Point Vicente
Interpretive Center

31501 Palos Verdes Drive West
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

Blooming summer flowers grow on a cliff by the ocean, which is visible in the background. — When we think of the Southern California Coast, this is the ecology we should think of, swaying in the wind. (image taken in early July)

Summer dormant purple sages and California Sage brush grown around a rock. — The color palette of summer dormant plants looks like something styled for a horror or a film about witches. (image taken in mid August)

Established:
1988 and the reinstalled in 2005

Size:
7,000 square feet

Features:
Grey Whales!
Rare plants!
El Segundo Blue Butterflies!
Interpretive Center

Notable Plants:
Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis)
Sea Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium)
Sugarbush (Rhus ovata)
Narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Bladderpod (Cleomella arborea)
Desert Wishbone-bush (Mirabilis laevis)
Calfornia Box Thorn (Lycium californicum)

Best time to visit:
December to April
The garden is beautiful the entire year. This ecologically thoughtful garden restores a small bit of the coastal sage scrub and with that comes year round beauty. With that in mind though, the best time to visit would be during the grey whale migration. Because if there ever was a bonus to looking at plants it would be to also look at whales.

On the edge of an ocean cliff, overlooking the path of migrating Grey Whales, sits the Point Vincente Interpretive Center surrounded by a native plant garden. The garden was originally created in 1988. In 2005 it had to be reinstalled after the land was treated for WWII era lead contamination.

This beautiful cottage-like garden is filled with large mounding shrubs that spill over into the decomposed granite pathways. There is an emphasis on locally native plants and local genetics. Many of the plants come from the South Coast chapter of the Native Plant Society. The goal is then to collect seeds from these plants to be used in further restoration projects. This is a beautiful example of coastal sage scrub, something is always in bloom as the garden changes with the seasons.

The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own. Thousands of people visit the point with the hopes of witnessing the grey whale migration, making it a prime spot for maximum exposure.

The second goal of the garden is to provide habitat and conservation for species of special interest. The garden has two grade 1B.2 listed plants, the Catalina Crossosoma (Crossosoma californicum) and the Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis).

The garden is an important habitat for the federally endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly.

“The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own.”

In 2019, garden manager Megan Wolf made the difficult decision to remove all California Buckwheats from the garden. The California buckwheat is an incredible habitat plant (and a personal favorite). It is host to 16 confirmed lepidoptera, with another 36 species likely, these are just butterflies and moths. The increased presence of so many other insects created too much competition for the El Segundo Blue, which has a very narrow habitat range. The California Buckwheats were replaced with wildflowers, narrow leaf milkweeds and importantly the sea cliff buckwheat which is its host plant. Since this change there has been a marked increase in El Segundo Blue butterflies in the garden. This strategy has also been employed successfully in the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve.

Rare Island Green Dudleyas during thier summer dormant phase. — The super rare Island green dudleyeas. In late summer they are really receding from the heat, but it is possible to see all the friend flower stems. I can’t wait to get back and see these dudes in their full glory. (image taken in mid August)

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center focuses on the natural and cultural history of Palos Verdes. There is a history of the Tongva in the area, a sea cave and a special area dedicated to the grey whale which was added in 2006. In 2023 the Center added a life sized model of a sperm whale and a 11 foot high sperm whale jaw.

Nearby is also the Point Vicente Light House. The waters around the Palos Verdes Peninsula are particularly treacherous and the light house was added in 1926. The lens of the light house was made in 1910 by Barbier, Bernard and Turennel, which is the oldest lens making company in the world. The lens is considered an excellent example of the precision of achieved in the lens making art by optical scientists. One of these lenes is displayed in the interpretive center. The light house has a unique flash pattern of two quick flashes every 20 seconds.

The Point Vincente Interpretative Center is a popular spot to whale watch as the coast line is in the migration path of the grey Whale. The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.

This 12,000 mile trip is one of the longest migrations made by any animal on earth. While in their breeding grounds (can you call it grounds when they are in the sea?) In the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Gray whales are known to be friendly, and often will approach whale watching boats.

“The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.”

They are a baleen whale and bottom feeders, they gather food by rolling on their side and swimming along the bottom of the sea, filtering out invertebrates, such as amphipods.

The Pacific Gray whale was brought back from near extinction in the 1930’s to now being considered a species of least concern. Sadly, the Atlantic Gray whale did not survive and was hunted to extinction.

Detail image of the dryig seed heads of the Sea Cliff buckwheat. — The all important sea cliff buckwheat! (image taken in mid August)

A Marine Blue Butterfly lands on a sea cliff buckwheat flower. — This little butterfly is a Marine Blue. It is related to the endangered El Segundo Blue. (image taken in mid August)

A coastal garden with dirt path. The ocean is visible in the background as well as the start of a patio.

