Border Field & Tijuana Estuary
Border Field State Park (Imperial Beach) · near Imperial Beach / San Diego · San Diego
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 100 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Year-round (birding best fall–spring)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit; free. The southwesternmost corner of the continental US, where the border meets the Pacific. Access road often closed by mud — check status.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Southwesternmost point in the US · Tijuana River estuary birding · Border monument & Friendship Park · Remote, wild beach
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The road to the beach and monument often closes due to mud and water quality issues — check California State Parks status before driving down, and be prepared to walk in from the Tijuana Estuary side if it's closed. Bring binoculars; the estuary birding is world-class during migration. This is a place with real geopolitical weight — visit thoughtfully.
The guide
Border Field State Park occupies the far southwestern corner of the continental United States, where the international border r…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Border Field & Tijuana Estuary — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.539, -117.122