Tide Pools at Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo Tide Pools Rock

The Cabrillo National Monument tide pools are one of those places that the crowds come and go with…well, the tide. We were fortunate to arrive 30 minutes into a .7 foot low tide, which was almost perfect timing. I say ‘almost perfect’ because we, literally, got the last parking space. (You could say we were late to the party.)

To get an idea of how many people were here, take a look at the photo below. It was taken very close to the parking lot. On the right side of the photo, there’s a guy in a teal shirt. He’s standing near one of the paths down. (Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We were pleasantly surprised by the walking paths, which are dirt, but well-maintained. Of course, those well-maintained trails are also the bad news because it means a LOT of people go to the Cabrillo tide pools.

An educational experience

The National Park Service has done an excellent job of creating easy-to-understand signage to help visitors learn about what they’re seeing. One example is the sign I’ve included here. There are several others and all are nicely done and maintained. With so much in the way of education going on here, it’s no wonder parents bring the kids. Some, like the boy in teal with the shell, seemed to be seasoned visitors. While others, like the little girl in pink, aren’t quite ready to understand much more than this is one cool place to wander around.

The rise and fall of the tides

Once upon a time, I would have shucked my shoes and waded in up to my knees to get a shot of those tides coming and going. But I’d come unprepared—the towel I would have needed to dry off was in the car. Still, I found a nice rocky spot that was above tide height and snapped a couple (okay, a lot!) of photos of the same spot with the tide both in and out.

I have to admit, being so close to such a magnificent ecosystem—which is really a living, breathing organism of its own—buoyed my spirits. So, as I climbed the rocky path to leave, I decided the Cabrillo tide pools really do rock!

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