Where to See Pacific Coast: 3 Parks Ranked by Real Odds

Q: Where is the best place to see Pacific Coast?

Great Bear Rainforest. In Great Bear Rainforest, Canada, the chance of seeing all 4 (sea otter, sea lion, harbor seal and humpback whale) on the same day is under 5%, the highest of the 3 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 10%. Next come Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (under 5% a day) and Olympic National Park (under 5% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Q: Which of Pacific Coast is hardest to see?

Sea lion. In Great Bear Rainforest, the best park for Pacific Coast, about about 10% of wildlife watchers report the sea lion on a given day, against about 50% for the humpback whale. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

Q: How do you complete Pacific Coast on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen. Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Pacific Coast three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

The checklist: 4 animals

EN

Enhydra lutris

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely

LC

Zalophus californianus

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely

LC

Phoca vitulina

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

LC

Megaptera novaeangliae

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

Where to go

Chance of seeing in

Month by month at Great Bear Rainforest

<5%

Jan

<5%

Feb

~10%

Mar

~10%

Apr

~10%

May

<5%

Jun

~10%

Jul

~10%

Aug

<5%

Sep

<5%

Oct

<5%

Nov

<5%

Dec

Time of day

Where they are recorded most Parks with some of them Cities with some of them

Parks

#	Park	Country	Animals	All 4 in 3 days
1	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	4 of 4	~10%
	Sea Otter			~70%
	California Sea Lion			~20%
	Harbor Seal			~80%
	Humpback Whale			~90%
2	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	4 of 4	~10%
	Sea Otter			~60%
	California Sea Lion			~50%
	Harbor Seal			~70%
	Humpback Whale			~40%
3	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 4	<5%
	Sea Otter			~50%
	California Sea Lion			~20%
	Harbor Seal			~50%
	Humpback Whale			~30%
4	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4	Missing: Sea lion
	Sea Otter			>90%
	Harbor Seal			>90%
	Humpback Whale			>90%
5	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4	Missing: Sea otter
	California Sea Lion			~90%
	Harbor Seal			~70%
	Humpback Whale			~50%
6	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Sea Otter			~70%
	Harbor Seal			>90%
7	Redwood National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~90%
	Harbor Seal			~80%
8	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Harbor seal
	California Sea Lion			~90%
	Humpback Whale			~80%
9	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Harbor seal
	California Sea Lion			~80%
	Humpback Whale			~70%
10	Svalbard	🇳🇴 Norway	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion
	Harbor Seal			~90%
	Humpback Whale			~60%
11	Katmai National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Sea Otter			~80%
	Harbor Seal			~70%
12	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~70%
	Harbor Seal			~40%
13	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion
	Harbor Seal			~80%
	Humpback Whale			~20%
14	Vatnajokull National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			>90%
15	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			~90%
16	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~80%
17	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~80%
18	Utría National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~80%
19	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~80%
20	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~70%
21	Cape Range	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~70%
22	Booderee National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~60%
23	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~60%
24	Noosa National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~60%
25	Maria Island National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~50%
26	Gros Morne National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			~50%
27	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~40%
28	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~40%
29	Freycinet National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~40%
30	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~40%
31	Wilsons Promontory National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~40%
32	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~30%
33	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~30%
34	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%
35	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%
36	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%
37	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%
38	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%

Cities

#	City	Country	Animals	All 4 in 3 days
1	San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~80%
	Harbor Seal			~60%
2	Seattle	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~40%
	Harbor Seal			~60%
3	Vancouver	🇨🇦 Canada	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~20%
	Harbor Seal			~60%
4	San Francisco	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~50%
	Harbor Seal			~30%
5	Sacramento	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Harbor seal, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~40%
6	Rotterdam [The Hague]	🇳🇱 Netherlands	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			~40%
7	Los Angeles	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Harbor seal, Humpback whale
	California Sea Lion			~30%
8	Dublin	🇮🇪 Ireland	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			~20%
9	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Harbor seal
	Humpback Whale			~20%
10	Boston	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 4	Missing: Sea otter, Sea lion, Humpback whale
	Harbor Seal			~20%

Zoos & centres

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	SeaWorld San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
2	Aquarium of the Pacific	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
3	Georgia Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
4	New York Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
5	Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
6	Seattle Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
7	Seattle Marine Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 4 in captivity
8	Vancouver Aquarium	🇨🇦 Canada	3 of 4 in captivity
9	SeaWorld Orlando	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4 in captivity
10	National Zoological Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4 in captivity
11	Shedd Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4 in captivity
12	SeaWorld Abu Dhabi	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	2 of 4 in captivity
13	Copenhagen Zoo	🇩🇰 Denmark	2 of 4 in captivity
14	Cleveland Metroparks Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4 in captivity
15	Barcelona Zoo	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 4 in captivity
16	North Carolina Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 4 in captivity
17	Africarium	🇵🇱 Poland	2 of 4 in captivity
18	Aquarama Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 4 in captivity
19	Aquarium Berlin	🇩🇪 Germany	2 of 4 in captivity
20	Aquazoo Friesland	🇳🇱 Netherlands	2 of 4 in captivity

Show all 20 Show fewer

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Pacific Coast?

Great Bear Rainforest

In Great Bear Rainforest, Canada, the chance of seeing all 4 (sea otter, sea lion, harbor seal and humpback whale) on the same day is under 5%, the highest of the 3 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 10%. Next come Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (under 5% a day) and Olympic National Park (under 5% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Which of Pacific Coast is hardest to see?

Sea lion

In Great Bear Rainforest, the best park for Pacific Coast, about about 10% of wildlife watchers report the sea lion on a given day, against about 50% for the humpback whale. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

How do you complete Pacific Coast on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen

Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Pacific Coast three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

← All challenges

Pacific Coast

The checklist: 4 animals

Sea Otter

California Sea Lion

Harbor Seal

Humpback Whale

Where to go

Month by month at Great Bear Rainforest

Month by month at Great Bear Rainforest

Month by month at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Month by month at Kenai Fjords National Park

Month by month at Kenai Fjords National Park

Month by month at Kenai Fjords National Park

Time of day

Parks

Cities

Zoos & centres

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Pacific Coast?

Which of Pacific Coast is hardest to see?

How do you complete Pacific Coast on Wallace's Line?