Shelter Island

Shelter Island - “Something From Nothing”

One of the most picturesque locations in Southern California, Shelter Island is yet another of San Diego’s “islands” that is not really an island at all. Surprisingly, it started as not much more than a sandbar on the edge of San Diego Bay. Over the years, it was used to deposit materials from the dredging of the bay because the US Navy required a deepening of the harbor for its ships. Eventually the project included a new entrance to the yacht basin where the dredged material was used to connect Shelter Island with Point Loma, and to further raise the island to 7 feet above high tide. The resulting prime real estate was developed in the 1950s and contains beautiful hotels, restaurants, marinas, and public parkland. In 1960, the media described Shelter Island as "something from nothing", "a testimonial to human ingenuity", and "a man made wonderland of sub-tropical splendor."

Shelter Island has also become known as a destination for superyachts because it contains one of the few marinas in San Diego Bay with a deep enough harbor for those “holes in the water that you pour money into.” Every September, the YachtFest is held at Shelter Island Marina, and includes mock gun battles between two replicas of 19th century tall ships from the collection of the San Diego Maritime Museum. “Something from nothing”, indeed!

Our walk starts on the causeway that connects Shelter Island to the mainland, goes to the well-known sidewalk along the bay, crosses the street to a little-known pathway that provides shade while you admire the boats all the way to the tip of the island, and goes back along the bay with amazing views of Coronado and downtown.