Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, CA

The boulevard that hugs the Pacific through this part of Point Loma shares its name with the Sunset Cliffs neighborhood, and both take it from the San Diego park that fills the ocean side of the road. Ocean Beach sits directly north, and the homes climb the slope east toward Catalina Boulevard and Santa Barbara Street. Houses are almost all custom builds on curving streets that follow the hill rather than a grid. Those nearest the boulevard look straight out to sea. The only commercial stretch is a short run of storefronts where Sunset Cliffs Boulevard heads north into Ocean Beach, so the neighborhood itself stays residential. Sunset View Elementary and the private Warren-Walker School are both here. Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is the reason most people know the name. The 68-acre city park was dedicated in 1983, and it covers a narrow strip of bluff between the road and the water plus a larger undeveloped preserve at the south end that connects to the Point Loma Reserve. Arches and sea caves are carved into the rock below, surf breaks sit off the point, and Luscomb Point, reached from Hill Street, is named for a longtime local surfer. Gray whales pass offshore from mid-December into April. The look of the place goes back to 1915, when Albert Spalding built bridges, benches and an ocean stairway along the cliffs. Coffee and food sit just over the line in Ocean Beach. Little Lion Cafe, on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, does weekend brunch, dinner and a secret pastry menu. Sine Wave Cafe on Santa Monica Avenue is known for its batch brew and breakfasts built around tomato jam. Hodad's and the rest of Newport Avenue are a few minutes beyond that. Groceries mean a short drive, either south to Jensen's Foods at Catalina and Talbot or north to Barons Market on West Point Loma Boulevard. The route to the I-8 runs through Ocean Beach. The bluffs are fragile. They wear back with every winter swell, the paths near the edge are unimproved, and falls have caused injuries over the years, so this coastline asks for some care. In return, life in Sunset Cliffs puts the ocean in view on the way out the door, and the sunset in the name happens at the end of your own street.