Every Trail Tells a Story
Border Field State Park S
– To stand at the very start (or end) of the California Coastal Trail.
– To witness the clash of wild estuary and human-made boundary.
– To see rare birdlife thriving in a place where tension and resilience meet at the water’s edge.
There’s no mistaking it: Border Field State Park is unlike any other California state park. This is the far southwest corner of the continental United States, a place where barbed wire meets surf, where the Pacific laps against an international boundary, and where politics, pollution, and wild beauty collide.
I’ll never forget standing here with butterflies in my stomach, looking south toward Tijuana and north toward Oregon, about to begin my hike of the entire California coast. A monument of Italian marble, placed in 1851 by U.S. and Mexican survey crews, marks the official start of the California Coastal Trail. It was a humbling moment-the edge of America, the beginning of a dream that would become my book, Hiking on the Edge: Dreams, Schemes, and 1,600 miles on the California Coastal Trail.
But let’s be honest: this corner of California doesn’t have the mellow, surf-town vibe you’ll find up the coast. The presence of Border Patrol is constant, the fencing is forbidding, and the tension in the air is real. Even the beach here feels watchful, not carefree. Add to that the maddening, long-running problem of raw sewage spilling north via the Tijuana River-an environmental embarrassment that remains unsolved despite decades of attention-and it’s clear this is not your postcard-perfect beach outing. Sometimes it’s smelly, sometimes downright gross.
And yet. This is also a place of resilience. The Tijuana River Estuary, stretching inland from the beach, is one of Southern California’s last intact salt marshes, a sanctuary for more than 170 bird species. Marsh hawks glide overhead, snowy egrets stalk the shallows, sandpipers skitter at the tide line. For birders, this is paradise. For hikers, it’s a reminder that nature endures even in the most compromised places.
History, too, leaves its mark. During World War II, the Navy used this very stretch as a training ground, firing at moving targets on rails dubbed “Rabbit Tracks.” Before that, it was farmland and ranchland, dotted with cattle and crops. Today, it’s a park and a symbol: a borderland that is neither fully wild nor fully tamed.
From I-5 southbound, exit at Hollister Street. Drive to a T-intersection, then turn right (west) on Monument Road. Follow 2 miles to the state park. Vehicle access is limited; most visitors walk or bike in from the gate.
Head west along the road or dirt track toward the beach. Turn south and follow the shoreline to the border monument itself-steps from Mexico, under the gaze of watchtowers. Then turn north and begin the Coastal Trail proper. Sand dunes, anchored by pickleweed, sand verbena, and salt grass, separate beach from estuary. After 1.5 miles, you’ll reach the mouth of the Tijuana River. It may be fordable at low tide-but caution is warranted.
Continue north along wide, sandy Imperial Beach. A century ago, this shoreline was promoted by developers as the “summer escape” for Imperial Valley farmers. Today, it’s better known for big surf and the wooden Imperial Beach Pier, built in 1912 and still a beloved gathering spot. Whether you walk the full six miles or turn back sooner, you’ll have experienced one of California’s most unusual stretches of coast.