San Diego’s only national park sits on a cliff above the Pacific and almost no one talks about it

It’s also a whale lookout

You can stand at the tip of Point Loma and see the Pacific, downtown San Diego, Coronado, and on a clear day, the mountains near Tijuana.

Cabrillo National Monument covers more than 140 acres at the southern end of the peninsula, and it packs in a restored 1850s lighthouse, tidepools full of sea life, WWII bunkers, and a 2.5-mile trail with views of the bay.

The history alone goes back to 1542, and the whale watching runs through winter.

The first European to land on the West Coast sailed in here

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay on Sept. 28, 1542, anchoring near what people now call Ballast Point on the eastern shore of Point Loma.

His expedition stayed just six days before pushing north up the California coast.

Cabrillo died during the voyage, but his crew kept going, possibly reaching as far as Oregon before winter storms drove them back to Mexico.

In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson set aside a half acre around the old lighthouse as Cabrillo National Monument. Presidents Eisenhower and Ford later expanded it to more than 140 acres.

The highest lighthouse on the West Coast had one big flaw

Congress approved the Old Point Loma Lighthouse in 1855 as one of eight original beacons for the West Coast. It sat 422 feet above sea level, the highest navigational light in the country during its 36 years of service.

Today you can walk inside and see the rooms restored to their 1880s look, right down to the keeper’s quarters.

The keeper’s family gardened, raised animals, and sent their kids across the bay by rowboat each day to school in Old Town.

Fog killed the light, so the keeper fired a shotgun instead

That hilltop perch turned out to be a problem. Fog and low clouds rolled in and hid the beacon from the ships that needed it most.

On bad nights, the keeper would fire a shotgun to warn vessels away from the rocks. On March 23, 1891, someone put out the flame for the last time, and a new lighthouse lower on Point Loma took over.

The old one sat empty until the National Park Service restored it starting in 1933. The tower opens to the public on special days, including Nov. 15, the lighthouse anniversary.

A 14-foot statue of Cabrillo watches over the bay

Near the Visitor Center, a 14-foot limestone statue of Cabrillo faces the bay.

The Portuguese government donated the original sandstone version in 1939, and crews installed it in 1949, but weather ate it up, so a replacement went in during 1988.

Step into the courtyard behind it and you get some of the best views in the park, straight down to Ballast Point where Cabrillo likely anchored.

Inside, the “Age of Exploration” exhibit walks you through his voyage, and an auditorium runs three short films throughout the day.

Gray whales pass right below the cliffs each winter

Every winter, Pacific gray whales swim past Point Loma on a nearly 12,000-mile round trip from Arctic feeding waters to the warm bays of Baja California.

You can spot them from mid-December through March, with mid-January bringing the most action. Head to the Whale Overlook or the Kelp Forest Overlook just south of the old lighthouse for the best vantage.

The Visitor Center loans out binoculars for free during whale season if you bring a photo ID. Look for a bushy spout that shoots up to 15 feet and hangs in the air about five seconds.

Hermit crabs, bat stars, and sometimes an octopus

More than 350,000 people visit the tidepools along the park’s western shore every year, and for good reason.

You might spot sea anemones, hermit crabs, bat stars, shore crabs, limpets, and if you’re lucky, an octopus tucked into a crevice.

The best viewing happens during low tides of 0.7 feet or lower, which fall during park hours mainly in fall and winter. Spring and summer low tides come at night, so the pools sit mostly underwater when you’re there.

The Oceanside Trail connects the upper monument area to the tidepools if you want to hike down.

The Bayside Trail drops 340 feet toward San Diego Bay

The Bayside Trail runs 2.5 miles round trip along an old military road down the eastern side of the peninsula.

You start near the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and wind downhill through interpretive signs about native plants and wildlife, with benches along the way that face downtown San Diego, Coronado, and the bay.

The hike back is all uphill, so bring water and sun protection. This trail holds a National Recreation Trail designation, one of only four in San Diego County.

WWII bunkers and a searchlight shelter line the trail

Point Loma guarded the harbor entrance through both World Wars, and the evidence still sits along the Bayside Trail.

You pass a 1919 searchlight shelter and power plant that crews once used to light up the harbor and spot incoming ships.

Coastal artillery batteries, fire control stations, and observation bunkers built between 1918 and 1943 dot the hillside.

A restored WWII bunker opens to the public on the fourth Saturday of each month, so time your visit right and you can walk inside.

Sailors used the old lighthouse to check returning ships

A former WWII Army radio station on the hillside now holds the “They Stood the Watch” exhibit. Inside, you find displays and wartime relics from the soldiers at Fort Rosecrans who defended San Diego’s harbor.

During the war, the military closed the entire south end of Point Loma to the public.

Even the old lighthouse got a second job as a Navy signal station, where sailors verified returning ships before opening the submarine net that stretched across the harbor entrance.

Live snakes at the Visitor Center every Thursday

The park protects one of the last patches of native coastal sage scrub left in the San Diego area. You walk right through it on the Bayside Trail, where native birds move through the brush.

Wildflowers cover the hillsides each spring and add color along the path.

Every Thursday, the park runs a “Snake Meet and Greet” at the Visitor Center where you can see a live native snake and learn about the local ecosystem.

Kids can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet and earn a badge during their visit.

You can see three countries’ worth of landscape from one spot

On a clear day, the views from the monument stretch from the open Pacific to the mountains east of San Diego.

You can pick out Naval Air Station North Island, the Coronado Bridge, and the downtown skyline without turning your head much. To the south, Mexico’s Coronado Islands rise from the water.

Many people stay into late afternoon to watch the light shift over the ocean.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, with rows of white headstones on the hillside, is visible from several points around the park.

Explore Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego

You’ll find Cabrillo National Monument at 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, at the very tip of Point Loma.

The park opens daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the tidepools closing at 4:30 p.m. and the Bayside Trail at 4 p.m. Admission runs $20 per vehicle, $15 per motorcycle, or $10 per person on foot or bike, and your pass covers seven days.

America the Beautiful annual passes work here too.

From anywhere in San Diego, head down Rosecrans Street toward Point Loma and follow Catalina Boulevard to the end.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Yosemite’s rule against bear spray worries hikers as the bears emerge from hibernation
• Why LA and San Diego are losing people fast as immigration slows and exits rise
• The island that scared gangsters and sparked a revolution is only a 15-minute ferry from San Francisco