Sunset Cliffs Coast Walk

We'll be doing an out-and-back walk along the coast at Sunset Cliffs, about 2.8 miles round trip. It's a fairly easy walk, but you have to be careful to stay back from the NOTORIOUS UNSTABLE CLIFFS, where careless hikers have fallen to their deaths.

After the main part of the walk, there will be an optional shorter hike down to the so-called "badlands". This will be a meandering walk, because the trails are not very well-defined. It will bring the total distance up to about 4.4 miles.

Finally (and this is tentative), we may go up a nearby hill to visit a "swinging" view point, if it is still accessible. (The swing was gone the last time we checked.)

The paths are mostly hard-packed dirt, so hiking shoes are not necessary. However, hiking shoes are recommended for the optional hike up the hill. We won't go down to the beach, which is accessible only by dangerous social trails or a stairway from the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and Ladera St. (I'd call it a "scare-way".)

We'll meet at 9:30 AM in the parking lot for Sunset Cliffs Natural Park just south of Ladera St. near Cornish Dr. (N 32 43.077 W 117 15.294). At 9:45 AM we'll start hiking. (The approximate street address is 4401 Ladera Street, San Diego, CA 92107.) If the parking lot is closed, park on a nearby street and walk in.

SUGGESTED ROUTE FROM SAN DIEGO: Go west on Interstate 8 to the end of the freeway and turn left onto Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Follow Sunset Cliffs Blvd. south about three miles to its end and turn left on Ladera St. Go two blocks up the hill to the entrance to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

Wear suitable clothing, use sun protection, and take water. No lunch stop is planned, but you might want to take a snack. Take a camera if you wish. There are two small portable toilets in the parking lot.

CONTACT: Philip Erdelsky 619-866-8512 e-mail pje@efgh.com. Cell phone service is available in this area, but there may be some dead spots.

For descriptions of previous hikes here, including photographs, see
2017: https://www.meetup.com/sandiegodayhikers/events/233194997/
2018: https://www.meetup.com/sandiegodayhikers/events/242546599/
2020: https://www.meetup.com/sandiegodayhikers/events/273567791/
2021: https://www.meetup.com/sandiegodayhikers/events/280734497/

Dogs? Posted signs seem to prohibit dogs at the time of our hike, but during my exploratory hike I saw a few dogs.