Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ramble above the water's edge at low tide, from White Point to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.

Pressed hard and fast against the densely populated Los Angeles County community of San Pedro, the rocky ribbon of coastline between White Point and Cabrillo Beach looks out over a 20-mile watery gap separating Santa Catalina Island from the mainland. On clear winter days the island seems to float like a dusky shadow over the sparkling surf. The following three-mile hike, easy or difficult depending on the exact route, takes you east from White Point to the mile-long strand of sand at Cabrillo Beach.

Low tides will make it easier to walk well above the water's edge, and luckily there are several opportunities to do this on weekends soon to come. Extreme low tides dip to about minus one foot on the afternoons of February 1, 2, 15, and 16 and March 1, 2, 15, and 16.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start at Royal Palms State Beach, close to where Western Avenue meets Paseo del Mar in San Pedro. You can park inside the gate for a fee, or outside along Paseo del Mar for free. Down by the water's edge head east (down-coast) past White Point, making your way over tilted slabs of sedimentary rock and small boulders. Here, and on the bluffs above, are the skimpy remains of early-20th-century resorts and spas that capitulated to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and suffered further pounding by decades of storm tides and heavy surf. The checkered history of this stretch of coastline is interpreted in a display at the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which you'll find at the conclusion of this hike.

At about 1.5 miles, before the shoreline terrace you're following narrows to practically nothing at Point Fermin, you'll spot some metal steps going up the bluff. This is your safe ticket to getting past Point Fermin -- as opposed to following the rocky shoreline. At the top of the stairs, a path leads to the west end of Point Fermin Park, a grassy strip popular among joggers and strollers. Keep heading east along the edge of the cliffs, passing the antique Point Fermin Lighthouse, built in 1874 with materials shipped around Cape Horn.

Farther east, you turn inland a little to reach Shepard Street. Follow this street east, to Pacific Avenue, and continue straight ahead on Bluff Place down to Cabrillo Beach. Here you can enjoy the only true beach for miles in either direction, and pay a visit to the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which features some excellent marine and historical exhibits.M

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again

Pressed hard and fast against the densely populated Los Angeles County community of San Pedro, the rocky ribbon of coastline between White Point and Cabrillo Beach looks out over a 20-mile watery gap separating Santa Catalina Island from the mainland. On clear winter days the island seems to float like a dusky shadow over the sparkling surf. The following three-mile hike, easy or difficult depending on the exact route, takes you east from White Point to the mile-long strand of sand at Cabrillo Beach.

Low tides will make it easier to walk well above the water's edge, and luckily there are several opportunities to do this on weekends soon to come. Extreme low tides dip to about minus one foot on the afternoons of February 1, 2, 15, and 16 and March 1, 2, 15, and 16.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start at Royal Palms State Beach, close to where Western Avenue meets Paseo del Mar in San Pedro. You can park inside the gate for a fee, or outside along Paseo del Mar for free. Down by the water's edge head east (down-coast) past White Point, making your way over tilted slabs of sedimentary rock and small boulders. Here, and on the bluffs above, are the skimpy remains of early-20th-century resorts and spas that capitulated to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and suffered further pounding by decades of storm tides and heavy surf. The checkered history of this stretch of coastline is interpreted in a display at the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which you'll find at the conclusion of this hike.

At about 1.5 miles, before the shoreline terrace you're following narrows to practically nothing at Point Fermin, you'll spot some metal steps going up the bluff. This is your safe ticket to getting past Point Fermin -- as opposed to following the rocky shoreline. At the top of the stairs, a path leads to the west end of Point Fermin Park, a grassy strip popular among joggers and strollers. Keep heading east along the edge of the cliffs, passing the antique Point Fermin Lighthouse, built in 1874 with materials shipped around Cape Horn.

Farther east, you turn inland a little to reach Shepard Street. Follow this street east, to Pacific Avenue, and continue straight ahead on Bluff Place down to Cabrillo Beach. Here you can enjoy the only true beach for miles in either direction, and pay a visit to the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which features some excellent marine and historical exhibits.M

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader