Highly recommended if you're in seaside area. We learned so much about marine life. Free parking and dog friendly too.

This was a fun little aquarium in Seaside, Oregon! The exhibits: There's quite a few aquarium exhibits, though not as many as other modern aquariums. This is a small place, maybe 30 or 40 exhibits overall, possibly less. They have a seal exhibit where you can buy fish to throw to the seals and watch their antics. They also have a little petting zoo sort of aquarium setup - not for the seals, but just for hermit crabs, sea urchins, star fishes, etc. The staff: The staff were very kind and helpful. They answered any and all questions I had and were overall very kind. The environment: There's no internet at the aquarium, however, so that's just good to know. It's a little darker in the building than you would expect and pretty cold. They also have a gift shop! It's a nice aquarium to spend an hour or two of your afternoon. Final thoughts: It's not a lot of exhibits, so it only takes maybe an hour or so to go through the aquarium if you're also reading the explanatory signs next to the aquariums.

This is a really small aquarium but it was fun to visit. Being able to feed the seals is fun but sometimes they get a little aggressive and splash you with water. If you're in the area, it's a fun place to go with kids

We went two years ago and the experience was wonderful. This time not so much. Unfortunately people don't tend to " parent" their children much these days so kids slamming into you with strollers, running wild, banging on the glass etc can ruin the experience. The place was so crowded you couldn't see much and my anxiety and claustrophobia came out in full swing. If they limited the ticket sales and gave everyone a time limit it would be much more enjoyable. I suggest limiting it to half the people. Several people walked out almost immediately after paying and let one parent go ahead with all their kids because of the noise, crowds, and chaos. An aquarium should never feel like chucky cheese.

Just don't come here. You'll just walk away disturbed. It reminds me more of a seafood market than an aquarium. I hope they stop breeding and hoarding seals and focus more on conservation and sustainability efforts. My daughter walked away worried about the animals. All of us hated the noise. Just walk past this people.

Great experience! Thanks for allowing dogs my dog loves it there. Amazing staff thanks for being dedicated to the animals.

This was the most distressing experience I've ever had at an aquarium - you'll never convince me that these poor creatures have any kind of quality of life here. I only came here in search of their barnacle exhibit for some research I was doing - even the barnacles - one of the hardiest creatures on earth - looked absolutely miserable! Even The Dodo investigated them and felt the same way and wrote an article about it some years ago: https://www.thedodo.com/amphtml/close-to-home/seals-inside-tiny-tank-seaside-aquarium-oregon The tanks are tiny - and utterly void and empty of any kind of natural stimulus for their captives. Particularly concerning were the seals, octopi, and "touching pools". Octopi are extremely intelligent creatures and require a lot of care and organic stimuli - they have two here in bare tanks. One of them is in an exposed tank constantly being heckled by unruly kids - the other is in a tiny box of a tank. I've never seen an octopus so pale and miserable before as I did here. The "touching pools" are abysmally small and full of dingy nasty water bc hordes of people are constantly playing in the water while being "observed" by staff who couldn't care less - and seemed miserable themselves. But the seals were the hardest to see. They have a large group of captive harbor seals in the tiniest caged pool I've ever seen - they have NO ROOM to swim or dive or play. And they allow tourists to feed them unregulated and unsupervised!! How can that be a good thing?? You can't just feed seals an endless amount of fish?!!! And not even give them enough room to exercise in?!! It absolutely BLOWS MY MIND that this place is allowed to keep animals like this. Apparently nothing can be done legally bc they're working within the government guidelines - this is just shameful. I understand that this aquarium is historic and old - and they go to great lengths to make excuses for the conditions they're keeping these animals in but it's appalling and INEXCUSABLE! As full of "activists" as Oregon is, I'm absolutely baffled no one has tried to do anything about this. I highly recommend to avoid this place at all costs - DON'T give them your money.

As an Oregon native I've walked on the promenade in Seaside many times and but never checked out the Seaside Aquarium. When you walk in the first thing you see is a small tank with several sea lions that you can pay to feed. It was fun to see them up close it was also depressing that they were so crowded and confined. Evidently there is a larger tank for them out of public view. I hope so! Inside there was a room lined with displays of fish and other sea creatures. The Aquarium is housed in a very old building that many years ago was a sea water swimming pool. The whole place looked out of date and depressing. It was also expensive for the 45 minutes we spent there. We probably won't be back.