More Information

Point Vicente Interpretive Center

Point Vicente Interpretive Center – Brochure

CPNS South Coast Chapter – Point Vicente Interpretive Center Garden

CPNS- Protect California Dudleya

CPNS Youtube Page – Point Vicente Interpretive Center Native Plant Garden

Oceanic Society – The Gray Whale Migration in California and Beyond

CPNS South Coast Chapter – Megan Wolff on Eight years Gardening for Conservation on the Palos Verdes Coastline

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Opening Hours:
Garden:
Dawn to Dusk
every day

Interpretive Center:
10 AM – 5PM
Daily

Bright yellow and orange Coastal California poppies in the sun in a garden by a dirt path and the ocean. — Coastal California Poppies vary from the common type by being much lighter yellow with an orange center. (image taken in mid August)

Blooming prickly pear cactus with the ocean in the background. — Coastal prickly pear has the most charming yellow flowers. (image taken in mid August)

Purple sage in full bloom next to golden bush by a stairway. — The combination of sea air and the scent of purple sage is intoxicating. (image taken in early July)

Bunch grasses grown near a rock and a wall. — This combination of bunch grass is just great. (image taken in mid August)

Late summer plants in a coastal garden with a rock and the ocean in the background. — You can see the light house in the back of this California sagebrush! (image taken in mid August)

A verdant green garden grows on a sea cliff with a path and the ocean behind. — While the garden may be smaller, the views are gorgeous. ((image taken in early July)

Coastal sage scrub plants bloom in the sun next to the ocean. — We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. (image taken in early July)

A dirt pathway meanders through a coastal garden with the ocean in the background. — Look at how big that deer grass is one the right! (image taken in mid August)

Bladderpod covered in yellow flowers and seed pods. Detail image. — Bladderpods are such strange lovely plants. (image taken in mid August)

A dragonfly lands on a prickly pear cactus with the ocean in the background. — Dragonfly! I don’t know which kind! (image taken in mid August)

Bright green spring plants grow next to a stair case. — The contrast between the garden and whatever is happening on the hill behind is so stark (the bare ground with non native plants not the people picnicking or whatever. This is meant to throw shade on our stewardship of the land, not picnickers.) ((image taken in early July)

A flock a pelicans fly past a garden on a cliff by the ocean. — Pelicans! Ever seen a pelican eat something? It’s a little disturbing. (image taken in mid August)

Late summer shrubs grow in a ocean side garden, detail shows berries and light silvery leaves. — Sugarbush is found right along the coast and therefore not as commonly seen as the lemonade berry. (image taken in mid August)

Buckwheat flowers peack out between a coyote bush pruned into a hedge. — Despite being removed from the garden for being too successful, this California Buckwheat is sneaking back in. (image taken in mid August)

Birds fly past a late summer garden by the ocean. — With thoughtful plant selection, even gardens that are allowed to go dormant in the summer, will still have greenery and flowers throughout the year. (image taken in mid August)

Purple sage and golden bush grow in a sunny garden. — Nothing really beats summer flowers in the sun. (image taken in early July)

Purple sage, bush sunflower and golden bush grow in a sunny garden. — I am really, look how lovely this is. (image taken in early July)

Bright red California Fuchsia flowers in a late summer garden by the ocean. — Hummingbirds love fuchsias and they are so pretty and bloom in late summer. (image taken in mid August)

Detail image of delicate pink flowers on a spiny green bush. — This is a California box thorn. It has a super narrow range, only really found along the coast of Southern California and Baja and some sort in Arizona. (image taken in mid August)

Dried seed heads of the purple sage growing in a garden. A pathway, fence and the ocean are in the background. — How lucky is it that leaving the seed helps provide food for birds and looks so cool! (image taken in early July)

Detail image of late summer plants. Some are dried and others are bright green. — The colors of summer dormancy are so intense. (image taken in mid August)

A winding dirt path through the garden. The ocean is in the background. — Just a little garden on a sea cliff. (image taken in mid August)

A blooming group of coastal sage plants growing in a garden next to the ocean. Delicate pink blooms are visible. — These are ashy leafed buckwheats on the right. They have lighter leaves and pinkish blooms. (image taken in mid August)

A detail of mule fat with bright green foliage and cream colored blooms in a garden on the edge of the ocean. — Mulefat (image taken in mid August)

