Cabrillo National Monument, CA

• 4-star hikes
• 1 to 2 mile options
• Easy & Moderate | Gain 310 to 380 feet
• San Diego, CA | San Diego Region
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The image shows a statue of a historical figure standing on a high vantage point overlooking a coastal cityscape. The statue is detailed, depicting a person in traditional attire holding a book and a staff. In the background, there is a panoramic view of a city with numerous buildings, a beach, and the ocean.

Cabrillo looks towards modern day San Diego.

Beating Trailspotting by almost five hundred years, the Spanish conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed north from Mexico, becoming the first European to set foot on what is known today as the U.S. West Coast. His landing site was on the Point Loma Peninsula within San Diego Bay. You can view this spot—now known as Ballast Point and occupied by the U.S. Navy—from the end of the Cabrillo National Monument's Bayside Trail.

The park occupies a narrow stretch of land at the tip of Point Loma, extending from bay to ocean, and is crowned by the 1851 Old Point Loma Lighthouse. Restored with period furnishings and featuring a spiral staircase leading to its Fresnel-lensed oil lamp, the lighthouse is a popular attraction within the park. Two trails extend from the lighthouse area and the park’s visitor center, auditorium, and small museum. We explore these below.

Note that as a National Park Service property the park has a fee for entry that is higher than that of most trailheads. Check the official link at the bottom of the page for the latest fees, which are payable even if you're arriving on foot or by bicycle. At time of this article's publication we paid $20 for vehicle entry.

Trail Options Expand KML · Google Earth ·

⬤ 4★ Oceanside Trail 1.4 mi out & back, moderate, gain 380 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions GPX?

⬤ 3★ Bayside Trail 2.0 mi out & back, easy, gain 305 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions

⬤ Oceanside Trail
Our preferred trail descends the western cliffs of Point Loma, leading hikers on a short route to appreciate the rugged shoreline and tide pools, when tides permit. The park's website describes late fall and winter as the best times to visit the tide pools, as in summer, low tides generally occur outside park hours. If you're lucky enough to time your visit with a low tide, expect to observe a wealth of sea creatures, from barnacles and mussels to snails, sea stars, and perhaps even a spiny lobster.

The single-track trail down the cliffside is a moderately easy dirt path with steps built into the steepest sections. Visitors can also reach the tide pools without a cliffside hike by taking a short drive to one of three oceanfront parking lots. The first parking lot is located adjacent to the tide pools, while the other two are one-third and one-half mile away, respectively.

The image depicts a stunning coastal landscape with distinctive sedimentary rock formations. You can see various layers of rock in different shades of brown and beige, forming a cliff along the shoreline. The ocean waves are crashing against these rocks, creating a dramatic scene. In the background, a person stands on the cliff, taking in the breathtaking view. The sky is mostly clear with a few wispy clouds, and the hills in the distance are covered with green vegetation.

Dramatic cliffside scene close to the tidepools.

⬤ Bayside Trail
roviding a contrasting experience to the Oceanside Trail, the Bayside Trail follows a more gradual descent along the eastern hillside of Point Loma. This route offers expansive views of San Diego Bay, with the city’s skyline framed by distant mountains. Along the way, interpretive signs highlight local navigational and military history, culminating at a board marking the end of the trail. This final marker invites you to look toward Ballast Point, where Cabrillo’s landing party first encountered what is now modern-day California.

We found the views along this trail similar to those visible from the visitor center and the Cabrillo statue overlook, which is why we recommend the Oceanside Trail first. However, for those looking for a less strenuous walk, the Bayside Trail is still a worthwhile option.

The mapped route begins with a stroll down the asphalt-paved Humphreys Road, which leads to the gravel-surfaced Bayside Trail. For those wishing to hike both trails, we’ve also marked an unlisted, unofficial connector trail that saves over half a mile of backtracking to the lighthouse. We added this to OpenStreetMap, so it will likely trickle down to AllTrails' map too.

The image shows a lighthouse with an attached building, surrounded by a white picket fence. The lighthouse has a cylindrical tower with a lantern room at the top, featuring a green dome and a railing around it. The building is painted white with green trim and has a shingled roof. The surrounding area is covered with dry vegetation and some bushes. In the background, there is a clear blue sky and a distant view of a cityscape.

The 1852 Old Point Loma Lighthouse.

In this image, we see a scenic view of a coastal trail with a city skyline in the background. The foreground features a dirt path lined with vegetation, and there's a rocky cliff on the left side. Three people are walking along the path, and a helicopter is visible in the sky. The city skyline in the background includes various tall buildings set against a backdrop of mountains. The ocean is visible to the right of the path, with a small boat in the water.

San Diego Bay views from the Bayside Trail.

The image shows a scenic coastal landscape with a hiking trail. The foreground features two hikers walking along a path surrounded by dry, scrubby vegetation and rocky terrain. The background reveals a stunning view of the ocean with a clear blue sky and distant mountains.

Coastal scrub and sandstone cliff on the Bayside Trail.

The image shows a coastal scene with a lighthouse and several buildings near the shore. The lighthouse is surrounded by palm trees and other vegetation. In the background, there is a vast expanse of ocean with a few small islands visible on the horizon. The foreground includes a grassy hillside and a few parked cars near the buildings. The image is interesting because it captures a picturesque and serene coastal landscape, highlighting the lighthouse as a focal point against the backdrop of the ocean and islands.

This lighthouse replaced its clifftop counterpart after only 36 years.

Tangents:
• Official: Cabrillo National Monument
• AllTrails Public: Coastside, Bayside
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article

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