Point Loma is a seaside neighborhood of San Diego, California. Ringed by the San Diego and Mission Bays, Point Loma is a four-mile peninsula, is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River.  Much of it is military-owned but its remainder boasts an eclectic assortment of businesses, attractions like Sunset Cliffs and Sea World, and residences ranging from modest condos to mansions. The iPayOne Center, formerly the San Diego Sports Arena, hosts a variety of sporting events as well as the city’s largest weekend swap meet, a veritable carnival of discount delights.

 

This area features picturesque marinas from which sportsfishing excursions, whale watching tours and harbor cruises depart. A peninsula jutting into the sea, it's easy to think of Point Loma as a dead end - "land's end" in fact. But, as the site where San Diego was discovered in the first place, it seems more appropriate to consider Point Loma as a starting point - the start of a new land, a new dream, a new way of looking at things. And that's just the place to start your own exploration of San Diego.

 

Point Loma has an estimated population of 45,887 (including Ocean Beach). There are several distinct neighborhoods in the Point Loma peninsula with most consisting primarily of single family homes. The commercial and retail heart of the peninsula is Point Loma Village however a newer commercial and retail area can be found at Liberty Station, site of the former Naval Training Center San Diego, which also has residential and educational sections. The streets in Point Loma Village are best known for being lined with hundreds of flowering jacaranda trees.

 

Adjacent to Point Loma’s main bulk are Shelter Island, home of the Yacht Club and seafood restaurants attached by a causeway, and Ocean Beach, an exuberant surfer neighborhood saturated in funky character. Marine attractions like sailing and swimming are also popular draws, and lucky visitors often spot migrating grey whales moving through Point Loma waters.

 

Perhaps the best known landmark in Point Loma is the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, perched atop the southern point that creates the entrance of the bay with Coronado, the small, two story lighthouse was completed in 1854 and first lit on November 15, 1855. Another one of Point Loma’s well known landmarks is the Cabrillo National Monument, named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator sailing in the service of Spain, the first European explorer to see San Diego Bay.