This 144-acre preserve marks the site of the first European visit to San Diego, made by 16th-century explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (circa 1498-1543) -- historians have never conclusively determined whether he was Spanish or Portuguese. Cabrillo, who had earlier gone on voyages with Hernán Cortés, came to this spot, which he called San Miguel, in 1542. Government grounds were set aside to commemorate his discovery in 1913, and today the site, with its rugged cliffs and shores and outstanding overlooks, is one of the most frequently visited of all the national monuments.
The visitor center presents films and lectures about Cabrillo's voyage, the sea-level tide pools, and migrating gray whales. The center has an excellent shop with books about nature, San Diego, and the sea.
Interpretive stations with recorded information in six languages have been installed along the walkways that edge the cliffs. Signs explain the views and wayside exhibits depict the various naval, fishing, and pleasure craft that sail into and fly over the bay.
A statue of Cabrillo overlooks downtown from the next windy promontory, where people gather to admire the stunning panorama over the bay, from the snowcapped San Bernardino Mountains, 130 mi north, to the hills surrounding Tijuana to the south. The stone figure standing on the bluff looks rugged and dashing, but he is a creation of an artist's imagination -- no portraits of Cabrillo are known to exist. The statue was donated by the Portuguese navy in 1957.
The moderately steep 2-mi Bayside Trail (9-4) winds through coastal sage scrub, curving under the cliff-top lookouts and bringing you ever closer to the bay-front scenery. You cannot reach the beach from this trail and must stick to the path to protect the cliffs from erosion and yourself from thorny plants and snakes -- including rattlers. You'll see prickly pear cactus and yucca, black-eyed Susans, fragrant sage, and maybe a lizard or a hummingbird. The climb back is long but gradual, leading up to the old lighthouse.
The oil lamp of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse (9-5) was first lit in 1855. The light, sitting in a brass-and-iron housing above a white wooden house, shone through a state-of-the-art lens from France and was visible from the sea for 25 mi. Unfortunately, it was too high above the cliffs to guide navigators trapped in southern California's thick offshore fog and low clouds. In 1891 a new lighthouse was built 400 ft below. The old lighthouse is open to visitors. The U.S. Coast Guard still uses the newer lighthouse and a mighty foghorn to guide boaters through the narrow channel leading into the bay. On the edge of the hill near the lighthouse sits a refurbished radio room from World War I. It hosts displays of U.S. harbor defenses at Point Loma used during World War II.
The western and southern cliffs of Cabrillo National Monument are prime whale-watching territory. The whales are visible on clear days in January and February.
More accessible sea creatures can be seen in the tide pools (9-4:30) at the foot of the monument's western cliffs. Drive north from the visitor center to the first road on the left, which winds down to the coast guard station and the shore. When the tide is low you can walk on the rocks around saltwater pools filled with starfish, crabs, anemones, octopuses, and hundreds of other sea creatures and plants. COST: $5 per car, $3 per person entering on foot or by bicycle (entrance pass allows unlimited admissions for one week from date of purchase); free for Golden Age, Golden Access, and Golden Eagle passport holders, and children under 17.
