La Jolla Cove. When anyone comes to visit us in San Diego, we always recommend a day spent in the beautiful La Jolla Cove area. There is so much to do, and you are completely surrounded by nature’s beauty. You can easily spend an entire day here, or more, depending on what you do. Don’t visit San Diego without enjoying this local gem.
We’ll take you through a walking tour of the area, highlighting key activities and special spots, with key “know how” to ensure your visit is memorable. At the end of this post, we’ll share some nitty gritty visit planning details such as parking (which can be tough), what to wear, important info, eating, restrooms, etc.
Walking tour start – Sunny Jim Sea Cave
You’ll begin by parking (info on parking at the end) near the Cave Store. Once parked stop in the Cave Store. It is in this store that you’ll have access to the Sunny Jim Sea Cave, which provides the only land access to a sea cave in all of California! How did it get it’s name? L. Frank Baum (author of the Wizard of Oz) who spent time in San Diego (even lived at the Hotel Del Coronado for a while), named it as he saw a resemblance between the outline of the cave’s mouth and the Force Wheat Cereal mascot from the early 1900’s.
When you enter the Cave Store, just head to your right to pay a very small admission fee to get down to the cave. Once you pay, you’ll head around to the 144-step tunnel. The steps are kid-friendly, just help them out. They are not stroller friendly so leave your stroller at the top.
As you walk down the cave you’ll find handrails and warnings for when the ceiling gets low so you don’t hit your head.
Once you get to the bottom you can immediately see the opening of the cave. If you stand there and peer out for a while you are likely to see kayakers go by! According to the literature provided, the ocean started boring Sunny Jim cave into the sandstone cliffs about 200,000 years ago. In 1902 they dug the tunnel using picks and shovels to allow tourists to visit this cave. At first it was just rope to get down (can you imagine?) and in 1910 they added the stairs.
Once you have had time to enjoy the cave, head up those same stairs you came down.
Walk down into the cove
Continue walking along the ocean water. Immediately you’ll see the outside of the Sunny Jim Cave and if you keep your eyes peeled you may see Sea Lions basking on the rocks as we did. There’s something so special about these creatures! Listen for their barks as well!
Keep walking and just enjoy the views, spotting kayakers, sea lions, and whatever else you may discover along the way. Every step you take you will find is a prime photo spot.
Snorkel anyone?
As you continue to walk, the first main beach area you approach you’ll likely notice is full of people. That’s because the snorkel rental companies always recommend this location, for good reason. Snorkel here and you’ll spot all sorts of sea life, and likely find yourself eyeball to eyeball with a swimming sea lion!
A couple of things to know if you choose to snorkel here:
- While it can look mellow, the tide can be quite rough and push you into rocks if you aren’t careful. We’ve seen an adult have to be rescued here before. I would only recommend this spot for experienced snorkelers and swimmers.
- The plus of this location is the opportunity to get up close and personal with sea lions. The downside of that is the water is quite dirty from what sea lions do when they digest their food, if you know what I mean. If you snorkel here, just avoid swallowing too much water and be sure to plan on going home or to your hotel to shower shortly afterwards. Avoid doing this if you have any recent open wounds.
- As cute as they are, remember, sea lions are wild animals and they will bite. If they are basking on the rocks right there like they frequently do, admire them but please don’t get so close as to pet them or take a skin to skin selfie with them. We see so many people attempt this and it’s just, well, not good.
La Jolla Cove Park
Moving along past this fabulous snorkel area, you’ll see some beautiful green grass ahead. This area is a very popular hang out spot to admire the ocean views and picnic, climb trees, BBQ, play catch, whatever your hearts desire. Grant loves the “monkey tail” tree and hunting for fallen monkey tails to play with! There are so many interesting shaped trees here that make for fun climbing for the kids and awesome photos. You’ll also find plenty of squirrels and seagulls running around.
Tidepools (Shell Beach)
As you stroll through and past the park area, you’ll see every so often stairs to go down to the beach. If it’s low tide this area presents several spots for amazing tidepools, which as you may have figured out is one of our favorite things to do!
The first main area “shell beach” has some great tidepool opportunities, among many in La Jolla Cove.
Sea Anenomies can be found here.
Sea Anenomies are so fun to touch and watch them coil up. Do so gently on the side (don’t stick your finger in the middle, it hurts them)
Exploring past Shell Beach (and back on the main walkway) you’ll again see amazing views. As you can see here, when we went it was extreme low tide and people found their way to climbing the exposed rocks. This is pretty awesome, but ensure when you go it’s low tide so that you don’t get stuck out there!
Children’s Pool in La Jolla Cove
The next main attraction you’ll see as you stroll past the park area, and you can’t miss it, is what’s called the “La Jolla Children’s Pool.” It really should be called the “La Jolla Sea Lion Pool” as this area is always frequented by Sea Lion’s basking on the sand and rocks. It features a walkway that you can get closer to them as well as the ocean. Be prepared to get a little wet on that bridge if it’s high tide! Always a fun area, as mentioned before, respect the wildlife and admire them from a distance. You’ll see tons of people admiring as well. For some reason this day we went there were only a few sea lions, but usually it’s filled!
More Tidepools
Past the Children’s Pool, if you keep walking you’ll find more stairs that lead you down to the beach which present amazing tidepool opportunities when it’s low tide. We saw a little bit in this area, not as much as other areas, but it sure is gorgeous.
Wedding Bowl
Back up to the regular walking area, you’ll eventually pass what’s known as the Wedding Bowl, a very popular and beautiful spot to get married! We happened to walk right by when the bride herself was making her grand entrance.
More Tidepools!
Past the Wedding Bowl you’ll find more stairs for more tidepool opportunities. Even prettier than before.
The BEST Tidepools!
And if you haven’t had your fill of tidepools by this point, if you keep walking, you’ll arrive at our favorite Tidepools in all of San Diego.
Other things to do in La Jolla Cove
If nature’s beauty isn’t enough, by walking up the steep hill away from the ocean, you’ll find yourself in downtown La Jolla, full of shops, restaurants, and galleries.
Need to know
Need to knowOk, here is what you need to know to do this Ultimate Guide.
Parking:This area gets very crowded. You can get lucky and score a free parallel parking spot in the cove area if you try. Otherwise, right by our starting point at the Cave Store you’ll see an underground parking garage. This was $10 when we went.
Facilities:Throughout the walk you’ll see public restrooms available.
What to wear:For tidepooling I recommend sturdy shoes as it can get slippery and rocky. Just be prepared for your shoes to get wet. While tidepools are kid friendly, be aware of the very slippery spots and avoid them.
Food:In the cove area you won’t find food unless you walked up to downtown La Jolla. We suggest bringing a picnic lunch to enjoy the area!
We hope this was helpful and inspires you to visit La Jolla Cove.
What are your favorite spots in La Jolla Cove? Do you have any other questions about it? Comment and we’ll get back to you!
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