Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve image

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Tourist attraction Park State park National reserve

Coastal preserve with a beach, marshes & wildlife, plus a visitor center with trail maps. People often mention walk, Great, border, beach, trails, nice, area, park, Nice, hike,


Address

301 Caspian Wy, Imperial Beach, CA 91932

Website

trnerr.org

Contact

(619) 575-3613

Rating on Google Maps

4.50 (572 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Saturday: 10 AM to 5 PM
  • Sunday: 10 AM to 5 PM
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 10 AM to 5 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM to 5 PM
  • Friday: 10 AM to 5 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: walk (15) Great (14) border (13) beach (13) trails (12) nice (11) area (9) park (8) Nice (7) hike (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Alfredo N. 4 years ago on Google • 307 reviews
    Nice trails. Very Family friendly. Hiking, 🐎 back riding or biking. Cant go wrong. All trails mostly lead to the Border state field park. The hidden 💎 in south San Diego. These are the trails located in the most southwest point in the USA. 👍
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Chris c. 4 years ago on Google
    My favorite place to hike/walk around. I usual come to photograph birds and wildlife. I always see something. Usual only a couple locals walked around with their dog or jogging around. Great place to getaway for a little and relax.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Dane C. 1 year ago on Google
    Super dirty state park that’s been mismanaged for years. More sewage and trash than ever before!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Dan K. 4 years ago on Google
    Beautiful walk. Very secluded and peaceful (except for the Navy Helicopters, which you get used to). Do as you'd like with this information, but I encountered several groups of "hiding" men in the area. DHS scooped up one bunch after they nearly fell on top of me on one of the trails.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Anthony H. 2 years ago on Google • 153 reviews
    This was very neat, being at the utmost point of the US/MEXICO BORDER right at the Pacific ocean, dinner time the water would be a blast. It was a bit windy and cool to get in the water here. Seen some border patrol agents and their horses along the beach. Helicopters flying above doing a great job at working the border. Seen plenty of sandpipers on the beach with seagulls. And seen a 2-ft rattlesnake cross the road which was really interesting!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jack R. 2 years ago on Google • 294 reviews
    Nice area for a walk, bike ride, horse back riding (saw lots of that), hanging at the beach. Lots of trails. I saw a sign saying it’s a surfing area too. Didn’t see any surfers though. I don’t know if I would come here on a regular basis but it was worth a one time visit. It’s right next to the border so you will definitely run into the border patrol and park rangers. They were nice. I walked down to the beach from the Tijuana river campgrounds and up to the border wall which actually goes across the beach and into the ocean. Seemed like a party area across the border. You could hear music and lots of people milling around. I also walked up the hill next to the campground which gives you a great view of the Estuary, the bay, and San Diego. BTW, I would not camp at the campgrounds again. It’s new and nice but the marines use the area for flight training and there is literally helicopters flying in low altitude circles all day (til 11 pm). Noisy! I was told the new pilots are getting their flight hours. The rangers told me it’s like that most days.

  • 5/5 David P. 1 year ago on Google • 263 reviews
    Nice museum, great hiking trails, and lots to see. Come here a few times every year and get bird photos. Always find something to see here and get a few miles hiking at the same time.

  • 5/5 Sarah M. 2 years ago on Google
    Joyce gave a complete rundown of the wild life habitat and creatures. Great for easy walking, school field trips. My kids loved it and it's perfect as near the beach to later venture to.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Monica D. 3 years ago on Google
    Absolutely beautiful place. Perfect for a nature hike and bird watching. Bring your dog but PLEASE, clean after your dogs!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Daylin S. 2 years ago on Google • 13 reviews
    Beautiful and low traffic reserve. There are trails throughout. You can see rabbits and other wildlife. A great place for birding as well. Beware of mosquitoes and other insects. Make sure to wear long sleeves/pants AND insect repellent otherwise they will attack! Lol
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Stephen B. 4 years ago on Google
    It is closed down. No beach access. Quit advertising there is. Border patrol not letting people on it...
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Gideon M. 2 years ago on Google
    I walk here with my pup daily, absolutely love it here. Great place for bird watching.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jason M. 6 years ago on Google
    I liked it here but for a state park not very well maintained. besides the ‘beware rattlesnakes’ signs nothing else was well marked. couldn’t tell if i was on an access road, a trail or somewhere i wasn’t supposed to be. the beach is gorgeous without doubt. the sound of the constant helicopters was annoying but you got used to it the more time you spent there. walked all the way to the mexico wall and got stopped by border patrol for getting too close. even their signs were horrendous and not clear.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 HENRY R. 1 year ago on Google • 169 reviews
    Great new campsite! They have a bunch of tent sites some offering hook ups, they have Yurts very comfortable some fitting 6 some fitting 10. Super clean bathrooms nice little trails you can hike to the beach if you want. Nice place we will be back.

