Coronado - South

Coronado - South

Coronado was named after the four Coronado Islands off the coast of San Diego. The islands were first sighted November 8, 1602 by Spanish navigator Sebastián Vizcaíno, who called them “Los Coronados” or “the crowned ones,” for four martyred saints of ancient Rome whose death had been on that day. Whether or not Coronado itself is an actual island has been the subject of some debate. The latest determination by local geologists is that Coronado is a “tied island" which is connected to the mainland by a “tombolo” (a sandy isthmus) called the Silver Strand. So Coronado is technically a type of island, but not one of the Coronado islands (now we’re confused again).

The south side of Coronado is home to the famous Hotel Del Coronado (if you want to sound like a local, call it “The Del”), as well as beautiful Coronado Beach. The hotel is a designated National Historical Landmark, and Coronado Beach is consistently ranked in the top-ten beaches in America. As you walk along the beach, if you wonder what all the scrub brush dunes are about, they are man-made, and spell “Coronado Beach” when viewed from the sky. In 1988, City of Coronado employee Armando Moreno was tasked with cleaning up the massive amounts of kelp that washed onto Coronado beaches due to a high tide.  Armando decided to bury it in the sand and added ice plant to the top of it to create the message.  Over the next two years his masterpiece was created, but it wasn’t until Google Earth satellite photos appeared online that anyone (besides Navy pilots) knew about his creation.

Our walk takes you down Orange Avenue in the heart of Coronado, down a walkway past the beachside of the Hotel Del Coronado, onto one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, through one of Coronado’s historic neighborhoods, and back again.