La Jolla Shores and Sea Caves: Sunny Jim Cave, Kayaking and Underwater Park

Just one mile northeast around the rocky point from the dramatic cliffs of La Jolla Cove, the coastline flattens into La Jolla Shores, a mile-long crescent of wide, flat sand backed by Kellogg Park and the charming village strip of Avenida de la Playa. Because an underwater submarine canyon (the La Jolla Canyon) drops off sharply just offshore while the southern headland blocks heavy winter swells, the waves along the southern end of La Jolla Shores are the gentlest and most predictable on San Diego's open ocean coast. That unique underwater topography makes this beach the undisputed capital of sea kayaking, beginner surfing, scuba diving, and summer snorkeling in Southern California.

Kayaking the Seven Sea Caves of La Jolla

When you stand on the southern end of La Jolla Shores beach near Calle Frescota, you look directly across the water at the golden sandstone cliffs housing the Seven Sea Caves: White Lady, Little Sister, Shopping Cart, Sea Surprise, Arch Cave, Sunny Jim, and the largest of them all, the Clam (La Jolla Caves). Because six of those seven caves cannot be entered on foot from land, paddling in from the water is the only way to see them up close.

Along the two-block commercial strip of Avenida de la Playa just steps from the sand, several licensed local outfitters run daily guided tandem kayak and snorkel tours. We strongly recommend joining a guided kayak tour rather than renting a solo boat on your own: local maritime regulations only permit kayaks to paddle inside the Clam sea cave when accompanied by a certified guide and when ocean swell conditions are calm and safe. During the ninety-minute paddle across the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve, guides lead you over thick giant kelp forests where sea lions porpoise alongside the boats, bright orange garibaldi dart below, and pelagic cormorants nest on the sheer cliff ledges.

Snorkeling with Harmless Leopard Sharks (July to October)

Every summer between June and October, peaking in August and September when ocean temperatures are warmest, thousands of pregnant female leopard sharks gather in the warm, shallow knee-to-waist-deep water right in front of the Marine Room restaurant at the southern end of La Jolla Shores. Despite growing four to five feet long with striking dark saddle-shaped spots, leopard sharks have tiny mouths adapted purely for eating small crabs and sand shrimp on the sea floor; they are completely harmless and timid around humans.

You do not even need a boat to see them. Simply put on a snorkel mask and swim fins at the south end of the beach, shuffle your feet gently through the sand (to alert any buried round stingrays so they swim away safely), and float face-down in four feet of water as dozens of spotted sharks glide effortlessly beneath you alongside guitarfish and bat rays.

Kellogg Park, Scripps Pier Walk and Practical Tips

Directly behind the central sand sits Kellogg Park, a wide grassy lawn equipped with public showers, restrooms, playgrounds, and concrete fire rings where families gather for evening sunset picnics. If you walk fifteen minutes north along the wet sand at low tide, you reach the towering concrete pilings of Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier below Birch Aquarium; walking further north past the pier at low tide leads toward the soaring paraglider cliffs of Torrey Pines. Notice that the free beachfront parking lot at Kellogg Park fills completely early in the morning on sunny weekends, so arrive early or use the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley to Nobel Drive or UC San Diego Central Campus and connect via local bus or rideshare.