My family spent 2 hours here checking out the lighthouse and walking the different trails in the park. The day we arrived, the visitor center was under refurbishment but they still had a makeshift store open to sell souvenirs. I liked the fact the lighthouse is open and you can checkout both floors and see the restored rooms (although the top floor with the light was closed). From the bayside trail, you get a good view of North Island (military base) and the San Diego skyline. You can also drive down to the tide pools which was a great photo op. Definitely worth a visit on a warm sunny day.

Beautiful place. Well worth a visit. $20 for a car to enter but you can visit for a week on that ticket. This place offers stunning views of the bay. We also walked the trail path which had lots of boards up with nice info about the area.

If you have the time, this monument is definitely worth a visit. Not only is it very moving passing the thousands of war graves on the drive up there, but the views when you reach the top are breathtaking. Seeing Downtown San Diego, the mountains that surround & Mexico in the distance, was just incredible.

What a beautiful National Monument! We enjoyed the film on the migration patterns of the gray whales. We walked up to see the lighthouse and the views from up there, which were as lovely as we expected. We loved the coastal trail and the tide pools. Cabrillo was an absolutely gorgeous place to spend a few hours in the morning—we’re just a little bummed that in the few hours we were there we didn’t spot any gray whales off the coast as we’d hoped.

This small unit of the National Park Service packs a punch! There are beautiful views, hiking trails, tidepools to explore and interesting history. We spent much more time here than we had planned, thinking it was just a small monument to Castillo. The NPS has done of nice job of incorporating information about the impact of European exploration on Native Americans in the area. Highly recommended.

This is a great place to visit when in San Diego. Allow a minimum of 2 hours. There is a $20 entrance fee. The views are great from the visitor center and from the light house. Great information on the history of the area. Must do the hike to the lighthouse and do the drive to the tide pools. Be sure to bring your own water and snacks. Water fountain out of order on day of our visit. Perfect family activity on a sunny day.

We visited the Cabrillo National Monument this weekend, and it was beautiful. It was a brilliant day. We're members, and we were visiting on our last month of our membership, April 2024. After we passed through the gate, we drove down to the lower level. BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL VIEWS!!! We love to see the sea lions and pelicans, and hear the crashing of the waves. We then drove up to the top, to the what you would call the Visitors Center. We went to the lookout, then the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Statue. After that, we split up. Gonzalo headed up to the Cabrillo Lighthouse, and I headed to the theater for the film. It was all about the discovery of San Diego by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and his crew. It was another brilliant day at the Cabrillo National Monument.

Travel through a military base to learn about this monument. Depending on the time you have, you can do a shorter visit which allows you to take in expansive views of lower Sand Diego, view Mexico on a clear day and take in plane landings at the military base. With more time visit the Old Point Loma lighthouse and walk trails that allow you to see amazing vistas. Finally with a car, visit the lower part of Cabrillo National Monument and visit Old Point Loma station. Unfortunately, we did not have a car nor time to do this and the Monument has a strict close, but we loved our visit there. The visitors center was closed at the time.

While unfortunately the military museum and lighthouse were closed for renovations at the time of our visit, we were able to stop by the visitor center and walk out along the area behind the center for incredible views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. We were able to use our America the Beautiful annual park pass, and we didn’t have to pay the $20 entrance fee; however, if you don’t have the pass, you may want to check to see whether the lighthouse and museum are open before accessing the park, unless you have plans to hike or otherwise explore the park in greater detail than just visiting for the views. Similar views can be found at other points (Point Loma).

The Cabrillo National Monument lies on a Point Loma peninsula and it's worth the short drive. For $20, you can visit all week as many times as you want. On the way to the lighthouse, you pass through the Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery which is a humbling experience on the journey. The lighthouse has parking nearby in the Visitor Center lot. It is a short walk uphill to get to the historic lighthouse which can be toured on your own. There is another building with information about lighthouses, too. The view from the lighthouse is breath-taking and beautiful as you look out over the water in many directions.