Cabrillo National Monument: Striking views of San Diego
Written: Sep 03 '05 (Updated Apr 21 '06)
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Pros: Breathtaking views, stroller friendly, great Visitor Center
Cons: None!!
The Bottom Line: A great national park with spectacular views and lots to do that is stroller friendly.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Cabrillo National Monument |
There are a lot of gems in our National Park System and the Cabrillo National Monument is one of them. The park itself is a short drive from the city part of San Diego. The park consists of 144 acres although there is a lot to see within walking distance of the Visitor Center.
Entrance to the park costs $5 per car and is good for one week. The Visitor Center was just a few minutes drive from the entrance to the park. There was ample free parking on Saturday of Labor Day Weekend in 2005, when we visited. There were a lot of cars in the lot although the park never seemed crowded. The Visitor Center building has mainly windows along its walls so you can take in the unbelievable views of the San Diego skyline and harbor. There are also balconies outside with helpful signs explaining what you are seeing. You can see the sailboats, sloops and military ships coming and going in the harbor. You can also see various military and commercial aircraft.
The scenery within the park is also beautiful. Signs point out local plants and the sweeping vistas are really breathtaking.
The Visitor Center has a desk with park rangers who have loads of information. You can borrow binoculars for free by leaving a driver's license. There are lots of books for sale plus various other items. Just outside the Visitor's Center are reasonably clean bathrooms and water fountains. There is no food concession in the park. However, there were a couple of vending machines selling snacks. You should definitely plan to bring your own food as there are lots of wonderful locations for a picnic.
On the day we visited, there was a park employee dressed up like a Spanish Conquistador. This really sparked the kids' interest in learning some history. He had a table that displayed various weapons, clothing and tools and seemed to enjoy explaining them. We spent some time learning what the Conquistadors wore.
The Visitor's Center has an auditorium that shows various shows about the history of the park. There is also a small museum that explains the history of the Spanish Conquistadors and Juan Cabrillo for whom the park was named. The museum is somewhat interactive with buttons to push so the kids enjoyed spending some time there. There are also lots of interesting descriptions of the exhibits which were helpful for the adults. We toured this small one-room museum in about 15 minutes.
There is also a small Military History Museum about a five minute walk from the Visitor Center. This one-room museum describes the history of the military presence in the park, primarily during World War II. We toured this small museum in about ten minutes.
Also about a five minute walk from the Visitor Center is the Point Loma Lighthouse. This relatively small lighthouse is open for visitors. Inside, there are some really well-done furnished rooms from the era. There are also some educational displays about lighthouses and lighthouse keepers. You can't go up to the very top of the lighthouse but the rest was open to visitors. We spent about ten minutes touring the lighthouse.
There is also a trail that is approximately two miles long called the Bayside trail that works its way around part of the park and takes in beautiful ocean views. We went partially down the trail which appeared to be paved the whole way. This made the trail very stroller friendly which was great for us. The trail went by lots of local plants and I wish we had time to complete the whole thing. The head of the trail is about a five minute walk from the Visitor Center.
Beyond the lighthouse is a small shelter with displays about Gray Whales. The whales are visible off the shore during certain times of year which are, I believe, December through March.
There are tide pools about a five minute drive away from the Visitor Center. The parking lot near the tidal pools is small and, although we got a space, there were several cars waiting for spaces when we left. There are no facilities by the tide pools except for a port-a-potty so plan to use the facilities before you leave the Visitor Center.
The path from the parking lot to the tide pools was about a five minute walk. Unlike the rest of the park that we visited, the path was not paved but was covered in mulch. It was easy enough for us to walk on but would be harder for someone with limited mobility.
To reach the tide pools, you have to climb down some rocks and step over lots of other rocks. The ground is uneven and slippery and it took some concentration to reach our destination. Small children made it fine with the help of their parents. I highly recommend wearing some kind of water shoes since the ground was covered with slippery rocks and was wet. It would be uncomfortable to walk around the area in bare feet. I also recommend bringing a towel to dry off. The waves can splash and it is easy to get wet.
The tide pools were worth the effort it took to get there. Among the rocks were lots of little creatures. We found lots of little tiny crabs that were about the size of a quarter. When you picked them up, they hid in their shells but quickly re-emerged to walk along your hand. We also found some sea anemone. When you touched them lightly, they closed up. A few seconds later, they popped back open again. According the signs near the tide pools, you can also find starfish and sea cucumbers but we had no luck on the day we visited.
The tide pools themselves were really beautiful. The ground was covered in smooth, oval rocks of various sizes. The small cliff walls surrounding the area were erroded into stripes that were unique and pretty to look at. Of course, the tidal pools opened up into a beautiful, ocean view.
The kids loved the tide pools and would have spend hours there. After half an hour, I had to drag them away but they made me promise to take them back. There were lots of kids of all ages in the tide pools and they all seemed completely fascinated by them. I highly recommend this experience for families.
Another nice thing about this park is that they have a Junior Ranger Program. The kids got a sheet with a scavenger hunt on it. After they answered the questions or found the items, they returned the sheet to the Visitor's Center. They each got a certificate, had to take a Junior Ranger Pledge and got plastic badges. This was really fun for them and they had some nice items to take home. If you are interested in participating in the Junior Ranger Program, ask at the Ranger Desk in the Visitor Center.
All in all, we spent about three hours in this park and we all loved it. I wish we had allocated another couple of hours so we could have walked on the trail and spent more time at the tide pools. We definitely plan to return.
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Disney's California Adventure
Disneyland
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
San Diego’s Old Town
The Museum of Making Music
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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modernmarvel
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