Small but mighty. Didn't love the tiny pool the otters live in but love they're dog friendly. Our Great Dane was the biggest attraction that day as he was absolutely tickled meeting all the fish. Worth the $10. Great option to have some fun on a rainy day.

It's a quaint place to visit. People are friendly and you get to see some local sea life. Also, take the opportunity to feed the seals for an extra $4.00, they have such different personalities! We had a great time there

So sad. Multiple seals in tiny enclosure, incredibly overstimulating. Then going inside all of the fish tanks are small with multiple fish not even moving inside of them. There is a larger fish (maybe shark?) in the middle of a VERY shallow enclosure. In the dark. There are no windows, no sunlight, nothing except the overhead lights. How is that natural or healthy?

Poor animal care: like it says animals are kept in bad habitats such as a very intelligent octopus being kept in a barren and small glass box with no enrichment or things to play with. The kids play/learning area is very dirty and rundown. Just not a great place. You will have a much better experience with sea life by visiting places like Haystack Rock. There you get to see ocean animals in person in the wild, plus you get great information from the local Haystack guides! Also visiting Haystack Rock is free!

The main attraction is the harbor seals at the front which is fine, but the rest of the "aquarium" is old and needs remodeling, while it was cool seeing starfish, and Dungeness crabs the place was very depressing.

This place is so intensely sad. Every single one of the animals is housed in adequately. The pen for the seals isn't even big enough for one of them let alone all of them. This place seriously needs to be shut down.

Small aquarium on the beach. Other than the seals there isn't much to see. It's fun to feed the seals but everything else in the tanks is kinda the same. Pricing wise for why you get I don't think they should be charging more than $8 for adults.

Took my family here late June 2023, all adults, did the $34 family entry. We all really enjoyed it, particularly if you take the time to READ all the informative data presented at each aquarium. LEARNED alot of things! Of course the seals are extremely entertaining. But I couldve spent even longer looking/reading about the many other local sealife here. The giant pacific octopus was mesmerizing. The info about skate-pods was fascinating. Staff was helpful and knowledgeable. Dont forget to look at the enormous whale skeleton on display on the outside. Very small parking lot.

The main reason to go to this aquarium is to feed the Seals. Otherwise it's a tiny little museum that you can walk through in 10 mins. I appreciated being able to feed the seals for the price but to be honest it's a little depressing to see them in a teeny tiny swimming area begging the visitors for food. Honestly, I shouldn't have expected anything else but it was still awkward to experience. There is also a little touch pool in the middle where you can touch starfish and sea anemones.

I regret taking my family here. It's been a week and the sadness is still lingering. I should have researched more, but I read they had seals and it's my daughter's absolute favorite animal. At first she was delighted to see them so close up, but she started questioning the enclosure and living conditions. They have so many seals crammed into a dirty viewing tank, they have a sign indicating that they have access to a much larger area "in the back" but that they prefer the tiny dirty viewing area. I would like to see proof of this as I am beyond skeptical this is even true. The rest of the aquarium is dark and dingy with small sparse tanks and listless looking creatures. Never again.

Honestly had a great experience here. Got recommended to go here from the Seaside Visitor Center. Their brochures have a free ticket for feeding the otters. The aquarium itself is quite small - it can be walked through in 15-60 minutes but it was fun. I actually thought the signs above the tanks made it very easy to identify the species of the animals. I liked their interactive tank too with lots of hermit crabs and starfish to touch. Feeding the seals was super fun. And the feed is only $2 but is a worth it experience. The seals get so excited to eat the pieces of fish.

Amazing time, feeding the harbor seals. I haven't laughed that hard, it awhile!! They have fish for sale, decent price for the whole adventure. The best girl, was Penny. She "stood" at the back of the pool, and barked. While another one kept splashing us!!! Super knowledgeable staff, on all the sea life they present.

We loved our visit to this small aquarium...feeding the seals, viewing tanks full or local sea life, and watching the octopus swimming in the small pool. We did get there right at opening (9 am), so it was still relatively empty when we viewed the establishment. The seals know what they want, and work the crowd with their purposeful water slaps to get the fish bits (you can buy a tray of fish to feed them). There are small tanks inside, full of fish, urchins, octopus, and more...and there's and open tank with an octopus and several star fish. The open tank mesmerized my son and me...we could have stood there all day. I hadn't read any of the reviews prior to visiting, and while I wondered about whether there was enough coverage for an antisocial octopus to hide, it was hard to know if he/she was happy or unhappy (it had a few color ranges of red (aggressive) to pale (passive)). I do think that if there has been animal/creature mistreatment, this establishment would not have been in business for as long as it has been. All in all, this was a nice way to start our morning at Seaside, with informative plaques, social and antisocial sea creatures, and friendly staff.

