Coastal Trail View of the Kelp Forest
in California · centroid 6 mi from San Diego
Point Loma Kelp Forest Look out into the water off the coast of the park. You may notice a strip of ocean that is lighter in color near the horizon. This is the marking of the kelp forest in the Cabrillo State Marine Reserve.
The kelp forest provides an essential resource to the area and is one of the reasons why it is a protected marine reserve. “Kelps” are a class of brown algae that can grow to large sizes. They attach to the ocean bottom, and many have flotation devices to buoy themselves to the water’s surface.
Several marine algae species can be found in the intertidal area, but the most impressive are the large forests of kelps that grow in water about 25 to 70 feet (8 – 21 meters) offshore. You can see roughly where they grow by looking for the brownish, smooth areas on the water’s surface. In Point Loma the kelp forest is dominated by giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), which grows up to 150 feet (46 meters) long!
- States
- California
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid nearest city
- San Diego, CA · 6 mi · ~10 min drive
- Centroid coords
- 32.6692°, -117.2447°
About Cabrillo National Monument
This trail is inside Cabrillo National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $20 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/coastal-trail-view-of-the-kelp-forest.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/cabr/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Coastal Trail View of the Kelp Forest and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
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Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.