The
Quiroste Ohlone people were the first known to inhabit the Año Nuevo area. After
Mission Santa Cruz was founded in 1791, the Quiroste population plunged due to the various diseases that the Spanish had brought with them. The Spanish maritime
explorer Sebastian Vizcaino sailed by the point on January 3, 1603. His diarist and chaplain of the expedition, Father Antonio de la Ascensión, named it Punta de Año Nuevo (New Year's Point) for the day on which they sighted it in 1603. They had recently stopped in
Monterey and had passed Año Nuevo while heading north. The first European land exploration of
Alta California was the Spanish
Portolà expedition of 1760–1770. Guided by Vizcaino's landmarks as it traveled north along the coast in 1769, the explorers recognized Point Año Nuevo. On the return journey to
San Diego, the party camped at Año Nuevo Creek on November 19.
Franciscan missionary
Juan Crespi noted in his diary, "We...halted on a steep rock, in sight of the point which we judged to be Año Nuevo, on the bank of an arroyo which empties into the sea." After the mid-19th century, developments occurred, including the development of Año Nuevo Island and agriculture in the surrounding region. Once home to a large population of
northern elephant seals, hunters greatly reduced the seal population by overhunting the
species. Since the mid-20th century, the seal population has had a rebound and multiplied greatly. Northern elephant seals can be seen today on the wildlife reserve.
Save the Redwoods League purchased a parcel known as Cascade Creek in 2020 that links Año Nuevo with
Big Basin Redwoods State Park. ==Pinniped colonies==