Sunset Cliffs

Anytime someone from out of town comes to San Diego to visit, a must stop on showcasing this gorgeous coastal area is Sunset Cliffs. Though La Jolla Cove might receive more tourists, Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma is 20 times more spectacular. It isn't so much of an urban hike as it is a nice walk along some of the most breathtaking cliffs on this continent, but we still have to highlight it. We first took this hike together on July 17, 2008 - but have made it a staple in showing people the sights of San Diego.

• Trail: Sunset Cliffs
  
• Location: in Sunset Cliffs Park on Point Loma [map]
  
• Length: varies
  
• Hike time: varies
  
• Terrain: easy walk on road, but climbing down to explore the rocks & even some of the more hard-to-reach areas (skipping across the crashing waves) highly recommended
  
• Path visibility: clearly marked paved path, but encouraged to explore off the path
  
• Difficulty: easy up on the trail, but be careful down by the waves
  
• Cost: free
  
• Highlight destination: going off path at the waterline to explore the caves and private beaches
  
• Beware: stay back from the cliffs, wading across slippery rocks as waves come crashing in can be dangerous, & some vagrants in the less-traveled areas
  

Sunset Cliffs is one of those places that makes you wonder at how lucky San Diego is to have such amazing coastal places all in our backyard. Very true to it's name, Sunset Cliffs is a series of cliffs with the Pacific Ocean crashing hard against the rocks - but that intensity of nature provides such a serene and lovely backdrop to what can be a nice meandering hike.

The write-up that Jerry Schad gives it in his "Afoot & Afield in San Diego," understates this urban hike greatly. He calls the trail "neglected" and overwhelmingly informal, placing emphasis on that as opposed to the absolutely amazing vistas. As he mentions, you can bring everything from kids to dogs, but both should be watched carefully especially near the cliff edges and crashing waves.

The first thing we did after parking in the small lot at the park was to make our way down to the outcropping of cliffs. Even though there were several groups there, it seemed like each of us had our own private cliff to enjoy.

Moving closer to the water, it became a little game to see what marine wildlife we could encounter. In the tide pools on the cliffs, we saw many a crab scurrying, among other types of animals.

After spending a good deal of time oooh'ing an ahhhhh'ing, we continued to make our way down the coastline. The cliffs were just amazing and what views you have of the wildflowers, waves & surfers below. There were the most amazing rock formations even out in the ocean, a good distance from the main cliffs and coastline.

Then, we came to a staircase that led us down to the waterline. This is where the urban hike can start to get a little dangerous, as you'll have to scurry over wet rocks and timing your trek against the incoming waves, but this is the part that is most worth it.

Once down along the waterline, you can explore a series of caves. We found a fabulous little "private" locals-only type beach that had about 10 people (kids included) enjoying their secret little spot there far from the touristy areas of the city. There were lots of surfers and others out enjoying sport in the ocean too.

The only words of caution for this hike deal with safety of rock-hopping against such a powerful current to get to some of the more fun areas, and a note that we did see some vagrants in the harder to access areas.

Tipped off: No one in particular, just a local favorite. Schad does a very understated write up in Afoot & Afield in San Diego.