We’ve seen photos of this incredible open ceiling sea cave in Sunset Cliffs, only accessible during an extreme low tide and to those with an adventurous spirit! We finally had a chance to explore it, and it was well worth the visit! The directions we found to get there were very tough to piece together. How about this…we are going to make it SUPER easy for you to find this place. Done! The adventure getting there is all yours!
Please do me a HUGE favor. There is a hesitation in posting about this amazing site because not everyone has the experience or understanding of the ocean and its dangers. If you plan to stop reading this post after you read the directions on getting there, before you close this page PLEASE read Know Before You Go at the very bottom to ensure you have a safe adventure. We had a little Emergency Room visit after this activity and we were being very safe.
Important warning: The open ceiling sea cave is something you need to plan for. Most of the time it is not accessible, and to attempt it could result in serious injury or death. It is only accessible at an extreme negative low tide, I would say a -1.2 or larger. Larger meaning, a larger negative number. So check the tide charts. As you know this is more likely going to happen in the winter months.
Getting to the Open Ceiling Sea Cave
You begin by heading to the Sunset Cliffs Blvd in Point Loma. Park between Hill Street and Monaco Street. You’ll be parking in a residential area so of course be kind. The best bet to gather your bearings is to then walk over to the cliffs area and look at the open ceiling cave from the top. You’ll see it. The opening is surrounded by a large fence. Now for many, this is totally cool. Check. Saw the cave. For some like us, you want to go inside it.
Now for your big adventure. Head to the most western point you can find there, just a bit north of the cave. If you stand there for a bit you’ll see some surfers scale up and down the cliffs at a well worn path to get down. Be patient and look for that path at the most Western point in that area. There are other paths down which are NOT at all safe and could result in injury or death. It isn’t a tough path to get down, so if you are on a path that feels tough, you are on the wrong one.
I had planned to take photos of all of this on our way back from the open ceiling sea cave so that I’d have the visual for you after I had done it and had all my bearings. Well, my daughter slipped and fell while enjoying the open ceiling sea cave, so our trek back was very hurried as we had to go to the emergency room! (Don’t let this scare you, what happened to her can happen to anyone doing simple tide pooling…more on that later).
Once you get yourself down, you’ll find yourself heading south towards the open ceiling sea cave by hopping about the seaweed covered boulders that are normally covered by the ocean at a normal tide. The photo below is right outside of the open ceiling cave, but it will look similar to this.
Warning: There is a point where for a very small area you will have to either scale the slippery cliffs with not as much space for your feet, or simply get in the water. We went at -1.5 tide and I am 5’10 tall, and I was wading in the water waist high. I simply carried each kid over from the last rock they could stand on to the next rock they could stand on.
Enjoying the Open Ceiling Sea Cave
Once you get to the cave, it’s obvious you are there. And it is glorious! Here is my crew entering the cave. Notice there still are so many rocks that are normally under water to travel across. These rocks, as are any rocks you step on when doing simple tide pooling are very slippery. You have to be careful, and always keep your hands free (unlike my daughter who had a few shells in her hand) and don’t be afraid to use them. It was once inside the cave when my daughter relaxed a bit (since the journey to get there was over) that she lost her footing, feet slipped out from under her, and she banged her head on a large boulder. Emergency room visit and a staple in her head, but she’s OK. Could have been worse! This has happened to me doing simple tide pooling – happens so fast you don’t even realize it.
Once you are in the open ceiling sea cave you are bound to see others who also were super excited that the stars aligned with the negative low tide happening in the afternoon.
As you are enjoying the open ceiling sea cave, you need to savor every moment. You can’t stay in there too long as you need to ensure the tide is low enough so that you can safely return. We started our trek there about 15 minutes before the extreme low tide time, stayed about 30 minutes, and then left. I wouldn’t recommend doing it any other way. Let’s not turn this into a rescue situation!
The kids had so much fun exploring – a lot of amazing shells you don’t normally see just lying on the beach. Sea creatures still in many of them too!
Need to Know Before You GO
When to plan this adventure: I can’t emphasize enough what I mentioned earlier. The tide must be a negative low tide, at least -1.2. Do NOT attempt this at any other time. Get there at the exact time of the low tide and do not stay in the cave longer than 30 minutes. You have to ensure it’s still low enough so you can safely return.
What to bring/wear: We wore water shoes which I would highly recommend. You are going to get wet. Do NOT wear flip flops. That’s an accident waiting to happen. If you don’t have water shoes then wear sneakers that you are OK with getting soaked. We also wore shorts, and plan on them getting soaked as you immerse yourself in water (to the waist for me!). Also bring sweatshirts if it’s winter and close to sunset as it can get cool. We saw a woman there wearing jeans and fancy brown fashion boots! She must have seen people go down and decided to go down too, not knowing what the trek entailed. Ahhhhhh…. don’t do that!
Be careful with any personal belongings as they can get wet. We put our phone, keys, etc. in a water wallet. This is why I have no photos of the trek there as my phone was in the water wallet. Couldn’t risk slipping on a rock (has happened to me so many times) and my phone flying in the ocean. We didn’t bring any backpacks or purses as they can get wet. However, hindsight 20/20 I would have brought something small and waterproof with a first aid kit!
Who can do this? Our kids are 8 and 11 and we are an active family. It was totally fine for them. You can definitely bring younger kids, just be prepared to carry them during that one part. I wouldn’t bring a toddler or younger. But an active and coordinated child would be fine with parental supervision and assistance. Personally, I wouldn’t take the Grandparents there. Love them, but too many ways to get hurt and them falling on a boulder like my daughter did might not have fared as well.
As a reminder, if you decide to explore any of the places we list in our blog, especially for some of the spots like this one, know your own limits and be careful. We hope you enjoy these activities, and know you are doing so at your own risk. San Diego Family Travelers are not responsible for any injuries, damage, or death resulting from your explorations.
That’s it! We hope you enjoy this adventure as much as we did! Let us know what you think!
2 comments
Hi, great post! I also enjoyed your blog, super interesting stuff. I have been researching the sunset cliffs cave and I really want to go there. Would you recommend going there during a negative low tide of around 0.5? Is it safe?
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! It’s definitely a “go at your own risk” adventure. It does carry risks and I would recommend at least a negative 1.0 or less. We enjoyed it!