La Jollans Melinda Merryweather and Pam Heatherington have been on a years-long quest to re-establish beach access on a historic trail from Princess Street to the pocket beach below.

Now that goal is almost within reach.

If all continues to go well securing all the necessary permitting and governmental approvals, the hope is the project could be completed next year.

“This adventure has taken over 34 years and there is a whole generation who have not had the pleasure of this access,” said Merryweather, a longtime community planner on La Jolla Parks and Beaches, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing coastal parks. “It should be open to the public. It is a historic American Indian trail. It is a blessing to have it back. We are hoping it will be reopened in late 2025.”

Until 1979, the Princess Street Coastal Access Trail provided a point of entry to what is now known as the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park and Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve below. The trail also has served as a critical emergency access point for City lifeguards to an otherwise inaccessible portion of the La Jolla coastline due to rocky cliff topography.

Heatherington of the Environmental Center of San Diego, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and enhancing the natural environment, has been working with Merryweather and others since 2017 to restore the historic trail.

“This area has been closed to the public for over 30 years, but there was a groundswell from the community that didn’t like that the access had been blocked, and who took it upon themselves to make sure the trail would be re-opened,” Heatherington said.

She discussed preliminary plans for re-establishing the Princess Street Trail, which has involved three phases. “There will be ship’s ladder stairs (a stairway equipped with treads and stair rails with a slope up to 70 degrees) going down to the beach that will be the last leg of the trail with landings for viewpoints and benches,” she said adding it will be a “use-at-your-own risk” trail. Phase three will be actual construction and the opening of the trail, added Heatherington.

Once construction begins, Heatherington noted the trail will be “hand dug not using any heavy equipment.” Regarding trail-restoration cost, she said: “We’ve been funded from donations and the California State Coastal Conservancy for (project) phases one and two.”

Heatherington said the preliminary cost of restoring the Princess Street trail has been estimated at “just under $1 million. And we can’t put that out to bid until we get all our permitting and environmental documentation done,” she added.

Established in 1976, the mission of the Coastal Conservancy is to protect and improve natural lands and waterways, help people access and enjoy the outdoors, and sustain local economies along the length of California’s coast.

Merryweather feels the public has been vindicated in its monumental and historic efforts to get this beach access back. “I am thrilled, honored, and believe it should have never taken this long,” she concluded. “The access runs with the land, and this access has been accessible to the public since 1932: That is the law. I encourage everyone who loves our beaches and views to do all they can to protect them. Trust me, it will be worth the effort.”

PRINCESS STREET TRAIL HISTORY

The coastal bluff promontory at Princess Street in La Jolla provides a scenic overlook of the ocean and the intimate pocket beach below. It is part of the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park and Marine Reserve. The California Coastal Commission, in 1980, unanimously determined that the trail, long used by Native Americans, qualified as historic and therefore deserved protection via an easement. That determination, however, led to a decades-long battle over emergency and public access to Princess Street beach.

Princess Street bluff-top property owner and prominent La Jolla developer Ure Kretowicz challenged the Coastal Commission’s ruling, arguing there was “no title notification” of an existing easement cutting across his property when he bought it. He claimed he didn’t learn of the alleged easement until he applied for permits to remodel his home in the mid-’90s. In 2016, after Kretowicz exhausted all his legal appeals, the public was granted the right to access the cobblestone beach below his Princess Street property.

PRINCESS TRAIL BEACH ACCESS PROJECT

Phase One – The first phase took place in 2019 continuing into 2020. During this time, the nonprofit Environmental Center of San Diego cleared and prepared the site in partnership with Urban Corps. A topographical survey of the site was completed, and a master plan design of the site was developed. This work was supported by a grant of $38,860 from the California Coastal Conservancy, as well as ECOSD’s discretionary funds and the generous in-kind support of many partners.

Phase Two – In September 2021, the California Coastal Conservancy awarded the Environmental Center of San Diego a second grant – totaling $180,860 – to support the continued restoration of the historic trail in its second phase. The funding helped cover the cost of necessary site studies, the development of the final site design, and the permitting of the trail site.

Phase Three – The third and final phase of the project will include construction and the public opening of the trail, including the installation of bilingual interpretative signage at the trailhead.