SeaWorld, it ain't. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes here, and whether the adorable seals have a larger habitat elsewhere within. I certainly hope so. They're certainly the stars of the show here, along with a giant octopus in a tank shallow enough to let him reach out and grab you (man, I would pay extra admission to see him grab one of the annoying kids running around)! The whole place feels like it could use a good scrubbing. There are some tanks with touchable critters (starfish and hermit crabs), a few dioramas of skeletal sea creatures, and the aforementioned octopus "pit" (seriously, can I drop one of the kids in there? PLLLLEEEAAAASSSSEEE?!); the rest of the aquarium is made of tanks embedded in the wall, with assorted ocean fauna swimming and scuttling about. Some of the tanks appear to be leaking from the top, likely due to a bad seal (no, not the ones out front!). There is some entertainment value here, particularly for young kids, and feeding the seals is fun, particularly when they're slapping their bellies, asking for more, but the whole place feels a little...sad. I really hope the seals are happy!

4 stars, with some perspective. This is a small aquarium in a tourist-dependent town so bear that in mind. Yes it is small, yes it's a bit run down, and yes pricey, depending on the size of your group. We did a family entry which is $34 and up to 6 people so actually reasonable if you have that many. Kids 5 and under get in free with paid admission. For small kiddos, I think this place is perfect. It's just one room of tanks and feels a little damp and dungeon-y, but only the adults really mind that part. The seals up front are pudgy and cute, and a will clap and splash you like crazy for fish (can purchase for $2 to throw in to them) and the touch tanks are really cool for little ones also. Information pamphlets and signs are everywhere for those interested.

What an interesting learning experience for the kids. The feeding of the animals was very fun!!!

Such small tanks that look so boring for the fish. Very sad. I would not support this business again.

I went here with my family during my spring break trip to Oregon and I'm very disappointed. The tanks looked very small and cramped for the fish and other sea animals. Including this, the whole place was extremely crowded and many screaming kids that ruined my experience. Many guests were also using flash photography which isn't comfortable for the animals. This place was not worth the 31 dollars and 15 minutes.

Not bad, not bad. Not much, if anything at all, has changed since our last visit in August. The seals still clap for snacks and splash you with water if you don't. The young people who work in the touch pool area still seem mostly uninterested in the kids who gleefully poke at the creatures living under water. I think the entry fee is pretty fair and if you take your time, you can squeeze a good 45 mins out of the trip. It's a bit dark and gloomy, some of the tanks could use TLC but overall I think it's a good stop if you are visiting Seaside. I can't attest to the treatment of the animals, of course, but for what it's worth, my little family enjoys visiting this aquarium. P.S. the gift shop has pretty cool random stuff like ghost stories about Oregon and hand blown glass ornaments that have almost nothing to do with the aquarium or it's residents. Bring money! Your kids will want to buy things that are undoubtedly overpriced as all gift shops items are.

So sad, don't make the same mistake as I did, don't go. They had 4 octopus, 2 of which were giant pacific octopus, inside tiny environments with absolutely nothing inside. Nowhere to hide, explore, or move. There were no plants or stimulation for the octopus, there was literally nothing in their tanks. They had at least 2 eels in tanks with once again nothing, no where to hide or go, they were out in the open with not even enough space to stretch out. These animals need places to hide at the very very least. There was a fairly big shovelnose looking fish in a tank not even a foot bigger than the fish itself, it couldn't swim, and could only sit or turn around (barely). Please don't go.

A small, private aquarium. Really nice as the kids can touch some of the residents;) There are coupons in their brochure at the local hotels for a free tray of sardines to feed the resident seals. The BIG downside is the lack of bathrooms! It's a hike back to the turnaround by the Shilo Inn to use the facilities...really inconvenient!

Great for kids and price is very reasonable nice little gift shop and beware of being splashed by the seals

Although the aquarium is quite small, it has a certain charm to it. It's not a place for all people to enjoy, but there are enough cool fish to look at. The main attraction here is definitely the seals. Boy was it a lot of fun to watch and feed them. Some of em would slap their bellys while others would slap the water splashing you. This signaled that they wanted the food in your cup. We often times forget how smart animals can be and they certainly knew what they were doing. In the small aquarium room, there were several different fish tanks to look through. There were even several creatures I had never seen or heard of before. I also liked that they had two open tanks where you could touch some of the sea life. Again, this is not a place for everyone. It's not the grandest aquarium out there, but it does have its charm.

