#SAN DIEGO BEST TIDAL POOLS FULL#

San Diego, USA (left) and Tijuana, Mexico (right). In the picture below: the fence separates Tijuana, Mexico (on the right), from the United States in San Diego (on the left). San Diego–Tijuana conurbation has a population of over 4,922,723 people and is the busiest land-border crossing in the world: over fifty million people each year. San Diego is directly adjacent to the Mexican border.

Monterey Cypress in La Jolla, San Diego.

Today, most of them are gone, being replaced by housing/commercial developments.įamous among La Jolla locals Monterey Cypress tree (below on the left fell in summer 2019) was known as an inspiration for the “Truffula trees”: Decades ago San Diego used to be covered in acres of citrus groves. Seusse expressed his worries about environmental issues and changing landscapes, including La Jolla and the surrounding areas. Seuss (on the left)), University of California San Diego: photo credit: University of San Diegoįrom the left: Balboa Park (Spanish Colonial style), San Diego Central Library (Modernism), Hotel Del Coronado (late Victorian style): Dozen of styles, from first settlers “Mission style” to exquisite Victorian, Spanish Colonial, Postmodern, Modern, etc.īelow on the picture are just a few examples: the University of San Diego campus with The Immaculata, Catholic parish church in the center. We heard a lot about the weather and wildlife of San Diego but were quite surprised by its beautiful and diverse architecture. It is an open-air museum about local life in the early years where you can easily spend an entire day (and night): Old Town San Diego Historical Site is called the “Birthplace of California”. Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcala (founded in 1769) was the first European settlement on the West Coast of the modern-day US: Mission San Diego De Alcalá. I’m not a history buff but was hooked up by the Old Town in San Diego. Point Loma, or how the first Europeans saw the US West Coast roughly 500 years ago (sans the ships and buildings): Point Loma, San Diego Bay He led an expedition up the Pacific Coast in search of new trade opportunities on behalf of Spain and considered the “First European in California”. It’s all started with Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who landed in what is today known as San Diego Bay at the end of September 1542. Pleasant weather runs basically year-round, with an average of 260 sunny days per year.Įarly January in San Diego (not typical but very possible): La Jolla beach, San Diego The Birthplace of California Warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters with average temperatures of 57☏ (14 C) in winter and 72° F (22 C) during summer. Head for San Diego! There are few places in the world with a perfect (mild) climate and one of them is San Diego. photo credit: Nauticashades Looking for the Best Weather? Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, San Diego. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a lovely place to enjoy the local landscape: It has vast and varied terrain, distinct from the surrounding areas from the first sight : rolling hills, valleys, deep canyons, plateaus, and cliffs. The San Diego landscape is far from boring.

La Jolla tide pool: one of the many crystal clear pockets of water.Sea cucumber: black creature in the middle.

#SAN DIEGO BEST TIDAL POOLS FULL#

And full of life too! Sea stars, crabs, sea cucumbers, anemones, occasional octopuses and many more… In San Diego, they are beautifully shaped, smooth, and look like a piece of art. Tide pools are pockets of water, exposed during low tide. We have never seen anything like that before: “Sea Craters”: Tide Pools of La Jolla. (back then we didn’t even know the name for it 😀 ). The very first sight that impressed us in San Diego were La Jolla tide pools.

Wildlife: Hundreds of Sea Mammals within Arm’s Reach.

La Jolla Tide Pools: Some of the Finest Tide Pools on the US West Coast.

San Diego isn’t lush and tropical but it looked much more “alive” than other places, especially in Southern California.ĭistinctive laid-back attitude, an abundance of wildlife within city boundaries, white sand beaches, and the possibility to visit Mexico within a day made San Diego the top in our personal list of favorite places in California. The first thing we were impressed with was… greenery.

During our exploratory trip to California, San Diego was the only major place we liked awfully a lot from day one, despite the gloomy weather in mid-January.

San diego best tidal pools