Are you looking for a relatively easy hike at the beach in San Diego? Well, look no further! I’m always up to checking out the coastline, so I’m excited when I find a new trail to explore! Today, I will showcase four new trails- The Bayshore Trail, the Rio West Trail, the elusive Broken Hill Trail, and another popular offshoot of the Trestles Beach Trail. Ready? Let us look at a few more unique San Diego Beach hikes.
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The first time I visited the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma, just north of the San Diego Bay Inlet, I concentrated my time at the Nature Center and the tide pools. Today that changed as I ventured south to hike right above San Diego Bay.
Not many people were on the trail on this day, but there was a lot of noise from fighter jets taking off and landing on North Island Coronado. Hearing the loud noises coming out of the fog was a bit eerie.
If you are looking for a hike where you hardly see anyone, this trail is for you! Take special note of military Coastal Defense bunkers along the trail.
Have I told you how much I love Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve? See more with the link below.
Broken Hill Trail Loop is the reserve’s longest trail at 1.4 miles. I was super excited to check out this trail! Every other time I was here previously, this trail was closed due to wet weather. At the time of this writing, the North Fork trail was closed, so take note and call ahead to see if all of the trails are open.
Today, we parked up top near the Nature Center, turned right, and headed straight forward until the very end of the reserve. Just south of the badlands is the world-famous Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Using the map above, you will see that the North and South Fork Trails will connect you to the Broken Hill Overlook Trail and continue to my favorite trail- The Beach Trail.
*Docent-led hikes are available here every weekend day and National Holidays at 10 am.
San Elijo Ecological Reserve has been undergoing renovations since 2017 and finished in April 2022, and I have a few pictures to prove it.
Funding for the project was made available by a half-cent Transnet tax, which amounted to over 120 million dollars. Improvements included tidal dredging of the East, West, and Central Basins and new mud flats.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the new bridges and western trails- Rio West Trail and Harbaugh Seaside Trail were both open for business.
My daughter and I visited this lagoon the day after the ‘infamous’ hurricane (August 24). If truth be told, it was just a powerful storm, not nearly as powerful as predicted. But there were some telltale signs of the storm left behind, such as dead fish. Why?
Well, I went overhead while in the Nature Center, and the storm hit during the extreme low tide; thus, this affected oxygen levels in the water. Imagine the salt marsh at low tide, and then a massive amount of rain comes down; this will also affect the salinity levels.
Of all the trails covered today, this one is the easiest. I highly recommend you try it out yourselves!
San Onofre State Beach is the number one beach I love exploring! It’s too bad it is the furthest from my Temecula location, but if we were to use our imagination and think about ‘a crow flying’, SONGS is just due west of Temecula, but I digress…
Trestles Beach Trail is like a borderline for San Diego and Orange Counties. So, if you take this trail straightforwardly, you end up somewhere on the beach between Lowers and Uppers Trestle.
But to make things more interesting, I want you to make a left halfway up on the trail; here, you will see a sign for the Trestles Wetlands Natural Preserve right when you pass the freeway overpass. Follow along the street and notice that the entire Wetlands Preserve is covered with Pacific poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). What an excellent way of keeping people out!
So, which one piques your interest? Any questions?
Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Until next time!
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I have always had a deep-seated passion for the Ocean Environment which ultimately led me to receive a degree in Marine Biology. Living in the San Diego area for over 30 years, I have extensively explored the 70 miles of San Diego’s coastline, and I am here to share! Please use my website to your advantage and have a look around at all the wonders that the beaches of San Diego can offer you!
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