Tour La Jolla

*Children’s Pool Beach, photo by Meghan Concheri*

The Ultimate Guide to La Jolla Cove.🦭

Set in the picturesque seaside village of La Jolla, California, La Jolla Cove is a must-see in San Diego. Considered “the jewel" of San Diego, La Jolla Cove is distinguished by its rugged coastline, powerful surf, and abundant wildlife. Sealions, seals, pelicans, cormorants and other wildlife populations flourish along the cove, so we put together a guide of the best way to make the most of your time in this magical place.

Parking:
Your Pure Bliss Picnic will be located at Cuvier Park 590 Coast S. Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037 where there is typically parking along the road or adjacent to the park. Weekends can be a little more crowded.

The best way to get around La Jolla Cove is with E-Scooter rentals!

Before or after your picnic, there’s so many places to explore in the area within a mile North and South of the park. You may choose to walk, rent e-scooters, or drive, though parking can be challenging if you choose to venture to La Jolla Cove to check out abundant marine life, including seals and sealions, as well as galleries and shops. Our favorite way to get around this area is by renting E-scooters from with San Diego Onewheel. They will deliver and pick up the e-scooters at locations of your choosing and are significantly better priced than the rentals you can find on the side of the road, and they also offer an awesome e-scooter tour in La Jolla that covers most of the stops in this guide, and more!

Exploring the Outdoors: The La Jolla Cove Tour

Located less than a mile north of your picnic (0.7 miles to be exact) is La Jolla Cove Beach. There’s lots to explore in this area including caves, vibrant blue-green hues of shallow water, and abundant wildlife. Many snorklers begin their underwater journey entering the water from this picturesque cove.

*La Jolla Cove adorned with wildflowers thanks to a rainy start to 2023, bringing the epic superblooms of California to San Diego’s coastline.*

One of the main attractions in Southern California is La Jolla Cove. At this point on the map, you will see a massive population of seals and sealions sunbathing, waddling, playing, arguing, swimming, and occasionally, surfing, high-fiving, you name it. (Sealions are the ones that walk on their large flippers, while seals have smaller flippers and move on land by wriggling their bodies). There’s also a range of seabirds and unqiue flora that exudes Dr. Seuss inspo, including some low-laying trees with spiraling barks.

Seals and Sealions at the beach they have taken over. San Diegan’s recently voted to continue protecting this beach by keeping it off-limits to humans, so the seal and sealion population can thrive. We still get an amazing view from the sidewalk, many people sit along the seawall watching them, without disrupting their habitat.

Get a view of the local pelicans up close and personal. Pelicans around here have a wingspan of 6.7’ to 11.8’!

Continue walking north along the coast and you will come accross one of the most stunning coastal views in San Diego: this beautiful sea arch. Here you may notice some seals, sealions, kayakers, divers, and the occasional dolphin living their best life around this massive sea arch. This sea arch commences a sequence of seven legendary sea caves which can be accessed by swimming, kayaking, or paddleboarding.

Just beyond the sea arch, walking 10 minutes north on Coast Walk Trail, starting at the top of the sea arch, you will come upon a picturesque walking bridge, there is a “secret swing” with rope access right around this bridge on the ocean side!

If you have a picnic booked with Pure Bliss Picnics, and you want to explore the area before your after your picnic, the first stop along the path will be Children’s Pool Beach.

Children’s Pool is a 0.4 mile walk north of Cuvier Park. Several years ago Children’s Pool was a seal & sealion hotspot, but in recent years they come and go to this beach, though you will typically see at least a few, if not a few dozen seals and/or sealions here. There are public restrooms at this location

There are more unique sandstone carvings along the way, and if you scramble down to the Wipeout Beach during low tide, there are some narrow sea caves along the cliff wall.

The perfect way to relax and soak up the beauty of La Jolla’s coast, your Pure Bliss Luxury Picnic invites conversation with plush seating, your menu option of choice, and unbeatable views, truly *the best seat in any house*.
After savoring your time at the highest rated picnic in San Diego (check out our five-star reviews), there’s still more to see and love!

A few steps away from your picnic…

There is stairway access to the beach which, during low tide, unveils an otherworldly landscape with abundant tidepools!

Explore Galleries in La Jolla for no cost.

Also within walking distance of La Jolla Cove are some of our favorite galleries! This includes, Legends Gallery (Secret artwork of Dr. Seuss), LIK Fine Art La Jolla, Ian Ely Gallery - La Jolla, and the Modernist Cuisine Gallery - La Jolla.

Secret Artwork of Dr. Seuss

*One of the many unique lesser known artworks of Dr. Seuss (p.s. there’s a bizarre “bonus” room in the back corner of the gallery).*

One of the many awe-inspiring photographs in the Peter Lik Gallery.

*Peter Lik is a world renowned photographer who has, as of this date, sold the most expensive photograph ever (not shown here), for $6.5 million*.

Windansea Beach - One mile south of your Pure Bliss Picnic: One of the highest rated beaches in the U.S.

The view from Cuvier Park is gorgeous, but the absolute best spot to watch sunset or enjoy some time at the beach in San Diego is Windansea Beach, which this time of year is especially enchanting with its mossy coverage along the rocks.