Cabrillo National Monument
Point Loma, San Diego · near San Diego (Point Loma) · San Diego
Tidepooling
At a glance
- Fee
- $20/vehicle (7-day pass) · going cashless
- Season
- Fall–winter afternoons have the daytime extreme lows here
What is here
- Species
- Owl limpets · Aggregating anemones · Two-spot octopus · Nudibranchs
- Highlights
- The Lower Pools · Whale Overlook
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Gear
- Grippy shoes for sloped sandstone · Watch the clock — area closes 4:30pm sharp · Card, not cash, for the gate · Binoculars: gray whales pass Dec–Mar
Tidepooling detail
- Nickname
- San Diego's Protected Pools
- Pool type
- sandstone
- Program
- docent-program
- Mpa
- NPS + Cabrillo State Marine Reserve
- Best tide
- Below 0.0 ft; note the coastal area closes 4:30pm
- Docent note
- TPERP volunteer educators rove the pools at low tides — active program
- Intl tip
- Drive to the end of Point Loma ($20/vehicle, 7-day pass). Tidepool road is on the ocean side past the entrance. The 4:30pm closure clips winter afternoon lows — arrive as the tide drops. Same ticket covers the lighthouse, the harbor panorama, and winter whale watching.
- Directions note
- Tidepool road on the ocean side past the entrance station; lots can close briefly when full
The guide
The tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument are San Diego's showcase intertidal — terraced sandstone shelves at the tip of Poin…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cabrillo National Monument — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.671, -117.244