Monterey's Coast Guard Pier and the public access viewpoints along nearby Cannery Row have long been considered excellent sea-watching sites. While sea-watching at Pt. Pinos at the tip of the Monterey Peninsula is the closest access to widest variety of wind-blown seabirds throughout the year, the Coast Guard Pier and Cannery Row provides near-shore access to seabirds frequenting the calmer sea conditions around Monterey Harbor. 

From Del Monte Boulevard in the City of Monterey, drive west and down through a tunnel where the roadway is renamed Lighthouse Avenue. The western part of Monterey Harbor will be on your right, and you should stay in the right lane to bear right at Foam Avenue. Once on Foam, take either to first right to go directly to the base of the Coast Guard Pier (or parking lots next to San Carlos Beach) or the second right (Reeside) to turn left on Cannery Row and look for street parking.

While a scope is not strictly required, it is helpful to spot pelagic species farther out at sea. You can walk out the Coast Guard pier for a fair distance, until it bends right and a fence separates you from the long, rocky jetty. Alternatively, along Cannery Row, look for "public access" signposted routes adjacent to Monterey Bay Inn (near Reeside & Cannery Row) or a large public plaza overlooking the Bay next to Monterey Plaza Hotel (near Drake & Cannery Row). Those two public viewing locations are at the west end of the Hotspot.

California Sea-lion, Norther Sea Otter, and Harbor Seal are routinely seen from the sea-watching sites, and on rare occasions a Steller's Sea-lion may appear among the smaller California Sea-lions on the jetty.

Brandt's Cormorants typically nest in the hundreds on the rocky jetty in spring; in fall, California Sea-lions often take over those rocks for sunning. Rocky shorebirds, including resident Black Oystercatcher, and Black Turnstones and Surfbird in winter, forage along the ocean edge of the Coast Guard Pier. Out in the Bay watch for 3 species of loon, 5-6 species of grebes (including Red-necked Grebe), and a few Pelagic or Double-crested Cormorants among the much more numerous Brandt's Cormorants. Surf Scoter flock are present in winter, with a few scoters remaining in summer. Among the scoter flocks, watch for rare scoters (White-winged or Black), Long-tailed Duck or Harlequin Duck (both rare). Among alcids, Common Murre is routinely seen year-round, and Pigeon Guillemot is summer; in winter, especially after storms, look for Rhinoceros Auklet, Cassin's Auklet, and scarcer alcids such as Ancient or Marbled Murrelet. In some winters, Black-legged Kittiwake and Northern Fulmar may be close to shore here, and sometimes even rafts of Sooty or Black-vented Shearwater can occur, although that is unusual. Western and California Gulls are the "usual" gulls, but Short-billed or Glaucous-winged Gulls can be expected in winter, and scarcer gulls can appear. Brown Pelican, Heermann's Gull and Elegant Tern are expected from mid-summer into early winter. On rare and unpredictable occasions, Red Phalaropes, and even Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, have been blown into the harbor vicinity. Osprey has become more regular, especially on posts along Cannery Row, and seeing a Peregrine Falcon fly by is not unusual. 

The 1700-foot breakwater guarding the north side of the Harbor was built during the early 1930s by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Coast Guard has extensive docking facilities at the base of the breakwater, where there is a paved road and the public are permitted to fish. Over time, the base fo the breakwater and the extending rocky jetty beyond became known as the Coast Guard Pier. 

Monterey's Coast Guard Pier forms the north side of Monterey Harbor, protecting the harbor from the prevailing northwest winds and waves. A public, paved hiking/biking trail connects the base of the Coast Guard pier with the two large wharves in Monterey Harbor: Fisherman's Wharf (where pelagic trips leave to look for seabirds and sea mammals in Monterey Bay) and the Commercial Wharf (aka Wharf #2). Towards the west, a small sandy cove is called San Carlos Beach. Just a bit farther west the first of the Cannery Row hotels arise from on the waterfront. There an extensive, metered parking lot adjacent to San Carlos Beach, and another lot with paid parking at the base of the Coast Guard Pier.

There is no entrance fee, but one must pay for parking at the base of the Coast Guard pier, and along the streets on Cannery Row, most hours of the day. There are public restrooms at the base of the Coast Guard pier and at the west end of public path that overlooks San Carlos Beach.