Your Trip to San Diego: The Complete Guide SEE FULL GUIDE prev next Your Trip to San Diego: The Complete Guide Best Time to Visit Weather & Climate San Diego International Airport Guide Neighborhoods to Know Best Hotels San Diego Trolley Guide Driving in San Diego 48 Hours in San Diego Day Trips From San Diego Top Things to Do Free Things to Do Things to Do With Kids Best Beaches Where to Shop Hiking in San Diego Balboa Park Guide Top Museums to Visit Must-Try Food in San Diego Best Restaurants Nightlife in San Diego Top Breweries Your Trip to San Diego: The Complete Guide close Overview United States California San Diego Walking Tour of La Jolla California By Betsy Malloy Betsy Malloy Facebook Twitter Betsy has been writing about California for nearly more than two decades as TripSavvy's expert on the state. TripSavvy's editorial guidelines Updated on 06/07/19 Share Pin Email Ron_Thomas / Getty Images This photo guide takes you on a walking tour around La Jolla, California. You can use it to plan your own tour - or just enjoy the scenery from your comfy armchair. 01 of 08 Nesting Cormorants on La Jolla Cliffs Betsy Malloy Your tour starts in front of the entrance to La Jolla Caves. This long-time La Jolla site is hardly worth the price of admission. Walk between the Cave Store and the fence and along the cliffside path to see where the cormorants hang out. These fish-eating birds do not have waterproof feathers, so you'll often see them spreading their wings to dry. They nest on the cliffs to get away from predators, and you can walk here to get away from most of the other tourists in town. Continue to 2 of 8 below. 02 of 08 La Jolla Cove Ernie Tyler/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Back at Coast Blvd., walk along the sidewalk toward Ellen Scripps Browning Park, the one with the green grass and palm trees. Here, you can walk down a flight of stairs to La Jolla Cove. This is one of the most photographed beaches in southern California, and it's easy to see why. The sandstone cliffs here make for dramatic scenery, and the surf has hollowed out plenty of tidy little basins that turn into tidepools at low tide. Continue to 3 of 8 below. 03 of 08 Coast Walk View **Mary**/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 This is a typical view from the walk along the coast, taken in March. Barely submerged rocks form tidepools at low tide. They also create lots of dramatic waves that make the scene so appealing. You may also see some cute, furry ground squirrels over the cliffs, munching on ice plants and roots, and then disappearing into a burrow. Continue to 4 of 8 below. 04 of 08 Tide Pool Justin Brown/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 This tide pool is nested in the rocks just outside the Children's Pool breakwater. Continue to 5 of 8 below. 05 of 08 Children's Pool Betsy Malloy Built for the children of La Jolla to have a place to play more safely on the beach, this breakwater originally had openings in it to let the water come and go, but after a tragic accident, they were closed. After some years, the sand built up here, making a nice, protected beach. In the 1990s, a colony of harbor seals decided this beach would make a fine nursery, and now they lay on the beach and have their pups here every spring. It all makes for fun watching them but the beach is now off-limits to humans. It's easy to forget about the ocean behind you while you're watching the seals, but if the surf is high, you may get a surprise drenching. Continue to 6 of 8 below. 06 of 08 Museum of Contemporary Art Serena Lee/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0 Oddly, even though it's in La Jolla, this place is named the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Their collection includes 1960s and 70s minimalism and Pop art, conceptual art, installation art, Latin American art, and art of California and the San Diego and Tijuana region. Continue to 7 of 8 below. 07 of 08 Downtown La Jolla Nine Ten On La Jolla's commercial streets near the shore, you'll find plenty of boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants. If you have time, you won't find a better stop than Nine Ten at the Grande Colonial Hotel. Their fixed price lunch is an especially good value for money. Continue to 8 of 8 below. 08 of 08 Walking Tour Map Betsy Malloy This map shows the route of your walking tour. Print it out and take it with you. The numbered sights are: Cormorant's CliffLa Jolla CoveCoast ViewTide PoolChildren's PoolMuseum of Contemporary ArtDowntown Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Share Pin Email Tell us why! Submit