Last Sunday Sunny and I decided to go for a walk. A really long walk. We walked from our place near the ocean to Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial. It was just over a 7M round trip. Of course with a name like Mount Soledad you can imagine that it was not an easy stroll, but one that involved hills. Despite the effort to get to the memorial, it was well worth it. This was Sunny’s first visit, but I had visited many times with Anna, Art, and Karlie. It was nice to revisit one of our favorite places with Sunny.
The first time we visited Mount Soledad was our first Thanksgiving in San Diego in 2014. We took the 5M roundtrip walk from our home in Pacific Beach to the memorial with Anna and Karlie. It was such a nice walk and a wonderful way to start our day.
Over the years we visited the memorial many times, once even to see the sunset. Our last visit with Karlie was in 2020 just before we moved to Indiana.
Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial honors and celebrates all veterans – living and deceased, who have served since the revolutionary war. Plaques providing details of the veteran’s service are displayed on the walls of the memorial. It is quite an awesome sight. And there is a huge cross with an American flag so you can’t help but feel patriotic when you visit this location.
In addition to the veterans memorial there is a park with grass, a few trails, and some benches. It’s a great place to have a picnic and to take in the amazing views of La Jolla, the ocean, and Mission Bay as well as honor past and present veterans. And we would like to thank all those who have served our country. We truly appreciate your sacrifices.
Our Rating
Karlie, Sunny, and I give Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial 3 out of 4 paws up. Although it’s a beautiful spot it really doesn’t have too many trails for hiking. Despite that it’s a fun place to visit and we think it’s a not to be missed location in San Diego.
How Do I Get There?
Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial is located at 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive in La Jolla, California. You can either take Mount Soledad Mountain Road or Cardeno Road to La Jolla Scenic Drive or Hillside Drive to Via Capri. From either Mount Soledad Mountain Road or Cardeno Road turn right onto La Jolla Scenic Drive and follow it uphill to the entrance. If you turn left onto Via Capri you’ve missed the entrance. From Hillside Drive turn left onto Via Siena then right onto Via Capri. Follow that uphill and turn left at the intersection of La Jolla Scenic Drive to enter the parking lot.
You can park either at the lower lot or drive up to the memorial and park around there. Parking is more limited at the top. The walk from the lower parking lot to the memorial is about a quarter mile.
For more information about Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial check out their website.