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Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, California, commemorates the journey of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European to land on the west coast of the US. The park features a statue of Cabrillo, Old Point Loma Lighthouse, tidal pools, hiking trails, and a variety of ecosystems, including a significant breeding colony of great blue herons. Visitors can also go whale watching from mid-December to March.
In the southernmost area of the Point Loma Peninsula, just west of the city of San Diego, California, is Cabrillo National Monument, a 160-acre United States national park. Established in 1913 by US President Woodrow Wilson, the park commemorates the journey of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European to land on the west coast of what would become the United States. The park, owned and operated by the US National Park Service, is open 365 days a year from 9am to 5pm
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first came to the New World as a conquistador, serving under Hernan Cortes as a captain of crossbowmen during the Spanish battles with the Aztecs. In 1530 Cabrillo settled in Santiago, Guatemala. His account of a catastrophic earthquake that struck Santiago in 1540 is the earliest known piece of secular journalism written in the New World.
In June 1542, Cabrillo left Navidad, Mexico near present-day Manzanillo with his crew for the first European expedition to the west coast of the future United States. The expedition sailed into San Diego Bay three months later, and on September 28, 1542, Cabrillo’s flagship San Salvador landed on the east coast of the Point Loma peninsula. Cabrillo himself called San Diego Bay “a very good port” and called the land San Miguel. It was renamed San Diego by Sebastian Vizcaino 60 years later. Although Cabrillo died later on the expedition, his account of the voyage offers the first written description of what would become known as the West Coast.
A statue of Cabrillo stands on the east side of Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking San Diego Bay. In addition to the statue, the park contains several other sites of interest, including Old Point Loma Lighthouse, a visitor center, remains of coastal defenses, tidal pools, and a hiking trail. Reenactors can be found throughout the park during operating hours, and guided and self-guided tours are available. At the end of September each year, the annual Cabrillo Festival features cultural displays, folklore performances, food stands, and a re-enactment of the Cabrillo landing.
Old Point Loma Lighthouse went into service on November 15, 1855, making it one of the first lighthouses built on the West Coast. At 422 feet above sea level, it was also the tallest lighthouse in the United States at the time it was built. However, her elevated position had unexpected negative consequences: her light was often difficult to see due to low clouds and fog. Thus, in March 1891, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse closed and the New Point Loma Lighthouse opened, closer to sea level.
Since then, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse has been remodeled to resemble its appearance in the 1880s. Exhibits in its lower levels are open year-round, but the tower is only open to visitors twice a year: August 25 , the anniversary of the National Park Service, and November 15, the anniversary of the lighthouse.
Cabrillo National Monument’s climate, location, and ecosystems also have much to offer, including more than 200 bird species, 300 native plant species, and rare and endangered habitats. The park contains the most significant breeding colony of great blue herons in coastal Southern California and a genus of trapdoor spider that can only be found in the Point Loma Peninsula area. In partnership with the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, the city of San Diego and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Park Service created the 662-acre Point Loma Ecological Conservation Area (PLECA) to protect the wildlife, plants and ecology of the area.
The park has hot, dry summers and cool, mild winters. The area’s average annual temperature is 64 degrees Fahrenheit (about 18 degrees Celsius), and the average annual rainfall is 9.5 inches (24 cm). On the west side of the park is the intertidal area, where plants and animals live underwater at high tide and above water at low tide. A variety of organisms live in this area: red and green algae, sea hares, fish, hermit crabs, snails, barnacles, chitons, limpets, anemones, mussels, lobsters, starfish and, further on, large algae, sea urchins, abalone , kelp sea bass, sheep’s head and octopuses. Along with this marine ecosystem, the park contains quite a few endangered coastal sage scrub habitats; Bayside Trail, a 2-mile trail, takes hikers through this habitat.
From mid to late December through March, Cabrillo National Monument is a great spot for whale watching. Pacific gray whales migrate from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico every winter, just along the California coast. The park also has a “Whale Overlook” from which visitors can look out over the Pacific Ocean and spot whales.