Bright green coyote bush in the foreground, with a winding dirt garden path, the edge of a stone patio and the ocean in the background. — Coyote bush is another plant that blooms late in the year, it also takes being trimmed into a hedge well. (image taken in mid August)

Purple sage in the summer grows next to a rock. — I think this one may be a Cleveland sage. (image taken in early July)

Coastal sage scrub plants in a garden. A dirt path and the ocean are visible in the backgound. — The blooming plants in the middleground are seacliff buckwheats. (image taken in mid August)

Green branches of golden Bush grow through summer dormant plants. A dirt path and the ocean are in the background. — The lovely golden bush. (image taken in mid August)

Point Vicente
Interpretive Center

31501 Palos Verdes Drive West
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

Established:
1988 and the reinstalled in 2005

Size:
7,000 square feet

Features:
Grey Whales!
Rare plants!
El Segundo Blue Butterflies!
Interpretive Center

Notable Plants:
Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis)
Sea Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium)
Sugarbush (Rhus ovata)
Narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Bladderpod (Cleomella arborea)
Desert Wishbone-bush (Mirabilis laevis)
Calfornia Box Thorn (Lycium californicum)

Best time to visit:
December to April
The garden is beautiful the entire year. This ecologically thoughtful garden restores a small bit of the coastal sage scrub and with that comes year round beauty. With that in mind though, the best time to visit would be during the grey whale migration. Because if there ever was a bonus to looking at plants it would be to also look at whales.

On the edge of an ocean cliff, overlooking the path of migrating Grey Whales, sits the Point Vincente Interpretive Center surrounded by a native plant garden. In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. Construction began in 2004 and the park has steadily grown since.

The garden was originally created in 1988. In 2005 it had to be reinstalled after the land was treated for WWII era lead contamination.

This beautiful cottage-like garden is filled with large mounding shrubs that spill over into the decomposed granite pathways. There is an emphasis on locally native plants and local genetics. Many of the plants come from the South Coast chapter of the Native Plant Society. The goal is then to collect seeds from these plants to be used in further restoration projects. This is a beautiful example of coastal sage scrub, something is always in bloom as the garden changes with the seasons.

The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own. Thousands of people visit the point with the hopes of witnessing the grey whale migration, making it a prime spot for maximum exposure.

The second goal of the garden is to provide habitat and conservation for species of special interest. The garden has two grade 1B.2 listed plants, the Catalina Crossosoma (Crossosoma californicum) and the Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis).

The garden is an important habitat for the federally endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly.

“The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own.“

In 2019, garden manager Megan Wolf made the difficult decision to remove all California Buckwheats from the garden. The California buckwheat is an incredible habitat plant (and a personal favorite). It is host to 16 confirmed lepidoptera, with another 36 species likely, these are just butterflies and moths. The increased presence of so many other insects created too much competition for the El Segundo Blue, which has a very narrow habitat range. The California Buckwheats were replaced with wildflowers, narrow leaf milkweeds and importantly the sea cliff buckwheat which is its host plant. Since this change there has been a marked increase in El Segundo Blue butterflies in the garden. This strategy has also been employed successfully in the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve.

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center focuses on the natural and cultural history of Palos Verdes.There is a history of the Tongva in the area, a sea cave and a special area dedicated to the grey whale which was added in 2006. In 2023 the Center added a life sized model of a sperm whale and a 11 foot high sperm whale jaw.

Nearby is also the Point Vicente Light House. The waters around the Palos Verdes Peninsula are particularly treacherous and the light house was added in 1926. The lens of the light house was made in 1910 by Barbier, Bernard and Turennel, which is the oldest lens making company in the world. The lens is considered an excellent example of the precision of achieved in the lens making art by optical scientists. One of these lenes is displayed in the interpretive center. The light house has a unique flash pattern of two quick flashes every 20 seconds.

The Point Vincente Interpretative Center is a popular spot to whale watch as the coast line is in the migration path of the grey Whale. The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.

This 12,000 mile trip is one of the longest migrations made by any animal on earth. While in their breeding grounds (can you call it grounds when they are in the sea?) In the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Gray whales are known to be friendly, and often will approach whale watching boats.

“The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.”

They are a baleen whale and bottom feeders, they gather food by rolling on their side and swimming along the bottom of the sea, filtering out invertebrates, such as amphipods.

The Pacific Gray whale was brought back from near extinction in the 1930’s to now being considered a species of least concern. Sadly, the Atlantic Gray whale did not survive and was hunted to extinction.

