From Wikitravel Shared

Point Loma is a neighborhood of San Diego. Located on a spit of land jutting out just west of the San Diego International Airport and south of Ocean Beach, Point Loma is home to Cabrillo National Monument, beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean to the west, and access to San Diego Bay to the east through the man-made peninsulas of Shelter Island and Harbor Island.

[edit] Get in

There are three primary access points into Point Loma: Rosecrans Street from Old Town to the northeast, Harbor Drive past the airport from the east, and Nimitz Boulevard from Mission Bay to the north.

The Metropolitan Transportation System (MTS) [1] operates buses in San Diego. Route 28 [2] on Rosecrans Street and Route 923 [3] on Harbor Drive serve Point Loma, but both routes don't provide much service.

A less conventional way of getting into the area is by taking a Water Taxi, +1 619 235-8294, [4]. These small boats serve San Diego Bay and offer service to Harbor Island and Shelter Island from Coronado and Downtown. They run from 3PM-10PM daily and cost $7 each way, and can be a good way to get to the yachts, hotels, and restaurants of Harbor and Shelter Islands, but if you're planning on heading into the hilly neighborhoods of Point Loma or down to Cabrillo National Monument, a Water Taxi isn't going to be much help.

[edit] See

• Fort Rosecrans, north of Cabrillo National Monument. Fort Rosecrans is a former WWII military outpost, situated on Point Loma to protect the Naval Base on Coronado from attack by sea. The fort contains bunkers, weapons emplacements and the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery [5], which holds a number of monuments including the USS Bennington Monument. An exhibit in Cabrillo National Monument displays some of the history of Fort Rosecrans.

[edit] Cabrillo National Monument

At the end of Catalina Boulevard, +1 619 557-5450, [6]. Daily 9AM-5PM. $5 per vehicle, $3 per person walking, bicycling, or motorcycling in.

Located at the tip of Point Loma, Cabrillo National Monument commemorates Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who led the first European exploration to what is now the west coast of the United States, in 1542. Point Loma was the one of the places he stopped, and the first contact Europeans made with what would one day be California. The monument has a statue of Cabrillo and exhibits on his expedition in the visitor center.

Being over 400 feet above the ocean, the views from Cabrillo are marvelous, overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Diego Bay, Coronado, the airport, and Downtown San Diego to the east. A short walk from the parking lot is the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, which was built in the 1850s to warn approaching sailors of rocks. However, the location proved poor and a new lighthouse was built closer to ocean, leaving the old lighthouse empty. Today the old lighthouse has been preserved and is open to tour.

[edit] Do

• Cabrillo National Monument. In addition to it's main sights, Cabrillo also offers a few other attractions:
  • There's a Tidepool Area a few miles drive from the Visitor Center, down the cliff on the Pacific Ocean side, where visitors can explore a living tidepool ecosystem. Just be cautious of the marine life!
  • A Whale Overlook near the Old Point Loma Lighthouse offers a great place to watch the annual Gray Whale migration every winter.
  • The Bayside Trail gives you a chance to stroll through a native coastal scrubland.

[edit] Buy

• Seabreeze Limited, 1254 Scott Street, +1 619 223-8989, [7]. M-Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 10AM-4PM. Lots and lots of boating products here, like navigational charts, sailing guides, plotting tools, and nautical-themed books and gifts.
• Downwind Marine, 2804 Canon Street, +1 619 224-2733, [8]. Boating materials, supplies, and equipment.

[edit] Eat

• Hudson Bay Seafood, 1403 Scott Street, +1 619 222-8787, [9]. Daily 8AM-8PM (extended hours on weekends and in summer). $7-$15.
• Point Loma Seafoods, 2805 Emerson Street, +1 619 223-1109, [10]. M-Sa 9AM-6:30PM, Su 11AM-6:30PM.

[edit] Drink

[edit] Sleep

• Holiday Inn - Bayside, 4875 N. Harbor Drive, ☎ (619) 224-3621, (800) 662-8899, [11]. Located near the San Diego International Airport.

• Harbor Vacations Club, [12]. , 1800 Harbor Island Dr, (619) 297-9484, These unique San Diego accommodations vary according to vessel. Yachts have private staterooms, salons with television, DVD/VCR and stereo, galley and dining area. Each villa is a floating home, with bedrooms, showers, washer and dryers, galleys, TV, and DVD/VCR.

• Hostelling International San Diego Point Loma, 3790 Udall Street, +1 619 223-4778, [13]. A friendly and clean hostel, with dorm rooms at $17-$19/night and private rooms in the $40 range.
• Humphrey's Half Moon Inn, 2303 Shelter Island Drive, +1 619 224-3411, [14]. Located on Shelter Island, this resort offers many activities including live concerts [15].

[edit] Contact

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