The Big Bay

Complement your visit to the nation's largest urban park with a trip along one of the world's most scenic harbors, the San Diego Bay! From Point Loma's historic lighthouse to the Sweetwater National Wildlife Refuge, sample an exciting array of museums, public art works, natural wonders, unique shopping, and fine dining, all offering spectacular views of the bay. Feeling adventuresome? Try a harbor excursion or whale watching trip. Waxing nostalgic? Check out the Maritime Museum and USS Midway. Just want to eat, play, and shop? No problem. Seaport Village and Coronado have something to suit everyone's tastes.

Discover nature's wonders in and around San Diego Bay. The Bay supports numerous endangered and threatened species of plants and animals and is a vital link to other wildlife areas. You may want to take more than one day to explore the trails, exhibits and wildlife refuges on the Big Bay.

Chula Vista Nature Center

The Chula Vista Nature Center located on Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge along the south end of San Diego Bay. The center is an internationally recognized zoo/aquarium exhibiting plants and animals native to San Diego Bay and marsh/wetland habitats. You can get up-close and personal with endangered green sea turtles, shorebirds, hawks, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish and more. The Chula Vista Nature Center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Access to the facility from the parking lot is via a free shuttle ride.

Cabrillo National Monument

The Cabrillo National Monument, located west of the city of San Diego on the tip of Point Loma, is a U.S. National Park that encompasses more than 660 acres of native habitat and spectacular city, bay and ocean views. There are more than 300 native plant species within the park. The tide pools are one of the last and best-preserved rocky intertidal areas open to the public in Southern California. Be sure to wear good shoes for a hike along the two-mile Bayside Trail, which takes you through one of the last coastal sage scrub habitats in the world. The park is open 365 days of the year from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Whale Watching

Planning a back-to-nature day in early winter? A Whale Watching excursion is a must-see. California Gray whales pass along the coast of San Diego from December through February during the south migration to the warm lagoons of Mexico for the winter and return trip northward for summer. Gray whales are easy to see along the Southern California coast and on whale watching cruises departing from San Diego Bay.

Big Bay Cruise

Ready to sit down? Why not take a two-hour cruise of the Big Bay. San Diego Harbor Excursion and Hornblower Cruises and Events, located just to the north of Seaport Village, by the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal, offer one-hour narrated tours of the North Bay (Star of India, the Naval Air Station North Island, Harbor and Shelter Islands, the Naval Submarine Base and the Cabrillo National Monument) or the South Bay (the U.S. Navy surface fleet, Coronado Bay Bridge and busy shipyards). Or you can see it all in a two-hour tour that covers just about all of the Big Bay's 34-mile shoreline.