Ellen Browning Scripps Park

Great views, seals, sea birds, beach, park, wind blown trees, grass, changing/​shower rooms with large restrooms. Lifeguards to keep you safe. Free street parking. Sea shacks to cozy up with loved ones/​share a meal for nearby restaurants. Tidepools for creature viewing. This weekend (4÷09÷16) they even have the «La Jolla Councours D’Elegance» car/​motorcycle show (amazing). Very peaceful place when no events.

Beautiful park right along the cliffs. Lots of seals and beautiful Pelicans. The large grassy area has picnic tables and grills so it’s a great place for party, picnic or BBQ. There isn’t much sandy beach access and if the tide is really high there is NONE. No surfing or body boarding allowed — only swimming and snorkeling. Really really pretty place.

Its a beautiful park right on the ocean. Parking is very hard to find unless you arrive early. All the tourists are there on the weekends so if you can help yourself don’t even bother. They have poop stations for dogs. The park ranger came up to my husband just after I left to find a disgusting port a potty and asked him if he knew the rule about dogs. My husband said I have no idea what you are talking about and the guy keeps pointing to a sign saying read it as many people with dogs on leashes are walking by and some even coming over to my husband and the ranger asking what is going on? Are we not allowed to paint here? Because we were painting with our tiny 4 pound dog that does not make a sound. The ranger apparently got red and upset and kept going at my husband ignoring all other passersby with dogs asking him if there was a problem. He said I am not harassing you I am only educating you and if there is a problem I will write you a $ 400 ticket. Other people were asking why? and why are there dog bags posted all over the park? The ranger just said read the sign. I went to read this sign that I have never seen before and it gives no explanation only no dogs from 9 – 4 and 9 – 6 after April. This ranger must have been having a really bad day so he decided to end ours.

What a beautiful view! I’ve probably been here maybe twice so far and the view never gets old. The first time was during the day so you can pretty much see everything and all the details. The second time was at night, but it was nice too just sit and watch and listen to the sound of the waves crashing into the rocks.
«West coast, best coast» is seriously defined by this place. Lovely weather, great views, the beach; they’re literally the best things about SoCal and SD as a whole. It’s just a really great place to take a stroll and to take a break from all of life’s stresses. It’s a nice place to wind down your fast-​pace life and relax a bit here. The view and the sounds of the waves crashing into the rocks are probably the two best therapists in this world. It’s free and it relieves you from stress, even if it’s just for a while.
Overall, this is a great place for a stroll during the day, after dinner and whatnot. It’s kind of sort of a really romantic place at night when you’re just taking a walk with your significant other.

My happy place. Waves crashing, seal and sea lion watching all while catching a Southern California sunset.

What a gorgeous park. The plants are well taken care of, everyone is nice and the weather is perfect. I loved it!

My boyfriend and I came here to watch the sunset. The park is not very wide, but it is pretty long. It’s definitely great for coming out and playing with the kids. The park is basically off of a cliff with rails separating it from the Pacific Ocean. Although there were benches lining the rails, my boyfriend and I decided that we want a better view. We ended up going in between a rail and got onto one of the cliff edges. We sat there and watched the waves and sunset. The view was breathtaking, and I knew it wouldn’t have been as nice if we stayed on the benches. Pretty soon other groups joined us and started taking pictures there. With that said, we definitely weren’t the first people there. The cliff is actually marked with tons of hearts to mark all of the couples who stopped by here. Overall, this is such a beautiful park and I can’t wait to come back.

So beautiful here! Parking is hard so make sure u get here early and if u dont, they have parking structures. We have a bug truck so had to drive around a while but it’s so pretty that u don’t care. :)

As with all things in La Jolla, this park is beautiful and very well-​maintained. There’s never any trash anywhere or people loitering. On any given day, you will find families and couples walking around enjoying the scenery. There are tables throughout the park, so it’d be a good place to bring some food and have a picnic on a Saturday afternoon. There are amazing views of the beach and you can hear the waves crashing, which makes it a peaceful place to relax.
It’s close to La Jolla Cove and all of the shops and restaurants, so it’s a great little area to walk around, grab a coffee and relax. It would also make a great area to get in a solo bootcamp workout or one with friends!

Lovely park, sweeping ocean views. You are guaranteed to see a seal here. A must if you’re visiting La Jolla. There is a little trail to the northern edge of the park where you can walk along the coastal cliff and enjoy some of the views without the stinky seal poo effect.
–Bring binoculars to see if you can spot whales or any fun coastal birds.
–On the fourth of July this place is PACKED for the fireworks.
–Parking is not great, be prepared to walk.

This is a cool little spot to check out but timing is very important. Look up the best times to go because the sea life is not always abundant and present in the tide pools. The pictures you see with tons of sea urchins, fish, and crabs can be misleading. This is not what they always look like. With that being said, when you do catch the abundance of sea life you’re in for a treat!

