Last Updated on: 23rd February 2024, 10:56 am
Just north of San Diego is a gorgeous State Park that doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves. The Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve is home to the Torrey pine, one of the rarest pine trees in the world. The park also features numerous hiking trails and a beach. In the following guide, we’ll help you decide which Torrey Pines hike is for you – or if you have the time, how to go about experiencing them all.
For more information on reaching Torrey Pines and the best places to stay, be sure to check the end of the article.
About These Hikes
THE BASICS: The entirety of Torrey Pines can be explored in 3-4 hours – not including any time that you set aside for swimming.
You can approach the trails in a couple of different ways depending on where you park. The following guide assumes you’ve either parked at the Torrey Pines Lodge in the center of the park or at the large lot to the north of the park near the entrance gate and beach. From the entrance gate, you’d have to walk uphill to access the trails, though this is certainly doable if you’re reasonably fit.
If you’re visiting on a weekend, be sure to arrive early to ensure you get a spot.
Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve has demand-based pricing, with prices ranging from $12-25 per vehicle, while the park is open from 7:15 until sunset.
Once in the park, you’ll find the trailhead for each Torrey Pines hike at various points between Torrey Park Pines Rd. and the beach.
Some of the loop trails, such as Guy Fleming and Parry Grove, are standalone hikes. The trails further south, meanwhile, are interconnected and can be combined as one big loop.
RECOMMENDED APPS: The various Torrey Pines hikes are listed on AllTrails, which is usually one of the best apps for the outdoors. Torrey Pines is an exception, however. Many of the AllTrails routes are largely the same but with slight variations, and using them to plan your day can be confusing.
Considering how many of the Torrey Pines hikes are interconnected, while the trail network as a whole is not very big, you’re best off just using Google Maps. It contains an outline of all of the trails as well as the main landmarks.
WHAT TO BRING: At the time of my visit, there was NO drinking water available anywhere in the park. The water fountains were out of order, and there were no bottles available for sale at the Torrey Pines Lodge.
Furthermore, many of the nearby shops and restaurants don’t seem to sell simple bottles of water, either, so it’s best to take some with you before you leave your home or hotel.
Bring a swimsuit if you plan to swim. Otherwise, no special hiking equipment is required, as these are easy trails that are largely paved and not very steep (and going off-trail incurs a $400 fine!).
Red Butte to Razor Point
This 0.7-mile trail would be a good hike to start with if you were able to secure a parking spot near the Torrey Pines Lodge. It’s best, however, to think of it as just one segment of a much larger loop.
As we’ll cover below, once you reach Razor Point, you can immediately proceed to Yucca Point and then head back up to the main road via the Broken Hill and North Fork trails. If you only have a couple of hours, consider this big loop as the essential Torrey Pines hike.
After admiring the views from the West Overlook, proceed downhill until you reach a rocky outcrop known as the Red Butte. This is a popular landmark which is usually packed with visitors taking in the 360-degree views.
Past Red Butte, the trail will fork into two, with the lefthand path heading toward Yucca Point and the righthand path taking you to Razor Point.
The most efficient way to see everything would be to start with Razor Point, so be sure to head to the right.
As you make your way downhill, you’ll be greeted with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean, while you’ll find yourself surrounded by various plants, including the eponymous Torrey pines.
And as you head toward Razor Point, you’ll be greeted with an excellent view of Yucca Point in the distance.
Aside from its pines, this State Natural Preserve is also known for its heavily eroded sandstone terraces. Their wrinkly appearance is the result of various types of water erosion from the sea, creeks and rain over the course of millions of years.
Upon arrival at Razor Point, look north for an amazing view of the Torrey Pines State Beach which stretches out to 4.5 miles.
While parts of the beach can be accessed near the park entrance at the base of the hill, as we’ll cover shortly, the Beach Trail will lead you to a scenic section further south.
Yucca Point & The Beach
To head onward to Yucca Point from Razor Point, there’s no need to backtrack toward the Red Butte. Instead, follow the trail that takes you south, parallel to the coast, until you reach the next overlook.
As mentioned above, pretty much every Torrey Pines hike could be considered easy. Nevertheless, someone must’ve hurt themselves in the area around Yucca Point on the day of my visit, as I happened to witness an emergency helicopter rescue!
I’m still not sure how the individual got hurt or where they might’ve fallen, though there are some slippery sections near the beach.
Just as the best view of Yucca Point is from nearby Razor Point, you’ll be greeted with some excellent views of Razor Point as you stand atop the Yucca Point Overlook. These two rocky outcrops pretty much look like twins.
Next, from Yucca Point, backtrack slightly until you reach the Beach Trail. Make a right and follow the signs toward the beach.
Access to the beach requires walking down over a hundred steps, while you’ll also have to return the same way. While not too slippery at the time of my visit, be extra careful if it happens to be a windy or rainy day.
Eventually, you’ll arrive at the beautiful Torrey Pines State Beach. While I wasn’t planning to swim due to time constraints, there don’t seem to be any changing facilities or infrastructure whatsoever here.
If you’d like to swim in this area, it would be best to come prepared with your bathing suit under your clothes.
Even if you’re not going for a dip, it’s well worth taking a stroll along the beach and admiring the rocky sandstone cliffs. And if you’re lucky, you may even spot some wildlife.
The Torrey Pines State National Reserve is home to no less than two hundred species of birds. And while walking along the beach, I encountered a row of photographers pointing their cameras at the cliffs.
