The Oldest European Trail Along the Pacific Coast
San Diego's La Playa Trail stretches from the harbor entrance to Presidio Hill. Here Spanish explorers under Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo laid claim to Alta California. The La Playa Trail Association has been founded to commemorate the oldest European trail along the Pacific Coast
Trail History
The La Playa Trail has been in continuous use since April 11, 1769, when the Spanish brigantine San Antonio arrived with the advance party of the Portola Expedition. It is the oldest European trail on the Pacific slope and was the main link between the Mission, Old San Diego, and La Playa, which served as our port until Alonzo Horton's founding of New San Diego in 1869
Resources along the Trail
The La Playa Trail boasts eight registered National Historic Districts, 70 registered historic sites, 37 parks and parkways, and 12 major annual fairs, fiestas, regattas, parades, and festivals. You will also find the most important naval base on the Pacific Coast, the nation's most visited National Monument, the West's most popular State Historic Park at Old Town, a 640-acre wildlife preserve on Point Loma, and to the north, the 50-mile long Ocean to Mountain San Diego River Park.
Historical Relevance
The La Playa Trail is every bit as relevant to the history of the United States as are the better known Lewis & Clark Trail, U.S. 101, Boston's Freedom Trail, or Tidewater, Virginia's Colonial Parkway. In fact, it predates them by many score years. There is a strong argument that the Trail should be recognized and treated as a National Historic Site with heroic plantings of trees, monuments, public art, and an air of continual celebration. A living classroom, if you will, to remind us all of us of our incredibly rich heritage.
