Scripps Coastal Reserve

Scripps Coastal Reserve is a 126-acre (51-hectare) site with the University of California Natural Reserve System reserve located west of UC San Diego in the La Jolla Farms area of La Jolla, California. Administered by UC San Diego, the site is owned by the University of California and is primarily managed for teaching and research. The reserve includes an 80-acre underwater and shoreline reserve and a 46-acre aboveground knoll. The underwater reserve comprises coastal areas that are now part of the San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area. The knoll includes a publicly accessible mesa, trails through Black's Canyon, and the privately owned but university-administered Sumner Canyon. The route begins by walking through areas dominated by coastal sagebrush and California encelia or bush sunflower. Along the trail, you'll eventually want to look inland to see an area under various stages of restoration. Over 80% of original coastal sage scrub was lost by 1980 to agriculture and urbanization, with remaining fragments facing pressure from invasion by non-native plant species.