More Information

Point Vicente Interpretive Center

Point Vicente Interpretive Center – Brochure

CPNS South Coast Chapter – Point Vicente Interpretive Center Garden

CPNS- Protect California Dudleya

CPNS Youtube Page – Point Vicente Interpretive Center Native Plant Garden

Oceanic Society – The Gray Whale Migration in California and Beyond

CPNS South Coast Chapter – Megan Wolff on Eight years Gardening for Conservation on the Palos Verdes Coastline

Get Directions

From

To

Add Waypoint

For

Options hide options

Avoid Tolls Avoid Highways Avoid Ferries

Print Reset

Fetching directions…

Opening Hours:
Garden:
Dawn to Dusk
every day

Interpretive Center:
10 AM – 5PM
Daily

Point Vicente
Interpretive Center

31501 Palos Verdes Drive West
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

Established:
1988 and the
reinstalled in 2005

Size:
7,000 square feet

Designed by:

Maintained by:

Features:
Grey Whales!
Rare plants!
El Segundo Blue Butterflies!
Interpretive Center

Notable Plants:
Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis)
Sea Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium)
Sugarbush (Rhus ovata)
Narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Bladderpod (Cleomella arborea)
Desert Wishbone-bush (Mirabilis laevis)
Calfornia Box Thorn (Lycium californicum)

Best time to visit:
December to April
The garden is beautiful the entire year. This ecologically thoughtful garden restores a small bit of the coastal sage scrub and with that comes year round beauty. With that in mind though, the best time to visit would be during the grey whale migration. Because if there ever was a bonus to looking at plants it would be to also look at whales.

On the edge of an ocean cliff, overlooking the path of migrating Grey Whales, sits the Point Vincente Interpretive Center surrounded by a native plant garden. The garden was originally created in 1988. In 2005 it had to be reinstalled after the land was treated for WWII era lead contamination.

This beautiful cottage-like garden is filled with large mounding shrubs that spill over into the decomposed granite pathways. There is an emphasis on locally native plants and local genetics. Many of the plants come from the South Coast chapter of the Native Plant Society. The goal is then to collect seeds from these plants to be used in further restoration projects. This is a beautiful example of coastal sage scrub, something is always in bloom as the garden changes with the seasons.

The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own. Thousands of people visit the point with the hopes of witnessing the grey whale migration, making it a prime spot for maximum exposure.

The second goal of the garden is to provide habitat and conservation for species of special interest. The garden has two grade 1B.2 listed plants, the Catalina Crossosoma (Crossosoma californicum) and the Island Green Dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis). The garden is an important habitat for the federally endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly.

“The purpose of the garden is two fold. One is to educate the public on the beauty of our native habitat and to inspire others to create native gardens of their own.“

In 2019, garden manager Megan Wolf made the difficult decision to remove all California Buckwheats from the garden. The California buckwheat is an incredible habitat plant (and a personal favorite). It is host to 16 confirmed lepidoptera, with another 36 species likely, these are just butterflies and moths. The increased presence of so many other insects created too much competition for the El Segundo Blue, which has a very narrow habitat range.

The California Buckwheats were replaced with wildflowers, narrow leaf milkweeds and importantly the sea cliff buckwheat which is its host plant. Since this change there has been a marked increase in El Segundo Blue butterflies in the garden. This strategy has also been employed successfully in the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve.

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center focuses on the natural and cultural history of Palos Verdes. There is a history of the Tongva in the area, a sea cave and a special area dedicated to the grey whale which was added in 2006. In 2023 the Center added a life sized model of a sperm whale and a 11 foot high sperm whale jaw.

Nearby is also the Point Vicente Light House. The waters around the Palos Verdes Peninsula are particularly treacherous and the light house was added in 1926. The lens of the light house was made in 1910 by Barbier, Bernard and Turennel, which is the oldest lens making company in the world. The lens is considered an excellent example of the precision of achieved in the lens making art by optical scientists. One of these lenes is displayed in the interpretive center. The light house has a unique flash pattern of two quick flashes every 20 seconds.

“The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.”

The Point Vincente Interpretative Center is a popular spot to whale watch as the coast line is in the migration path of the grey Whale. The best time to spot these incredible animals is from December to April, as they move south from their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California. This 12,000 mile trip is one of the longest migrations made by any animal on earth. While in their breeding grounds (can you call it grounds when they are in the sea?) In the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Gray whales are known to be friendly, and often will approach whale watching boats.

They are a baleen whale and bottom feeders, they gather food by rolling on their side and swimming along the bottom of the sea, filtering out invertebrates, such as amphipods.

The Pacific Gray whale was brought back from near extinction in the 1930’s to now being considered a species of least concern. Sadly, the Atlantic Gray whale did not survive and was hunted to extinction.