Cabrillo National Monument (San Diego, USA) — description, history, location, reviews, photos and videos.
Cabrillo National Monument is an area on Point Loma Point, dedicated to a separate park, dedicated to the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in San Diego Bay in 1542. This landing is considered the first when an expedition from Europe set foot on the land that later became the West Coast of the United States. In 1932, this place was declared a historical landmark of California.
Cabrillo Park has a scenic location, with great views of the harbor and skyline of San Diego, as well as Coronado and North Island Air Force Station. On clear days, you can see a wide panorama of the Pacific Ocean and even Tijuana from here. The rocky slopes of the peninsula itself are also very photogenic, in which ocean waves have carved many grottoes and caves. The only negative: it is almost always quite windy here. See anycountyprivateschools for Idaho state information and business schools.
The annual Cabrillo Festival takes place on the territory in October, on a Sunday, in memory of the discoverer. In addition, the festivals of the Kumeyaay Indians, Portuguese and Mexican festivals with singing, dancing, traditional food and so on are held here.
The headland offers wonderful views of the harbor and skyline of San Diego, as well as Coronado and the North Island Air Force Station.
The highest point in the park is Point Loma Lighthouse, in the very center of the peninsula. One of the oldest Californian lighthouses, it became an icon of San Diego in 1855. The lighthouse has not been working for its intended purpose for a long time, and today the keeper’s museum is open in it, very interesting.
Numerous military artifacts from the past remain on the National Monument grounds, such as an artillery battery designed to defend San Diego Harbor. These relics are scattered here and there around the peninsula, and most of them can be seen while traveling along the hiking trail that starts from the visitor center. At the very end of the route, already behind the lighthouse, you can look at a special exhibition that tells about the military history of Point Loma.
In 1926, by order of US President Woodrow Wilson, on the territory of the then Fort Rosencrantz (the naval base, which was then located on Point Loma), a site was allocated for the installation of a monument to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. In 1939, Portugal presented the United States with a statue of the discoverer, made of sandstone. The author of the work was the sculptor Alvaro de Brie, and his creation was a monument 4.3 m high and weighing almost 6.5 tons. The history of the sculpture was not easy: it was made for the Golden Gate exhibition in San Francisco, but it was brought there too late, so it spent several years in the warehouse of the San Diego Navy Training Center, until it was installed on the territory in 1949 parka. But it turned out that the sandstone was unable to withstand the harsh weather conditions of the cape, so in 1988 the statue was replaced with a limestone copy.
Despite the adverse environmental conditions in the harbor of San Diego, the Point Loma Peninsula still manages to be inhabited by numerous and diverse animals. The fauna of the tidal zone is especially rich with its many rocky pools, where you can see the most interesting representatives of marine life. It is best to come to explore it in late autumn or winter.
Just in the winter season (December – March), you can see flocks of migrating gray whales from the peninsula. The station for observing them is located 30 m south of the old lighthouse. It was founded in 1950 and was the first public whale watching spot in the world.
Only in the first year of operation, the whale station was visited by 10 thousand people.
A number of events take place in the park throughout the year. Firstly, these are “Free Weekends”, when no one is charged for entering the territory. Secondly, “Whale Weekend” (in January), “Founder’s Day” (August 25, the anniversary of the founding of the national monument and the National Park Service) and “Lighthouse Day” (November 15), when you can climb the tower of the old lighthouse, at other times closed to the public. In addition, on the fourth Saturday of each month, one of the completely restored WWII bunkers is open to the public.
Practical Information
Cabrillo National Monument is located at the end of Catalina Boulevard, accessible from downtown San Diego, Interstate 5 and Interstate 8 (west).
Opening Hours: The park is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (access to the tide pools closes at 4:30 pm and the hiking trail closes at 4:00 pm).
Entrance: for passenger transport – 20 USD, motorcycles – 15 USD, for pedestrians and cyclists – 10 USD per person.
