Entry No. 24 — the San Diego file — filed under: cave
Sunny Jim Cave (The Cave Store)
In 1902, a German entrepreneur hired two laborers to hand-dig a tunnel with only a shovel and pickaxe from his clifftop house down through sandstone to a sea cave below — 145 stairs, no elevator — and author L. Frank Baum later named the cave after a British cereal mascot because of its profile. Prohibition-era bootleggers reportedly used it to move liquor and opium.
The story
In 1902, a German entrepreneur decided he wanted a direct, private link from his clifftop home down to the ocean. Instead of building a wooden staircase down the exposed bluff, he hired two laborers equipped with nothing but a shovel and a pickaxe. For two years, they scraped away at the raw sandstone, hand-carving a claustrophobic subterranean shaft that descended 145 steps into the dark heart of the sea cave below.
The cave mouth happens to frame the ocean in a very specific silhouette. When *The Wizard of Oz* author L. Frank Baum came through La Jolla, he noticed the rock opening looked remarkably like Sunny Jim—a cartoon mascot used to sell Force wheat flakes in British cereal ads—and the name stuck. During Prohibition, the secret tunnel found a far more lucrative second life: bootleggers reportedly moved crates of illicit liquor and opium up those damp steps, bypassing federal agents on the coast to stash contraband directly inside the house above.
What it's like
You start inside an unassuming gift shop on Coast Blvd, buy a small-admission ticket, and immediately step out of bright La Jolla sunshine into a cold sandstone stairwell. The 145 hand-carved stairs are steep, dark, and notoriously slick from damp sea cave humidity, so take your time on the descent. At the bottom, you stand at the threshold where the Pacific surges directly beneath your feet, looking out through the sea-carved profile of Sunny Jim. The entire self-guided trip takes 15 to 20 minutes, requires no advance reservation, and leaves you back in the souvenir shop before your ocean breeze even cools off.
The move: Pay the small admission inside the unassuming gift shop, descend the 145 hand-carved stairs into cool dark sandstone, and stand at the cave mouth where the Pacific surges directly beneath your feet — self-guided, 15-20 minutes, no reservation needed.
- 📍 La Jolla
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1325 Coast Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037
Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Honey Pot Lounge — Keep the secret-passage vibe alive by slipping through a swinging picture frame inside Beeside Balcony for a drink in a tiny Art Deco lounge.
- "Trees" by Terry Allen (Stuart Collection, UCSD) — Swap a hand-carved bootlegger tunnel for a walk through lead-sheathed eucalyptus trees that periodically play hidden audio recordings in a quiet university grove.
- "Bear" by Tim Hawkinson (Stuart Collection, UCSD) — Follow up an eccentric 1902 hand-dug cave with an uncanny 180-ton teddy bear constructed out of local granite boulders just up the road.
Good to know
Is there an elevator or accessible option to get down into the cave?
No. The only way down and back up is the original 1902 flight of 145 hand-carved sandstone steps.
Do I need to book tickets in advance?
No reservations are required. You simply walk into The Cave Store gift shop and pay a small entry fee at the register.
How long does the experience take?
It is completely self-guided and usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes total to walk down, view the cave mouth, and climb back up.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Official site
last checked: 2026-07-19