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.

bayside trail

It was a clear December day right before Christmas -- so what better thing to do in sunny San Diego than take a hike! We paged through the hike book in Starbucks in the morning & found an old classic: the Bayside Trail in Point Loma at the Cabrillo National Monument. With views of the San Diego Bay, downtown skyline, Silver Strand, NAS North Island - and heck, we could actually see all the way down to Mexico! - it seemed like the perfect choice for a gorgeous, clear winter day.

• Trail: Bayside Trail (map)
• Location: Point Loma
  
• Length: 2.4 miles (out & back)
  
• Hike time: 15 minutes down, 20 minutes up
  
• Terrain: gravel winding road
  
• Path visibility: Very clearly marked
  
• Difficulty: easy - great for the whole family & lots of benches along the way for enjoying the view
  
• Cost: $5 to park (good for a week of unlimited entries though!)
  
• Highlight destination: the view takes it all! City, mountains, ships, naval aircraft landing, seeing all the way to Mexico - wow!
  
• Beware: the museums & the lookout points before the trail are busy
  

Save this hike for a clear day. Sure, it is great any time of year, any type of weather ... but on a clear day you can really see it all. Unobstructed views of the mountains in the distance, the city skyline, the bay ... the list of what you can see on a clear day is too long to name.

We started at the visitor's center, where they had some educational presentations going on for the kids, complete with the presenters in colonial clothing. We breezed past this straight to the overlook point on the other side. It was just breathtaking! I can't gush about it enough. From the naval station right in front to being able to see all the way back to the mountains, I just don't know that there is a better view of everything the city has to offer than this! Don't worry if you forget your binoculars, they have stationary ones there for you.

Next, we moved over to that actual Cabrillo National Monument statue. This statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo lies on one the smallest national monuments in the nation (only 144 acres). Facing inland with his back to the spectacular view, it is was almost as if he was ready to explore more of the land that has become San Diego.

The walk toward the trailhead leads us to one more tourist stop: the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. This was the first lighthouse we had both seen close up & toured. There were great displays of how lighthouses worked in the olden days reflecting a small lamp and magnifying that light out to the seas, keeping sailors from crashing into land. We were able to go into both the assistant keeper's quarters and the lighthouse itself. It was really interesting & worth the stop prior to the hike. Of course, it was busy but if you're patient you can read all the signs & get a good look at the displays.

Once done at the lighthouse, we were ready to start the hike. It was 3:45 p.m. & the sign at the trailhead said the trail closed at 4 p.m., but we kept on & never felt rushed by the rangers on site. The walk from the lighthouse to the trailhead was a short five minutes down a little winding paved road & we didn't count that as part of the official hike.

At the trailhead, the path changes to gravel. Parts of the path are heavily eroded, but the park has that part roped off well for hiker safety. The trail descends about 300 feet & it is all scenery all the way.

Besides the view, which I'm not sure I could say anything more than "breathtaking" & "amazing" about, there were so many neat little things along the way. For instance, we came up on a bunker built into the cliff. Inside the bunker was a mobile search light used during both World Wars that they could quickly roll out to the edge of the cliff on tracks to look at approaching vessels. This was just one illustration of many that drove home the fact that this area was an excellent strategic element in coastal defense.

This park doesn't really need 4 unique museum-like information centers (visitor center, 2 light house buildings, military museum) because the view is the real star, but having those there really add to the experience. Take it slow. Don't be put off by the crowd on clear days & you could honestly spend hours there.

After the climb back up, we decided to head a few minutes away to watch the sun set over the Pacific. It was a perfect sunset, with the sun disappearing in a blink, ending a lovely hike I hope to do many times again.


Tipped off: My hiking partner has been here before & I briefly visited (just for the view, not the hike) back in 2003. We really got jazzed about the hike after looking in the new edition (May 2007) of Jerry Schad's Afoot & Afield in San Diego County for a "perfect on a clear day!" hike. It did not disappoint!