Coast Walk Trail is a pedestrian trail along the bluffs above sea caves in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
Coast Walk Trail is a pedestrian trail along the bluffs above sea caves in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
The main trail follows the length of a span of rocky cliff bluffs of Cretaceous-age sandstone with terraces which range in height from 16 feet (4.9 m) at Goldfish Point to 116 feet (40 m). These terraced cliffs are usually filled with nesting cormorants, pelicans, and other sea birds. [1] [2]
La Jolla was the location of a large habitation area known to early Kumeyaay inhabitants as Mut kula xuy (place of many caves). Spindrift, also called the La Jolla Complex, encompasses the parcel of coastal land along La Jolla Shores down to La Jolla Cove. The area is rich in archaeological sources. [3] The Kumeyaay refer to the area as the "Holy Land." [4]
In the mid-1880s, the anticipated arrival of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads led to a real estate boom along the Southern California Coast. La Jolla, a remote area best known for its natural scenery, was targeted by developers for the construction of tourist facilities and residential housing. La Jolla Park was first subdivided and sold in 1887.
With the arrival of the San Diego, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla Railroad in 1894, La Jolla became a popular tourist destination that attracted visitors from the East, particularly during the winter months. The population increased from zero in 1887 to 350 in 1900. [5]
Coast Walk Trail was promoted as an attraction by San Diego, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla Railroad. It provided precarious access to the rocky beaches below the La Jolla Caves where algae, seaweed, and sea moss, could be found. The collection of sea mosses was a popular pastime in the late Victorian era. Specimens were arranged into artistic shapes, dried, and pressed into card-stock booklets as souvenirs. [6]
Initially, seaweed collectors had to slide down a steep notch in the sheer vertical face of the cliff above the caves, named Devil's Slide. In 1899, the railroad financed the construction of the footbridge over Devil's Slide and a much-photographed wooden stairway that survived intact until 1962. [6]
In 1919, local philanthropist George W. Marston funded Los Angeles landscape designer Ralph D. Cornell to develop a plan for landscaping the area from Goldfish Point to Devil's Slide, to include the area along Coast Walk. [7]
During the Great Depression, the Community Welfare Committee of the La Jolla Chamber of Commerce repaired the footbridge and stairs to the beach, and built cobble drains to prevent erosion. [8]
The pedestrian path was named Coast Walk in 1963 when the City of San Diego Common Council set aside a public easement for the trail. A survey in 1993 confirmed the location of the public right of way. [9]
In 1990, Coast Walk Trail and the Devil's Slide Footbridge were designated as a San Diego Historical Landmark (HRBS 288). [10] They are contributing resources to The La Jolla Park Coastal Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2024. [11] [12]
The Friends of Coast Walk help the City of San Diego Parks & Recreation department to maintain Coast Walk Trail. In 2022, The Friends of Coast Walk won the 2022 People in Preservation Award from Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO). [13]
Pacific Beach is a neighborhood in San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach and Mission Bay to the south, Interstate 5 and Clairemont to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. While formerly largely populated by young people, surfers, and college students, because of rising property and rental costs the population is gradually becoming older and more affluent. "P.B.," as it is known as by local residents, is home to one of San Diego's more developed nightlife scenes, with a great variety of bars, eateries, and clothing stores located along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard.
La Jolla is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, occupying 7 miles (11 km) of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature of 70.5 °F (21.4 °C).
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is 2,000 acres (810 ha) of coastal state park located in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches of land (8 km²) on the Southern California coast. It is bordered immediately on the south by Torrey Pines Golf Course and on the north by the city of Del Mar. The reserve was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1977.
Black's Beach is a secluded section of beach beneath the bluffs of Torrey Pines on the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States. It is officially part of Torrey Pines State Beach. The northern portion of Black's Beach is owned and managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, while the southern portion of the beach, officially known as Torrey Pines City Beach, is jointly owned by the city of San Diego and the state park, but is managed by the city of San Diego. This distinction is important as Black's Beach is most known as a nude beach, a practice that is now prohibited in the southern portion managed by the city of San Diego.
