California's Gorgeous Park Near San Diego Is A Breathtaking Spot With Year-Round Hummingbirds

San Diego is full of travel treasures waiting to be discovered, and the iconic West Coast city is known as the best destination in 2025 to watch a breathtaking sunset. While the iconic San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo's Safari Park are well known for animal viewing, there's another gorgeous park in a stunning spot for scenic views and hummingbird viewing, the Cabrillo National Monument. "Cabrillo" is an approximately 160-acre park, created in 1913 to honor the historic voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, whose fleet landed in San Diego in September of 1542, as they were navigating the western U.S. coast. It rests on the tip of the 2.5-mile-long Point Loma peninsula at 422 feet high, with picturesque views of the San Diego Bay and skyline. Cabrillo is home to one of San Diego's five most underrated tide pools, hiking trails, a historic landmark, and a sanctuary to several animal species, including hummingbirds. You can view these beautiful birds year-round here, and it's one of the most beautiful hummingbird hotspots across America. There are five main species of hummingbirds at Cabrillo: Allen's, rufous, Costa's, Anna's, and black-chinned varietals.

Your greatest opportunity to spy hummingbirds takes place on the park's hiking trails, which provide up close access to plant and animal life, with stellar coastal and city views. The 2.5-mile Bayside Trail is the best way to explore the park on foot, which leaves from the lighthouse, takes between one and two hours, and is suitable for most hikers. The 1-mile Coastal Trail leaves from the parking lots and leads directly to the tidepool area and hummingbirds can be sighted between the park's flowers. The newest trail, the Oceanside Trail, leaves from the Kelp Forest and Whale Overlook area, offering vehicle-free access and a designated path to the tide pools while taking in expansive ocean and city views.

Cabrillo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an entrance fee ranging from $10 to $20, and free to America the Beautiful pass holders. The Cabrillo National Monument Foundation is a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, which funds special projects and supports its programs and visitor experience. Head first to the Visitor Center, which features exhibits, information, and a store. Watch a 23-minute film titled "Voyages of the San Salvador- Cabrillo's Journey," and two others on the area's geography and gray whales, which migrate through the area. 

Walk uphill from the Visitor Center to tour the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, built in 1854 as an aid for ships passing through the channel. It's been multi-purpose since then, also being used as a radio and signal tower, a tea house, and a military post-exchange for the U.S. Army. Movie buffs will recognize it from the original 1986 movie "Top Gun" and its 2022 sequel "Top Gun: Maverick." Just south of here, a small loop walk takes you to the Kelp Forest and Whale Overlook, the best vantage point for any possible whale spout sights as they migrate south in the winter to Mexico. Cabrillo's tide pools are a major attraction, drawing more than 350,000 annually to the protected shores on which they sit.  You'll need to time your visit for low tide, so you can meander among the rocks and look for tiny sea creatures inside the pools. The prime seasons for this are fall and winter, as low tides coincide with the park's hours.