This is a really pretty park along the water in La Jolla. We sort of stumbled upon it while walking and it was really nice to meander around the park and sit for a while.
The park was full of families and kids and runners. It was packed, but if you’re not on the path directly, there’s plenty of room to spread out and take in the beautiful scenery.
There are benches around and plenty of pretty trees and grass and if you head all the way south, you will find the stinky sea lions…
Definitely worth a visit — especially during the sunset.

Went here recently and arrived early in the morning to enjoy this lovely park & beach before the crowds got there. Parking is a bit tough to get, but I was able to find a nice spot.
Absolutely beautiful!!! La Jolla Cove is a must stop when visiting the area. Beautiful rock formations, nice beach area, you can swim (seems like a lot of triathletes practice here), cool to watch the seals, climb down to the rocks to take pictures of the waves crashing, or just sit and enjoy the sun. A lot of souvenir shops, little breakfast places, other shops, and downtown La Jolla is just up the hill and around the corner. Nice grass area where I saw people work out with their personal trainers and trees to sit under on benches.
A definite recommend to come by and check out! I would love to live in this area but then I looked up the housing prices and yea… uhhhh…
Happy park & beach’n!

Superb views and lots of dining options nearby. Smells terrible from the sea lions however it’s so relaxing and fun to be around. The reason ⁴⁄₅ is because there’s so little parking. Not much to be done but that’s why. Very romantic idea too if you want a nice date idea.

Beautiful park and beach area. They have bathrooms with showers but they are primitive.

A beautiful park extremely close to to the beaches. We got lucky & found parking, the park had wonderful views & public restrooms. Close shops, nice grass & trees.

This is no doubt one of the more prestige parks in San Diego. Located at the tip of La Jolla Cove it has a lot to offer. First, you have to be impressed with it beautiful green soft grass that provide great picnic area with tables and for games (
). The low growing Torrey Pines clumped in areas to provide shade and scenic vistas. (
)
The small cabanas along the park’s perimeter are very nice and provide great views of the ocean and tide pools below. (
) You can bring dogs but they MUST be on a leash and you must pick up their droppings of course. Also, you are not allowed to bring alcohol or any glass containers of any kind, unless you acquire a special event permit for events such as a wedding.
Adjacent to the park is the children’s pool, where during certain times of the year, you cane see the seal pups basking in the sun along its beach. There are restrooms and showers available.

This is still probably my favorite park in all of San Diego. It sits out on a point in La Jolla, so the views are just absolutely amazing. The grass is soft and well kept, and we loving coming here to watch the sunset and have a picnic. You’ll get incredible pictures here.
That being said, there are some things you should be aware of:
1. Parking around here SUCKS. Plan on parking up the hill (blocks away in the summer) and making the trek down.
2. It smells like sea lion poop if the wind is blowing in the right (wrong?) direction. It seems like it’s gotten worse over the last year too. I think I even heard on NPR that local businesses are complaining because they’re losing customers over it. It’s a terrible dead fish smell…
3. The bathrooms are disgusting. I pretty much expect this all over San Diego’s parks, but they’re worse here than anywhere else I can immediately think of.
Despite these negatives, I still think this is really one of the most beautiful places on earth. Check it out. You’ll get used to the smell.

I always love to come here when we are visiting the SD area. Spectacular views and a nice grassy area to fly a kite or have a cool picnic. There are several uniquely shaped trees in the park that are great for taking a photo of the family or just the kids.
Normally like to take a swim in La Jolla Cove if time permits. There are also several shops and restaurants within walking distance to grab a bite to eat or pick up some souvenirs. They were setting up an outdoor stage for a jamming music festival when we were there. Testing one, twooo, one, twooo.
Parking is tricky. Most of the spots are only good for an hour or two and there is a stream of people eyeballing them like vultures. There are a couple of parking garages that you can park all day for larger sum of dough. It is definitely worth it if you are planning to be there for a while.
Pay attention to the street signs and you should be FINE. Better than paying one. Party ON!
4.5 STARS

I love this park. If I was homeless I would live here. This is a very popular spot for weddings. The grass is soft and there is plenty of shade from the mature trees that have been swepted by the Pacific Breeze. The view of the water is outstanding.
The park has plenty of space to spread out for a picnic or play. There’s a scene walkway along the bluffs overlooking the ocean. From Ellen Browning Scripps Park, you can make your way to various beaches, including La Jolla Cove, at the east end of the park, and Children’s Pool, just west of the park.
There is an abundance of wildlife here. Sea lions, dolphins, starfish, sea anemone, fish, birds, people. The water this time of year is around 65 to 69 degrees and feels pretty good.