Cabrillo National Monument
1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, San Diego, CA 92106; (619) 557-5450;
NPS Website;
Open Daily : 9AM - 5PM; Admission is Free;
Located on the tip of Point Loma - this major landmark offers the best
scenic views of the San Diego skyline and a host of other great features. It is also
a great vista to watch the big ships sail in or out of San Diego Bay.
The monument includes a tall statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who is
credited with the discovery of San Diego Bay on
Sept 28, 1542 and the first European to ever set foot on what is now the US West Coast.
A statue sculpted by Alvaro DeBree, a Portuguese sculptor, was dedicated in memory of Cabrillo in
Sept. 1935.
Access from I-5 or I-8 Freeways, follow SR-209 (Rosecrans Exit)
to Canon St to Catalina Blvd and to the end. There is a $4 entrance fee
to the parking lot. Everything else is Free . Start your tour from the Visitors Center.
- Monument and Visitors Center.
- Old Lighthouse open to public.
- Aquatic Tide Pools open to public (located along bottom of cliffs on
the oceanside).
- Bayside Hiking Trails.
- Whale Watching - Catch the annual migration of the California Gray
Whale - Late Dec. to Late February.
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
This landmark has been restored to be its original appearance.
Housed in the reconstructed Assistant Keepers’ Quarters building adjacent to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse,
a new museum exhibit offers numerous hands-on and interactive features telling the story
of lighthouse activity here since the 1880's.
A nearby historic military building, the exhibit They Stood the Watch presents the history of Fort Rosecrans.
Bayside Trail
The 1.2 mile trail begins at the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and descends 300 feet through endangered native coastal
sage scrub habitat, passing remnants of World War I and II coastal defense systems. Wayside panels tell about
wildlife and fire ecology, and the park benches are scenic places to stop and take in the views.
Coastal Tidepools
Some of the best coastal tidepools of California are located on the ocean side of the Cabrillo Monument.
The very best time for tidepooling is during the winter months, when those good negative low tides occur during daylight
hours when the park is open. In the summer months, the negative low tides generally occur in the middle of the night.
California Whale Watching Tours : Jan-Mar
From January through March, some 28,000 Pacific Gray Whales make their annual migration up along
the coast to their summer Alaska feeding grounds. During the summer Blue and Humpback Whales also
come to visit the local waters delighting visitors with upclose encounters.
CaliforniaResortLife.com
