NPS #9: Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego History

If you are looking to combine history and nature, save a half day in your San Diego travel plan to visit the Cabrillo National Monument.  Operated by the National Park Service, the monument commemorates the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542.  

It's a great way to teach kids about exploration to the New World.  Cabrillo National Monument will tell stories of the 16th century exploration.  Born in Spain, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a conquistador, a Spanish soldier who explored and settled in the New World.  Cabrillo explored in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.  He left Mexico on June 27th, 1542 with three ships and landed in what is now the West Coast of the United States.  The Kuneyaay Indians who lived in the southern border of the United States greeted Cabrillo.

Not far from the visitor center and parking lot, you will find the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and Cabrillo statue overlooking the harbor and ocean.  To keep focused on the history and nature, I've written a separate article about the lighthouse.  Standing at 422 feet above water views, you'll want your camera to capture
the breathtaking views.  If you visit during whale migration season (December through March), use your id to borrow binoculars from the visitor center.  You might see 30 to 50 foot long gray whales.  Peak time to see the whales is mid-January.

We kept hiking past the monument to the Bayside Trail.  Only a two mile hike and relatively easy (note some stairs and rock hopping), the website claims you can accomplish in an hour.  However, we took our time to enjoy the beauty of the plants and crashing waves against the rocks.  Also, you can explore more about the area history.  Since the Point Loma peninsula forms a natural protective barrier to San Diego Bay, this was an important military location.  It served as a military reserve in 1852 and Fort Rosecrans protected during the World Wars.  Within the park, you can find structures from the military past including base-end stations, fire control stations, searchlight stations, and radio station.

Interested in short video clip of crashing waves at the park or view from flight departing San Diego?  Visit my YouTube pagehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPe_8GnvSvwxgjoNHEzwfWQ/videos 

If I could repeat the visit, I would have allocated more time.  I visited in February and it would have been the right time to see the tidepools.  Late fall and winter are the best times to visit the tidepools.  It's only a one mile hike.  Go two hours before low tide times.  Check the NPS website for tide charts.  The depressions in the rocks along the coastline capture animals during low tide (when water recedes) which would create a great nature exploration for kids.  Make sure they wear shoes that won't easily slip on the wet rocks.

If I could choose anytime to visit, I would time the visit to the Cabrillo Festival in September.  It's a free festival with cultural music and dancing, food from Mexico, Portugal, and Spain, and Kumeyaay baskets and other crafts.  I'd time arrive in time for the 1PM re-enactment of Cabrillo's landing on Ballast Point.  If you want to help support, buy tickets (approximately $30) for the evening social reception.

The National Park Service brings history alive.  If you are interested in another way to teach your kids through travel about early Spanish explorers, visit my article on the DeSoto National Memorial.