Cabrillo National Monument (Bayside & Tide Pools)
Point Loma, San Diego · near San Diego · San Diego
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 2.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 300 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Year-round (tide pools best at winter low tides)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- National Monument entrance fee ($20/vehicle, 7-day). The Bayside Trail and the separate tide-pool area sit at the tip of Point Loma with sweeping bay and ocean views.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Tip-of-Point-Loma views · Historic lighthouse · Rich tide pools · Downtown San Diego & harbor panorama
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The tide pools and the Bayside Trail are in different parts of the monument — check the tide table and hit the pools at low tide, ideally in winter when the lowest tides occur. The lighthouse and visitor center add historical context. Gray whales pass offshore December through March.
The guide
Cabrillo National Monument occupies the dramatic tip of the Point Loma peninsula, where Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo first landed on…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cabrillo National Monument (Bayside & Tide Pools) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.672, -117.241