Seaside aquarium was an awesome experience! There were so many interesting different cool sea animals there! You can even feed the seals for $2 a tray!

Outstanding little aquarium reminds of Morro bays. The harbor seal are happy to perform antics like roll overs, slapping their sides, posing on the rock or snagging a bite intended for another. I love the hand washing centrally located. Touching the sea anomie's, sea cucumbers and shark egg.

What a horrifying experience we had visiting this so called "aquarium". The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. We felt "had" - even for $11/ea. Guess the price should have been the clue to avoid such a place. We felt they should've paid us to even be there; ultra waste of time and DEPRESSING. The poor creatures are held in tiny tanks with no stimulus - not any plants - not even fake plastic ones. You would have a better time visiting a Petco. The poor fish that were larger looked sad and helpless. I feel like I need therapy after witnessing such a sad situation. And don't get me started on the deplorable condition for those seals to live in. Several packed into a tiny cement box "swimming" enclosure so small all they can really do is go back and forth. That is not a life for those beautiful animals. They are like sad puppies wishing they can get out of there. People should picket this place - "SAVE THE ANIMALS!" Don't even think of going here. They need to be shut down. The people who gave this place 5 stars are absolutely out of their minds. They must live in a shoebox themselves. It is a teeny, tiny medieval so called "aquarium" where creatures are barely kept alive. Just SAD. I would give it zero stars if that were an option.

This is a small aquarium but the worst part about it is how miserable the creatures are, in particular the octopuses, sharks, and eels. None of them were swimming - all were in small dim tanks and just lying still on the bottom. One of the octopuses is in an incredibly small open pool with no plants, rocks or cover, with nowhere to hide and where I watched a child try to reach in and touch it. Other people have mentioned the seals but it is heartbreaking to see how trapped these animals are. I didn't even think to look up reviews before walking in but I regret spending money here. It's motivated me to email the state representatives. Please don't support this establishment.

Small little place right near the beach, small parking lot (only a couple stalls) in back. It's super small, so we walked through pretty quickly, but it was a nice stop while in Seaside. Cute little gift shop. They had a big octopus and a touch tank, but the biggest draw is clearly the seals. You can buy trays of fish to throw over a fence to them while they splash and slap their bellies to get your attention.

I love to feed the seals here. I look forward to it every visit to seaside and I've brought a few friends here as well because it's a fun quick stop. Grab a few trays of fish and watch the seals do tricks. It's not a huge place but definitely worth a quick stop if you're out at seaside and looking for an activity! The staff is knowledgeable and excited to educate you on the sealife.

Feeding the seals was cool, but it's so small I don't think it really should qualify as an aquarium. It gave me more like pet store vibes. Price is reasonable for a tourist attraction, and it's right on the beach. The parking lot was tiny, so you'll have more luck finding street parking.

This place is not worth the $35 we spent for my family to go in. The seals were swimming around in a very small enclosure reminiscent to a prisoner pacing in a cell. There's no enrichment whatsoever. Tourist draw is to feed them for $2 per small tray of cut up fish pieces. The rest of the tanks were comparable to a pet store. A few giant pacific octopi were in tanks with no place to hide from people. The tanks were dirty and one even had a rusty razor blade against the glass. I don't know how this place is still operating. The draw is the size for families with small children. Tanks are easy to view. A small touch pool was fun. That's about it for the positive response I had for this place.

Right on the beach in Seaside, you'll find the Seaside Aquarium. Disclaimer: Do NOT expect something big! You really will only spend 20 - 30 minutes here, tops. It's a big room that you follow in a circle, and the closing attraction is feeding the seals on the way out. As other reviewers have said, the room is pretty dark and cold. It's no worse or better than some of the exhibits at the Seattle Aquarium. There are several tanks with lots of different fish & other marine life to observe and read about. There are also lots of little enclosures in the center of the room including petri dish exhibits, touch tanks, bones, etc. that are more on the educational side of things. When you pay for admission you have the option to pay $2 per carton of fish to feed the seals on the way out. Completely worth it! The aquarium has signs up letting you know that the seals do not indeed have to beg for their food - they just DO because they know exactly why the humans are there with fish coming their way. I will say I agree with the sentiments being said about their enclosure appearing to be too small. They probably need way more space for swimming with how many they have in there. :( It's a cute little additional stop to throw in while you're exploring Seaside, but don't expect to have this be a showstopping, long experience.