Enjoy the Scripps Reserve Responsibly

Dear Editor,

Have you ever visited the Scripps Knoll (commonly know as the Cliffs, located west of Muir College) and wondered how this amazing natural area exists amid the dense development of La Jolla and UCSD?

The knoll is part of the Scripps Coastal Reserve, an area protected by the UC Regents for teaching and research; it is not an improved park or a recreation area. Smoking, picnicking and camping are not allowed. Please come only on foot (no bicycles — there’s parking for them at the entrance), sign yourself in when you arrive and out when you leave, pay careful attention to the guidelines for visitors and make sure to stay on the main loop trail illustrated in the free brochure.

Access to the beach is not from the knoll, only via the paved Black’s Canyon Road, a quarter of a mile north along La Jolla Farms Road. The bluff tops and cliffs themselves, the area within the loop, and the area south of the loop are closed to the public, for resource protection, research or for safety reasons. Please respect marked boundaries and other signs. From the trail, many species of plant, bird, reptile, insect and mammal can be observed, and an observation stop at the westernmost point on the trail (next to the closed restoration area) offers a view of the Pacific Ocean, local beaches and breathtaking sunsets.

Be sure to leave the reserve within 15 minutes after sunset to avoid being locked in when the entry is closed at dusk! Groups larger than 20 require a permit (see below). Please pick up a guide to the biodiversity trail at the entrance kiosk, and continue to visit, admire and learn; but keep in mind that you are visiting, and respect those species to which the knoll is home.

Scripps Coastal Reserve is maintained by the UCSD Natural Reserve System and encompasses both the knoll and Scripps beach. Access to the knoll is via La Jolla Farms Road to the west of the Muir College campus. For group use, including by campus organizations and classes, or further information, please call Isabelle Kay at (858) 534-2077 or visit http://nrs.ucsd.edu.

— Kate Yarbrough and Isabelle Kay

Natural Reserve System