What to See and Do in San Diego

 

San Diego Itinerary ~ Plus a Day Trip to Joshua Tree National Park

Sat – Flight leaves OHare at 10:40 am

         Arrives in San Diego at 5:37 pm

Airport to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park – 18 mins – Parking at Ladera St. – to watch sunset

Dinner at Phil’s BBQ – open till 11 pm – 15 mins – 3750 Sports Arena Blvd – Delicious, highly recommend! Very long line but it moves quickly.

Drive to hotel – 8 mins – Crowne Royal Plaza – 2270 Hotel Circle North – was disappointing, we usually have better luck with this hotel chain

Sunday – Joshua Tree National Park – bring water/snacks/sunscreen/walking sticks/hats – $20 (price may vary)

C & S Coffee Shop – opens 5:30 am – 2 hours 18 mins – 55795 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley

Drive to Joshua Tree Visitor Center – 8-5 – 13 mins – 6554 Park Blvd – bathrooms

Hidden Valley Picnic Area Trail – 1 mile loop

Cap Rock Parking Area – junction of Park Blvd and Keys View Rd – .4 mi loop

Keys View (20 min drive) – San Andreas Fault – .25 mi loop

Jumbo Rocks Campground – skull rock – 1.5 mi loop

White Tank Campground – opp site 9 – .5 mile loop – arch rock

Cholla Cactus Garden .25 mi loop

Cottonwood Spring Visitor Center – 8:30-4 – water, toilets

Cottonwood Spring – 1 mi – walk there and back, same path

Drive to Marriott – 660 K Street – 3 hours 18 mins – only complaint, no air conditioning in the elevators, but I think that may be common here

Monday – Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve – $10 parking (price may vary) – bring water/snacks

Breakfast – Brockton Villa – 1235 Coast Blvd – La Jolla, San Diego – 30 mins – delicious, amazing view! Highly recommend if you can tolerate the smell from the cove.

Torrey Pines – try to park in 3^rd parking lot

Walk down to North Fork Trail

North Fork Trail to Broken Hill Overlook

Broken Hill Overlook to Broken Hill Trail

Broken Hill Trail to stairs down to beach

Back up to Beach Trail

Beach Trail to Yucca Point

Yucca Point to Razor Point

Razor Point to Razor Point Trail

Razor Point Trail to Red Butte

Back to parking lot – 4 mile hike

If time – hike Parry Grove Trail ½ mi and High Point

Drive up 1 parking lot

Hike Guy Fleming Trail 2/3 mi

Dinner

Tuesday – Balboa Park – free parking – free trams – try to park on Village Place and Park Blvd – 8 mins

Wednesday – La Jolla Cove – parking on street – 1100 Coast Blvd – or at La Jolla Financial Blvd – 1200 Prospect Ave – .1 mi from beach – 30 mins from hotel

Children’s Pool – Harbor Seals – 850 Coast Blvd.

Windansea Beach – rocky shoreline

La Jolla Shores – 8200 Camino del Oro – parking at foot of Calle Frescota

Thursday – Cabrillo National Monument – 2 mi hike to tide pools – $20 entrance fee

Mission Beach Boardwalk (I did Seaport Village and the Embarcadero instead)

Flight leaves San Diego at 3 pm

Arrives in Chicago at 11:26 pm

Unfortunately, during our visit California was experiencing a heat wave. The coolest day we experienced was 101 degrees. We also had to endure the relentless Santa Ana winds. If you have never experienced them,  it is like standing in front of a furnace which is constantly blasting hot air at you. The extreme heat did impact what we were able to accomplish. Our trip to Torrey Pines was limited to one hike, we skipped the Children’s Pool and Windansea Beach (although we spent a considerable amount of time at La Jolla Cove), and we drove down near the tide pools rather than hike. Should our travels ever take us back to San Diego we will return to Torrey Pines to hike some more trails and visit Children’s Pool and Windansea Beach. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.

Check out some of our other itineraries!

15 Delightful Days in Kauai ~ A Travel Itinerary

4 Days in the Sun ~ Arizona Itinerary

13 Days in Paradise ~ Hawaii Itinerary

See The Entire Island of Maui in 10 Days

Visit All Four Vortices in Sedona in One Day

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