【Hike】Green Sea Turtles in San Gabriel River - Seal Beach / Long Beach

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

【Hike】Green Sea Turtles in San Gabriel River - Seal Beach / Long Beach

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I went to Seal Beach to try our first hike from the book, 50 Hikes in Orange County. After visiting Seal Beach Pier, we headed toward San Gabriel River located in between Seal Beach and Long Beach. According to the book, there are endangered green sea turtles living in this river. We brought our cameras, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS and Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with telephoto zoom lens, Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS STM to take photos. :) We walked on San Gabriel River Bike Trail (From Marina Dr to I-405) along San Gabriel River.

Marina Dr & San Gabriel River Bike Trail
Seal Beach, CA 90740
U.S.A.

Tips for Hiking San Gabriel River Trail
・Apply sunscreen on entire body.
・Wear sunglasses and hat.
・Drink water often.
・Watch out for cyclists.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

It is the hiking-biking path, so we often saw groups of bicyclists moving very fast while we were walking there.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

We often saw silvery fish, mullet, making leaps from the water.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

We walked under the Pacific Coast Highway.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

View from San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

There was oil field next to the trail.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

Great Blue Heron at San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

LADWP, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (Apple iPhone 6s)

After passing under Second Street, you can see LADWP, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, on your right. The reason why tropical sea turtles come and stay in this river is that this power plants discharge warm water to this river.

San Gabriel River (Apple iPhone 6s)

Cormorants (Canon PowerShot SX50 HS)

We saw some cormorants there.

Cormorants (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Green Sea Turtle in San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

We actually found some large green sea turtles swimming in water around the outflow pipes! It was very difficult to take their photos because a sea turtle pokes his head above water surface for only a few second.

Green Sea Turtle in San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

San Gabriel River Bike Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

There were so many small fish in water around the outflow pipe.

San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

San Gabriel River (Canon PowerShot SX50 HS)

Green Sea Turtle in San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Snowy Egret at San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Turkey Vulture (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Seagull (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Great Blue Herons at San Gabriel River (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Great Blue Heron (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Snowy Egret (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Jetblue Airplane (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Southwest Airplane (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

     It was very fun to hike San Gabriel River trail. I hadn't expected that I could actually see so many turtles! I probably saw nearly 10 green sea turtles in this river. (Even when I traveled the Big Island, Hawaii, I was not able to see any sea turtle!) That day, I walked over 17,000 steps (7.4 miles). It was a great exercise for me!
   　　

     After this hike, we went to In-N-Out Burger for quick lunch. 😋