  • 5/5 Michael C. 8 months ago on Google • 101 reviews
    It’s incredible how close this wildlife sanctuary is to the border. It’s a fascinating place to not just think about, but also see the juxtaposition of how codependent each and every species that creates the ecology of this amazing place is on each other compared to the politics of human interactions happening a few miles away. With that, it is a beautifully designed place for visitors who want to get a taste of California’s largest southern coastal wetland region. The visitor center is lovely and has wonderful interactive displays. I was able to go on an informal tour along with a guide from the visitor center. There were many varieties of plants, birds, insects and animals. Not too far to the coastline - a wonderful part of nature to visit!

  • 3/5 Kimberly C. 4 months ago on Google • 37 reviews
    Here's the thing... This is mostly quiet, pretty, and run by very nice rangers. That's the upside. On the other side of things, there are massive amounts of flies, mosquitoes, stink bugs, and wasps. It's impossible to camp there and experience any peace because the bugs are constant, incessant, and annoying. There's rattlesnakes, so if you have pets, be very careful. The bathrooms are decent, but the showers are terrible. Weak (some barely a dribble), and they will only run for 30 SECONDS AT A TIME!! You have to continually press a button to turn the water back on, which makes showering, hair washing, shaving, etc damn near impossible. There's no electricity, so you would need a solar charger if you want to have access to your phone or anything else. The spots are closer together than I'd like but the separation will be better when the bushes grow more. Also, there's zero shade. None. I'm not exaggerating, there's no shade whatsoever, so if you're in a tent, it's going to be hot.

  • 5/5 Carlos H. 4 years ago on Google
    The smell

  • 1/5 AlexBlyatRU S. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) return us our lands: v (Original) regrese nos nuestras tierras :v

  • 5/5 Shari H. 4 years ago on Google
    Delightful!

  • 4/5 M K. 4 years ago on Google
    Nice walk on the beach beach

  • 5/5 Lori S. 4 years ago on Google
    Great reastraunts

  • 5/5 Daniel C. 4 years ago on Google
    Mosquitos beware !

  • 5/5 Ken S. 4 years ago on Google
    The visitor center is Amazing.

  • 5/5 Art A. 4 years ago on Google
    Go see the wall that Trump didn't build.

  • 5/5 Martinez Oscar A. 4 years ago on Google
    👌👍

  • 4/5 Karl B. 2 years ago on Google
    Camping , Horse friendly with corrals a playground for the kids , Yurts for rent cool place

  • 5/5 Nick G. 2 years ago on Google
    Super chill spot to nature yourself

  • 4/5 R. Y. 2 years ago on Google
    Great location. You can do a day trip to Tijuana. I enjoy the hiking trails on the coastline. Just be aware of the bugs at sunset.

  • 4/5 Erika Liliana S. 2 years ago on Google
    Easy and peaceful hike,nice transition from land to beach area.

  • 5/5 Ben G. 2 years ago on Google
    This is a nice place to go that is away from people to be quiet.

  • 5/5 Janne L. 2 years ago on Google
    Nice new and clean campground with tons of hiking trails.

  • 5/5 Robert B. 2 years ago on Google
    This is a fascinating location, and I made the hustle and bustle of a busy border that can quickly and readily be seen; there is a slice of peace, freedom, and familiarity that can be found and discovered at this particular location. I was impressed by those who care for the grounds and maintain the facilities here. They do a tremendous job, and they are incredibly committed to the property, and it’s natural beauty.

