Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a 1,500 acre protected area located north of San Diego along the coast of Southern California. It contains miles of beaches, undisturbed native plant areas, cliffs, hiking trails and stunning views of the coastline. The park is open 365 days a year from 7:15 AM until sunset. The cost to get in varies depending on the season. You should check their website for current prices, as well as, trail conditions. In the event of rain, some trails are closed to prevent erosion.
If you are following along my San Diego itinerary, you will have noticed we planned to hike about 5 miles. We made it approximately 3 miles before we conceded defeat to the 101 degree heat and the furnace blasting air of the unending Santa Ana winds. It was so hot that we rarely stopped to take any pictures. I am a picture-a-holic, only the most extreme conditions can stop me from taking hundreds of pictures. Here, I only took 84, 5 of those were when we were hiking, 79 were taken while we were cooling off standing in the ocean.
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
We parked in the third parking lot and walked to North Fork Trail. By the time we reached the fork to go to the overlook we were all ready miserable and dripping in sweat, so we skipped it and just headed for the ocean. We took Broken Hill Trail down to the ocean, which is rated as a moderate descent. (As of this writing, Jan. 2019, Broken Hill trail is closed for repairs until Sept. 2019. You can check the status of trail closures here.)
The Beach at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Hiking down wasn’t too bad, the hike up was tough, mostly due to the crazy heat. The most strenuous part of the hike is the initial climb from the beach back up the cliff.
The Beach at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
The beach stretches out for four miles. Although at the start of the hike I informed my husband that I would not be going in the ocean, due to my preoccupation with sharks, I was so hot by the time we made it down the cliff that I ran into the water. Cool water has never felt so good in my life! I can not remember a time that I have ever been so hot, even the desert in Joshua Tree National Park was preferable to this. If you’ve never experienced the Santa Ana winds (this was our first time) imagine hiking while someone has a massive blow dryer aimed at you on high heat during your entire hike.
The Beach at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
It took us 25 minutes to hike down, we spent 30 minutes here before we hiked back up. We sat in the shade at the base of the cliffs while we re-hydrated and cooled down. Before embarking on our upward climb, we ran back into the ocean so the water evaporating off us while we hiked back up would help keep us cool. It worked for the most intense part of the hike, we were completely dry within 10 minutes.
When we reached the turnoff for the overlook at Yucca Point and I started heading down that trail my husband inquired, “What exactly do you think you are doing?” I told him that was the next stop on our list. He replied, “You aren’t seriously going to attempt that? You look like you are about to pass out from heat stroke.” I was so happy that he stopped me, I was determined not to give up before he did. I have been known to be stubborn to the point of stupidity at times…this would have been one of those times.
Instead we stayed on the Beach Trail and completed our climb back up the cliffs to the parking lot, where we sat in the car drinking water and blasting the air conditioner for ten minutes before heading back to the hotel.
What would I have done differently? I would have skipped the North Fork and Broken Hill Trails and opted for the more direct route of Beach Trail. They were nice trails, but in the heat, I would pass on taking them. I also would have brought more water. We did not run out, but we also did not drink as much water as we wanted to while hiking, to ensure that we didn’t run out. There were water fountains at the parking lot, where we refilled our bottles at the end of the hike.
Things to remember: sunscreen, sunglasses and lots and lots of water! There are bathrooms at the main parking lot and port-a-potties at the upper west parking lot.
Was it worth it? Tough question. We had never been there before and we wanted to see it, so in that sense, yes. Having been there once, I would go back and finish the hikes we could not complete, as long as the Santa Ana winds weren’t blowing and the temperature was below 95 degrees. I would not hike there again in the conditions that we faced. The views of the sandstone cliffs and ocean were stunning and are worth seeing, weather permitting. If you are just interested in the beach, it is possible to get to part of the beach with out hiking down the cliffs.
I spent the next day visiting Balboa Park. Although the heat wave had not passed, I did have relief from the winds, which means I took 634 pictures. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
(All pictures are available for purchase as Fine Art Prints and 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.)
More California Adventures
Sea Lions Galore at La Jolla Cove
Art and Architecture in Balboa Park
Pin for later!
Visiting Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.