Torrey Pines State Reserve

San Diego has always been on my list as a place to visit while in the United States, but I never knew why. Maybe because it was a coastal town and I am a sucker for areas near water. I find beaches and waterfalls quite therapeutic and calming. Or maybe its the exotic-ness of the wildlife, as seen on the Madagascar movie or even just a land full of Lego? Upon arriving into San Diego, I google, Trip Advisor provides some suggestions of things to do. The Zoo, Balboa Park, Torrey Pines and more.

Torrey Pines sounds-intriguing but it doesn’t provide much information to me. So, I jump onto Youtube to give a visual understanding of what this reserve is all about and what it has to offer. Yes, this sounds like quite a process to decide where I could visit, but I love to research. I could do it for hours. I enjoy learning and discovering new places and things. And of course, I am a visual person, so I need to see things.

It’s a Thursday afternoon, it’s around 27 degrees, but the sun has gone behind the cloud, but that isn’t stopping us. We leave our Air Bnb from North Park and head a half an hour to Torrey.

Once we arrive at the reserve, there are multiple areas to park. We choose the South Beach carpark which costs us $15 for until 8 pm. Hours vary so best to check the direct website for planning purposes.

We grab a park up at the Torrey Pines Lodge. This lodge is also a visitor centre where we grabbed some maps and advice on where to check out first. We were encouraged to do the Beach trail, Red Butte, Razor Point and the Yucca Point.

Beach Trail

Grade: Easy

Distance: 2.3 miles

Route Type: Loop

Elevation: 364 feet

With the wildest stretches of land on the Southern Californian coast, Torrey Pines delivers on the outlooks and showcases magnificent vistas out to the Pacific.
Being Summer and school holidays, the trail is heavily trafficked, but not unbearable. The conditions are all sandy at the start and downhill, sturdy shoes are recommended as we encounter uneven surfaces and boulders along the way, there have been stairs at different points made to make the hike a little more comfortable. Being a plant lover, there are wildflowers galore, different colours and shapes, I am carried away taking photos of them that I am sure Steve is waiting up ahead for me. The trail loops around the edge of the cliffs. My favourite section of the trail is walking down to Razor point with the sandstone gorge on one side and the Red Butte on the other. The eroded cliffs remind me of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon. The first stop on the trail is the Red Butte, then Razor Point for some vista magic and then winding around to Yucca point, to take in more views of the Pacific Coast and the Yucca flower displays. While continually stopping to take photos (mostly of wildflowers) and take in the sights, we were able to do this hike in around 2 hours. There are plenty of walks to do around the area, so why not check them out.