  • 5/5 Bill D. 2 years ago on Google
    A rare find. Total value. Good thing I knew where it was. Friendly rangers. Buy the firewood there. Going to check out Sweetwater in December. I'm going to keep this one as a quickie get away. Almost didn't do a review as it is sort of like when you tell someone about a secret fishing hole. Bugs bug when wind dies on hot days.

  • 4/5 Jessica 2 years ago on Google
    This place was our 1st time coming and was just an adventurous risk we took since we had never seen the place in person before renting a spot. To top it off we showed up late at night, 9:30pm, and didnt know we had to check in. Thank goodness there was someone available to check in with. The down side is the fire has to be put out by 11pm. We didn't like that about the place and then the spots are pretty close to your neighbor so it's not so private. We were okay with it, we just felt bad cause we got there late so we hammered our tent in place made quite a bit of noise and people were already trying to sleep. It was fun though. You can hear the ocean waves at night and you can see the lighthouse which is on the Mexico side of the ocean. Very interesting sights in the day too. Very close to the mountains that you can see the fence that separates the border from U.S. and Mexico!. Highly recommend this place. Just don't make the adventurous mistake we made and show up late at night lol. It was funny. Oh and they have showers and clean bathrooms!. High thumbs up on that!. Have fun!

  • 1/5 Paul M. 1 year ago on Google
    This park needs to be cleaned up! It is a awesome park but san Diego county is not taking good care of it. The bad review is for san Diego county parks and recreation. This park is highly used and you pay a fee so they are getting plenty of money to clean up.

  • 5/5 Baine N. 2 years ago on Google
    Super awesome experience, quiet campgrounds, very clean facilities, it really shows how much they care keeping this park in this area very clean and available for everyone to enjoy thank you thank you thank you to all the staff

  • 3/5 Liz M. 1 year ago on Google
    A bit muddy after the recent storm, and no beach access

  • 5/5 James B. 1 year ago on Google
    Wonderful walking paths which accommodated bikers, too. Lots of birds and fowl sightings.

  • 5/5 Jill N. 4 years ago on Google
    Love walking my dog here. Gorgeous during the spring with all the flowers.

  • 3/5 Soul S. 4 years ago on Google
    I used to mtn bike this area and I considered the ride technical. Mud, flat track, tree roots, sand, it was fun. Until the US govt planted some kind of weird plant that when touched caused burning skin. Thx! If it wasn’t hard enough to go around a bush in AMERICA, without seeing guns drawn and not knowing who was who. U go, government. U always make things easier for citizens!

  • 5/5 Miriam I. 4 years ago on Google
    Hundreds of birds migrate thru this ever changing estuarine environment. Never crowded. Excellent educational events. Terrific paths of varying length and views. Great photo opportunities abound. Highly recommend.

  • 5/5 Daniel E. 4 years ago on Google
    Great weather, great people!

  • 1/5 MM 4 years ago on Google
    Disgusting representative in the museum. Associate behind desk talked loudly on phone about her personal life. She was so engrossed in her conversation that we couldn't even buy merchandise to support the marsh. She couldn't interrupt her conversation to help us, instead she had to go on about how she "needed time apart" from whoever she was talking to on the phone. This was some old lady too, not someone young who doesn't know better. Usually there are professional people representing this center, but not anymore

  • 5/5 Lenora P. 4 years ago on Google
    Always peaceful and serene.

  • 5/5 Mihit m. 3 years ago on Google
    I would like to sit here

  • 2/5 Alfredo R. 3 years ago on Google
    L..lcm..mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?f....mc..m.lĺm mmmĺm.mmmmmmlm,,c.....glx...

  • 5/5 Carlos Jovanni Santana Garcia OWNER V. 3 years ago on Google
    CarlosJovanniSantana OFFICIAL OWNER

  • 1/5 Elsa B. 4 years ago on Google
    So polluted. Always closed because pollution.

  • 5/5 Anna Quintero H. 4 years ago on Google
    The doggos say 4 paws up! They love our walks through the trails here!

