Sea Lion Caves

Address:	91560 US-101, Florence, OR 97439, USA
Phone:	+1 541-547-3111
Site:	sealioncaves.com
Rating:	3.9
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Avery Ahyun Hong

I would have to say that if you are traveling along the Oregon Coast, or are planning on making a visit to Oregon at all, definitely mark Sea Lion Caves on your map of places to go! It is not for a person that is in a rush, but if you are willing to spend about an hour here, then you will surely get your moneys worth. I had never been here before, and the smell of the caves wasnt TOO bad, but the worst part was probably just the walking down to the elevator (which honestly, isnt that bad-- older seniors are able to do it!) Now during the summer, the sea lions go through mating season, so they are all outside, instead of in the cave. Occasionally one or two sea lions are in the cave during the summertime, but really they are all outside on a rock. There hundreds of these amazing creatures, and so just because they are not in the cave does not mean that you shouldnt head over! I could watch them out there for a long time, because of all the things that were happening. Some argue and fight with each other. Males will kick other males off of the rock, it gets really exciting! Now on to the facilities. This place is very nice, very well kept up and maintained. There is just so much to see! Which is why you can get your moneys worth if you just take the time to catch some details, or talk to some of the staff and listen to the information that they can give! I learned a lot and saw A LOT! It is very clean. If there is popcorn on the floor, it is swept up within minutes. The floors are clean, and the bathrooms are PERFECT. I cant say how many times I have been to bathrooms at tourist attractions and rest stops and having to just leave because of how disgusting they were. No, these bathrooms must be cleaned almost every hour because they are just that clean. The service was also great. The staff are extremely nice! It was fun to just talk to them because of how friendly they were. Down in the cave they walk up to you and tell you facts and information that I would have never figured out on my own. Oh, and if you go to the gift shop- TRY THE POPCORN. It is relatively cheap and oh my gosh, it is probably the best popcorn I have ever had in my life. That is not an understatement. And the lines moved fast, there was pretty much no problem with my time in the gift shop. So basically you can probably tell that I enjoyed my time here. This is one of those places I will have to visit again just to be able to enjoy everything it has to offer. I want to see the sea lions in the cave itself! But dont get me wrong, summer is still a great time to go. There are plenty of them, but if you want to see something new, be sure to go at both times of the year, in the winter and the summer. There are also a lot of birds, so if you are a bird lover, come to that place! I learned a lot and will definitely be visiting a second time. If you arent sure whether or not to visit here, I recommend coming- with the idea that you should take your time. Dont rush through it: look around, ask the staff questions, and enjoy the scenery and exhibits to truly get the Sea Lion Caves experience!

Kevin Krajewski

$60 for admission was the reason for my bad experience. Im walking through thinking I sure hope it was worth it to pay for my family to come here. All you will see is here in the Google pictures so I wouldnt waste the money. Im thinking Im going to be spelunking in this huge cave, but no, there are prison bars keeping you out of the cave. The sea lions were in peak bull fighting season in August when we came so they were active and fun to watch outside but far, far away. You would think after such a high price we would be able to use the binoculars, but you only can use them if you pay them a Quarter a look. No Quarters, outta luck. Maybe this was a great deal in the early 20th century when it was built, but if youre used to getting your moneys worth. I would advise keep driving up 101. I initially stopped because of the brown park sign saying Sea Lion Caves. IT SHOULD NOT BE BROWN! This is a for profit, for MEGA profit, place. It looks like theres been almost no upgrades since the 1950s. My advice to the owners is either charge less or stop pocketing your cash and upgrade the place.

ADCarter1

Its a giant tourist trap but if you know that ahead of time, its not so bad. You ride an elevator 200 feet down to see the sea lions. The elevator ticks off the plunge in 50 foot increments. The elevator takes almost a minute to come up or down so dont worry if the elevator seems slow. They still arent all that close and you look through a screen to see them. If you pay, there are other views of different sea lions on different rocks on ground level. Youre still not close but you can see them. Personally, I dont do well in enclosed spaces. Its not really small or claustrophobic in the cave but I didnt like being 200 feet below ground with an elevator as my only escape. I also didnt like that the elevator ride was almost a minute. Its not their fault- they didnt ask the sea lions to make their home in a cave- and it is amazing engineering but it just made me nervous watching the buttons light up every 50 feet. Again, it was how I felt. My husband was absolutely fine.

J Centavo

Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the place but its WAY too expensive for an experience you can get by driving down the road a couple of miles and seeing sea lions from the cliff for free. The elevator lowers you into a sea cave and you dont really get that much closer to the sea lions either. The cave, while interesting is nothing more than a educational display with signs, a silly video and a couple of windows. One window is a fenced window into the cave where you might see a couple of sea lions a couple hundred years away and the other looks out onto another cliff (which you could do for free). Like I said, I dont dislike this place but for my family of 5 it cost me $64.00; WAY too much. If this place cost $20.00 total, I could have stomached it a bit easier. Save your money and go down the road a ways and look at the sea lions from the cliffs for free and watch a video on YouTube.

Cris Tee

For the price of admission, its not a total rip off, but there are some things to be aware of. First of all, the sea lions arent even in the cave this time of year (summer). That info is on their website, but if you just show up clueless, they dont tell you that until after youve paid your admission fee. The only sea lions youll see are outside the cave and about 1,000 feet below the outdoor viewing platform. (Bring binoculars!) Even if the sea lions were in the cave, the pictures youve seen of the cave are not what you will experience. Its dark in the cave, and hard to see anything. Oh, and absolutely no flash photography, which makes sense, but just know you wont be getting any good pictures down there.