Unfortunately, I didn’t happen to have my zoom lens. And while I’m no expert, it appeared to be a nest of some type of hawk.
Aside from birds, when you look up into the sky you might also spot the occasional paraglider.
Eventually, I turned around to explore the south end of the beach. The main landmark around here is known as Flat Rock, which is a popular place for visitors to gather and take photos.
To get there, you’ll have to walk through a narrow little crevice carved into the rock, which may be the trickiest section of the whole park!
Broken Hill Trail & North Fork Trail
Yet again, the next Torrey Pines hike in this guide is directly connected to the previous one. Finished with the beach, walk back up the steps until you reach the Broken Hill Trail, and then make a right.
Eventually, you’ll make it back to the main road, albeit a lot farther east. Simply taking the Beach Trail uphill, on the other hand, will get you right back to the Torrey Pines Lodge. So why bother with this trail?
All in all, it’s one of the least interesting trails at Torrey Pines, but it is indeed worth doing for one main reason: the Broken Hill Overlook. This overlook is easily one of the most scenic overlooks in the whole park.
About halfway up the hill, the trail will fork and you’ll have two options: the North Fork Trail and the South Fork Trail.
To get to the overlook, turn right and briefly walk along the South Fork Trail before taking another right that will bring you to the overlook.
After enjoying the tremendous views, backtrack slightly and take the North Fork Trail up towards Torrey Pines Park Rd.
Despite the park being relatively crowded on the day of my visit, I had the Broken Hill Overlook all to myself. As such, the Broken Hill Trail could be considered the most underrated Torrey Pines hike.
From the end of the North Fork Trail, you’ll have to walk back west for another 15-20 minutes before you reach the Torrey Pines Lodge. Along the way, be sure to check out the signage to learn the interesting history of this area during World War II.
Large parts of Torrey Pines were leased by the US military in order to defend the West Coast from a potential Japanese attack, while the rocky cliffs also came in handy for conditioning training.
High Point Overlook / Whitaker Garden / Parry Grove Trail
The next few hikes are located to the north of Torrey Pines Lodge. If you happened to park in the large lot near the beach, it would be best to start with the Guy Fleming Trail, followed by the High Point Overlook, Whitaker Garden and Parry Grove Trail.
The High Point Overlook is situated just east of the main road and can be accessed by walking up a brief series of steps. From the top, you can enjoy a great view of Los Peñasquitos Marsh Natural Preserve, one of the region’s last remaining salt marshes.
Next, cross the road where you’ll encounter the Whitaker Garden, home to various plants from both the Coastal Sage Scrub and Southern Maritime Chaparral plant communities. Along the path, you’ll encounter various placards providing information on each.
Also around here is the EB Scripps Overlook. It was named after Ellen Browning Scripps, a philanthropist who, in the early 20th century, purchased land here to increase the total area that would be protected.
She also funded the construction of the Torrey Pines Lodge, which originally opened as a restaurant.
The trail then continues directly to a loop known as the Parry Grove Trail – an area that was originally purchased by Ellen Browning Scripps.
It was actually Charles C. Parry who first identified the rare pinus torreyana after which the park was named. But he named the tree after his friend John Torrey, another leading botanist of the 19th century.
The Guy Fleming Trail
The northernmost Torrey Pines hike is a loop known as the Guy Fleming Trail, which will either be the first or last hike you do (if you’re doing them all, that is). But if you’re short on time, I wouldn’t consider this hike as essential.
Guy Fleming was yet another leading botanist of the era who worked to better preserve Torrey Pines. In the center of the 0.6-mile loop trail, you’ll find an interesting wrinkled outcrop, while you’ll encounter numerous overlooks along the way.
One of them offers more great views of the beach, while another provides views of some of the other outcrops mentioned above. These vantage points look especially impressive in the late afternoon sun.
Additional Info
The Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve is located about 16 miles north of central San Diego, in between La Jolla and Del Mar. Like most destinations across the United States, the best way to get there is to rent a car and drive yourself.
As mentioned above, the best places to park would either be the large lot near the beach/entrance gate, or the smaller lot near the Torrey Pines Lodge. While I had no problem finding a spot near the lodge, things can apparently get so busy sometimes that even the large lot near the beach could fill up.
In that case, you’ll be forced to use the North Beach Lot from which you may have to take a bus. As such, it would be wise to arrive early if you can, especially on summer weekends.
If you don’t have a car, the best way to get to Torrey Pines would probably be to take the metro to Sorrento Valley or Solana Beach stations and then hail an Uber.
From the city center, it’s also technically possible to reach Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve by bus, though it would involve a few transfers. It would be best to check an app like Rome2Rio for specific details.
There are countless accommodation options in San Diego, and choosing the best place to stay largely depends on your budget and which neighborhood you prefer. Here are some of the highest-rated options in some of the city’s most popular neighborhoods:
In the Old District, some of the most popular options for a reasonable price are the Cosmopolitan Hotel and the Old Town Inn.
If you’d prefer the downtown area, Chic Condo Steps from Petco Park has great reviews.
And if you’d like to stay right by the coast, consider The Inn at Sunset Cliffs.
If you happen to be crossing the border on foot from Tijuana and are looking for a hotel you can easily reach via public transport, consider the Mission Bay Inn.
That’s where I stayed upon my arrival in San Diego before renting a car the next morning. It was convenient being able to get on the tram from the border crossing, riding it to Clairemont Drive Station and then being able to walk to the hotel in a few minutes. Though I didn’t go, the hotel also happens to be near SeaWorld.