Sunset Cliffs Natural Park(Garbage Beach, Sunset Cliffs Beach)

Located in the western part of Point Loma, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach—also known as Garbage Beach and Sunset Cliffs Beach—is a small and narrow beach with light brown sand, some rocky parts, and nearby rocky reefs.  This beach is part of a 68-acre recreational park named Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.  Travel + Leisure magazine also listed it as one of the Best Beaches in San Diego.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach does not have lifeguards or other amenities. However, the blufftop area above this beach has a couple of amenities, including walking trails and observation areas.  Dogs on leash are allowed here from 9 am to 6 pm.  Between April and October and between 9 am and 4 pm from November to March.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach offers many fun activities including beachcombing, fishing, hiking, sunbathing, swimming, surfing, paddleboarding, snorkeling, skimboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, jet-skiing, diving, boating, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching. 

The water here frequently offers powerful and thrilling surfing waves, making this beach popular with expert surfers – the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park reviews for surfing are considerably popular.  Snorkelers and scuba divers also visit here to explore the vibrant nearby biodiversity. 

However, if you are planning to surf, swim, kayak, or snorkel here, we recommend being extremely careful because the water here has dangerous rip currents – if you are a beginner swimmer, please forego water activities at this beach.  In addition, the rocky shoreline around the beach can also cause injuries. 

This beach is also a popular fishing site – popular catches here include salto, croaker and corbina.  If you like tidepooling, you can explore many interesting tidepools at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach at low tide.  The area around this beach also has many natural geological formations including sea caves, natural archways, and sea stacks that can be explored at low tide – however, we recommend being careful while exploring them because these geological formations are unstable.  The blufftop area above this beach has coastal scrub vegetation that you can explore through Sunset Cliffs Natural Park trails – these trails offer a fun and moderately challenging Sunset Cliffs Natural Park hike.  If you like taking Sunset Cliffs Natural Park photos with beautiful views, this beach and the blufftop area above it offer amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean and the Point Loma shoreline, especially at sunset.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach is difficult because the area around this beach has sharp rocks and unstable bluffs – you can drive to the intersection of Ladera Street and Sunset Boulevard, where there are multiple free street parking spaces and a nearby free parking lot.  After parking your car here, you can walk down along a nearby staircase – this staircase leads down to the rocky and waterlogged northern end of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach.  Once you reach here, you can wade south along the shoreline to access the beach. 

As an alternate access option, you can park your car at a free parking lot at 3980 Lomaland Drive and walk west to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.  The park has a steep and rugged access trail leading to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach.  This access trail follows the path of an old drainage pipe and it has a support rope.  We recommend being careful while taking this route because the bluffs around the beach are unstable.

We also recommend visiting this beach at low tide because it can get significantly submerged at high tide.  We recommend visiting this beach early because the parking lots and free street parking spaces here can occasionally fill up quickly, particularly on weekends.

Fossils of ancient marine reptiles named mosasaurs have been found near Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach – these fossils date back to the late Cretaceous era.  In addition, the name of this beach and park – Sunset Cliffs – was given by baseball player and businessman Albert Goodwill Spalding – Spalding played a crucial role in the infrastructure development of this coastal area into a recreational park. 

There are many attractions near Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach within a 20-minute-drive.  Point Loma Community Park is a recreational park that offers many amenities including grassy recreational areas, baseball field, tennis courts, benches, restrooms, and picnic tables.  Cabrillo National Monument is a national monument that is known for having interesting tidepools and it also has many other interesting features including hiking and biking trails, a 19th-century lighthouse named the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, a visitor center with interesting exhibits, and an old radio station building that also has informative exhibits.  The national monument also hosts many fun events and one of the prominent events here is the annual Cabrillo Festival.  SeaWorld San Diego is a very popular theme park and aquarium that has a variety of thrilling and exciting rides – it also has exhibits featuring a variety of unique marine animals including dolphins, sharks, otters, and orcas.  This theme park also offers excellent animal shows and presentations.  Maritime Museum of San Diego has a collection of historical ships including the world’s oldest active sailing ship named Star of India, a steam yacht named Medea, and a replica of explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's galleon San Salvador.  The museum also has interesting exhibits on maritime navigation, naval warfare, and maritime folklore.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Harbor Island Park is a waterfront recreational park that offers many amenities including grassy recreational areas, picnic tables, restrooms, biking paths, walking paths, and benches – this park also offers amazing views of the San Diego Bay and the Downtown area of San Diego. 

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach.  Sunnie's Ocean Beach Mexican Cuisine & Coffee offers a variety of amazing Mexican dishes including tortas, burritos, and quesadillas – it also offers excellent American-style breakfast dishes and refreshing coffee.  Humphreys Restaurant serves excellent seafood dishes and steaks – it also offers pastas, pork chops, and poultry dishes and hosts live music performances.  Brigantine Seafood & Oyster Bar is a popular restaurant that is known for serving amazing seafood – in addition, this restaurant also serves amazing dishes for lunch, brunch, and dinner including salads, burgers, tacos, steaks, pork chops, poultry dishes and Asian-style dishes.  Raglan Public House serves amazing burgers that have culinary influences from New Zealand – it offers soups, chicken wings, sandwiches, New Zealand-style chicken pot pie, and salads.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, The Old Townhouse Restaurant offers amazing dishes for breakfast and lunch including sandwiches, meatloaf, Mexican dishes, French toasts, hash brown, and biscuits and gravy.

If you are looking for a hotel near Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Beach, there are many great nearby options within a 22-minute-drive.  The 5-Star Pendry San Diego offers many amenities including multiple bars and restaurants, a pool, and a fitness center.  The 4-Star Carte Hotel San Diego Downtown, Curio Collection by Hilton offers many amenities including a saltwater pool, a whirlpool, a restaurant, a fitness center, a boutique, and a lounge.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina that offers many amenities including a restaurant, a bar, three outdoor pools, a hot tub, laundry facilities, a gift shop, watersports equipment rental facilities, bike rental facilities, and a fitness center.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Inn at Sunset Cliffs that offers many amenities including a patio with sitting areas and a pool – this oceanfront hotel also offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and it also offers fishing.  If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Ladera Street San Diego Ca, the 3-Star Holiday Inn San Diego – Bayside offers many amenities including a restaurant, a bar, a pool, mini-golf facilities, a hot tub, fitness center, and table tennis.