Watching the sun dip down behind the vast expanse of the ocean from high atop the cliffs in San Diego is a delightful experience. The Sunset Cliffs in San Diego offer the best views.
Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is about 20 minutes from the airport. As soon as we landed, we headed straight over and were lucky enough to catch the sun setting. This was our first time driving up and down the crazy hills in the San Diego neighborhoods, so it may have taken us flatlander Midwesterners a little longer than 20 minutes.
Surfing at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
From the top of the cliffs you’ll have an unobstructed view of the ocean and sunset. This is a popular surfing area, so you may get sunset and a show. It was all ready dusk by the time we arrived so I was rushing to take whatever pictures I could get. This location is extremely popular with photographers and there were many of them set up all over the cliff-side and down at the beach. I was hoping to arrive earlier to have a chance to set up, but I was happy that we made it in time to watch the sun go down. I highly recommend visiting the park to watch the sunset. I’d try to arrive at least 30 minutes ahead of time, to find parking (Ladera St.) and to set up your equipment while you still have good light.
The Beach at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
There are stairs leading down to the beach (which were closed for most of 2018 due to a partial collapsing of the bluff). We opted out of going down to the beach. It was getting too dark to see very much and we were starving.
We headed over to Phil’s BBQ, which was amazing! (The one in the airport, not so much, the one on Sports Arena Blvd. was great.) The line wrapped all the way around the side of the building. It usually does, but it moves pretty fast, and is worth the wait. After dinner, we headed over to the Crowne Royal Plaza, which became a series of unfortunate events, to put it mildly. (We’ve stayed at the Crowne Royal Plaza in Chicago many times, without incident; however, we would not return to the one in San Diego.) Luckily, we had only one night there. The next few days were spent at the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter Hotel. They have a lovely roof top bar overlooking the skyline, ocean and Petco Stadium. Pricey drinks, but fun.
Take a peek at some of our San Diego adventures by clicking on the links below. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
Visiting the Point Loma Tide Pools in San Diego
Sea Lions Galore at La Jolla Cove
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Things to See and Do in Balboa Park
(All pictures are available for purchase as Fine Art Prints or Digital Downloads at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)
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Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
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