  • 5/5 L L. 4 years ago on Google
    Great place for a nice long walk and relaxing

  • 3/5 Eric B. 4 years ago on Google
    The gate was closed but welcomed walk-ins, so I walked in. I'm not a person who is afraid of the southern border, or those who live beyond it and I wanted to see this corner of the country (having previously visited Quoddy Point in Maine). Sadly, every approach to the corner was blocked by "no entry" signs. Without bypassing these signs, which I make a habit of obeying, I couldn't get close enough to the ocean to hear it, not the border to really see anything but the fence. It looks like it could be a really beautiful spot, but I guess it's been decided not to make it so. I give three stars for what it might be, not what it is.

  • 5/5 Jade 4 years ago on Google
    The people working here are very committed and dedicated to keeping this wetland healthy, and sustaining it so it can keep serving us and the environment. There is an interesting and complex background to this estuary, and information on how climate change affects the future of this wetland, it is worth the time to come and learn more about this place. Also the wetland is gorgeous, and has a walking and bike trail.

  • 5/5 Aran H. 4 years ago on Google
    We had a really nice walk here. Lots of birds and a nice well kept welcome center. The staff were very friendly when we arrived and loaned us binoculars and a map. Interesting mixture of dessert plants as well. If your in IB you really should stop in.

  • 5/5 Saunie H. 6 years ago on Google
    Mid-summer and still found lots of native wildflowers and even a few wild roses. I just wish dog owners would pick up their dogs' poop. Saw piles and even poop in plastic bags on the trail. Poop shouldn't be left to wash into wetlands, then ultimately into the ocean. Lazy humans must do better.

  • 5/5 Stacey 5 years ago on Google
    Great little place for learning about the Tijuana rivershed and having a nice nature walk with the family (even the pup)! Plus you acn watch the helicopters take off and land at the NOLF field. 😁

  • 1/5 Venus W. 4 years ago on Google
    All associates are rude and the manager s as well will not Honner there money regulations on the wall mart to walk mart causing inappropriate embarrassment and an unresolved situation very interoperate which gives ur company a terrible report and reputation

  • 1/5 Robert S. 4 years ago on Google
    The place is always polluted and you are surrounded by enthusiastic law enforcement.

  • 5/5 Nathan G. 3 years ago on Google
    This is one of my favorite place to go to in San Diego with my family. There are beautiful trails and lots of different plants and birds. It's also a peaceful place and you get a beautiful view of Tijuana and the lagoon which spills in from the ocean. It's nice to go for a walk, run or bike ride.

  • 5/5 Rusty V. 4 years ago on Google
    Great walk in mostly untouched nature.

  • 5/5 Troy K. 4 years ago on Google
    Hidden gem

  • 5/5 Spring H. 4 years ago on Google
    I love this place!!

  • 5/5 Robin G. 4 years ago on Google
    Peaceful place for a hike and viewing nature

  • 5/5 Randy D. 4 years ago on Google
    Great area to hike around

  • 4/5 Mike B. 4 years ago on Google
    Great place for a quiet nature walk

  • 5/5 Jerry P. 4 years ago on Google
    Easy access, good birding.

  • 5/5 Ernesto C. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very good place to walk and relax (Original) Muy buen lugar para caminar y relajarte

  • 4/5 Philip M. 4 years ago on Google
    Went on an educational easy hike to see the effect of the Kings tide. Park ranger was the guide. Very interesting place to learn about the salty Marsh and effect of environmental changes on the marsh

  • 5/5 Linda H. 4 years ago on Google
    One of a kind place! Environmentally important! Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Great place!

  • 5/5 Carla S. 4 years ago on Google
    Tag

  • 5/5 Praneet R. 4 years ago on Google
    Loved the walk to Mexico border wall.

  • 5/5 Sandra M. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Nice walk (Original) Bonito paseo.

  • 5/5 Road R. 4 years ago on Google
    Very interesting and beautiful!


Call (619) 575-3613 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Pets
    • ✓️ Dogs allowed
  • Activities
    • ✓️ Hiking
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot

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