The Southern California Bight is a 692-kilometer-long stretch of curved coastline that runs along the west coast of the United States and Mexico, from Point Conception in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California, plus the area of the Pacific Ocean defined by that curve. This includes the Channel Islands of California and the Coronado Islands and Islas de Todo Santos of Baja California.
Montara State Beach is a beach located in the coastal region of the U.S. state of California, eight miles north of Half Moon Bay on State Route 1. It is operated by the California State Department of Parks and Recreation under the San Mateo Coast Sector Office. It is one of the cleanest beaches in the state and is known for surfing and fishing.
The archaeological La Jolla complex represents a prehistoric culture oriented toward coastal resources that prevailed during the middle Holocene period between c. 8000 BC and AD 500 in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California.
Point Loma is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town, and the north by the San Diego River. Together with the Silver Strand / Coronado peninsula, the Point Loma peninsula defines San Diego Bay and separates it from the Pacific Ocean. The term "Point Loma" is used to describe both the neighborhood and the peninsula.
La Jolla Cove is a small cove with a beach that is surrounded by cliffs in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. Point La Jolla forms the south side of the cove. The area is protected as part of a marine reserve and is popular with snorkelers, swimmers and scuba divers.
La Jolla Shores, with its northern part Scripps Beach, is a beach and vacation/residential community of the same name in the community of La Jolla in San Diego, California. The La Jolla Shores business district is a mixed-use village encircling Laureate Park on Avenida de la Playa in the village of La Jolla Shores.
The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park is the historical name for a marine reserve that includes the San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) and Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve (SMR), adjoining marine protected areas that extend offshore from La Jolla in San Diego County on California's south coast.
Sunset Cliffs is an affluent coastal community in the Point Loma community of San Diego, California. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, Ocean Beach on the north, Catalina Blvd. and Santa Barbara St. on the east, and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park on the south.
The La Jolla Historical Society is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the La Jolla community within San Diego, California. According to its mission statement, it "celebrates the history and culture of this region along the water's edge through interdisciplinary programs, exhibitions, and research that challenge expectations. It balances contemporary and historic perspectives to create understanding and connection."
San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) and Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve (SMR) are adjoining marine protected areas that extend offshore from La Jolla in San Diego County on California's south coast. The two marine protected areas cover 2.51 square miles (6.5 km2).
The Audrey Geisel University House, historically known as the William Black House, is the private residence of the Chancellor of the University of California San Diego. Located in La Jolla, California, it is a historic site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 9630 La Jolla Farms Road and overlooks Black's Beach, the Scripps Coastal Reserve, and the Pacific Ocean.
Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park, often referred to as Scripps Park, is an urban park located in La Jolla within the city of San Diego, California. The 5.6 acres (2.3 ha) park, part of the unceded ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Kumeyaay Nation, is sited on a sandstone bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is an open-space, landscaped environment heavily used by residents and visitors from all over the world.
The Red Roost and The Red Rest, built in 1894, are historic beach cottages overlooking La Jolla Cove in La Jolla, San Diego, California. At one time, they were outstanding examples of the first-generation California bungalow. Their placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 has not prevented serious deterioration due to neglect.
The Green Dragon Colony was a group of unique rental cottages that attracted musicians and artists to the seaside community of La Jolla, San Diego, California, between 1895 and 1912. Established by German immigrant Anna Held Heinrich, the colony became a well-known tourist destination in Southern California.
The Tyrolean Terrace Colony (1911–1912) was an Arts & Crafts-style hotel bungalow court in La Jolla, San Diego, California, adjacent to the former Green Dragon Colony. It catered to early automobile traffic along Coast Blvd., a scenic drive that led to La Jolla Park and other sites along the shore.