Situated atop a stony bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this 5.6-acre park was originally part of the purchase of 400 acres of former pueblo lands by speculator Frank Botsford in 1886. One year later, Botsford and business partner George Heald surveyed and subdivided the land to create a coastal village called La Jolla Park. Inspired by the nineteenth-century City Beautiful Movement, the two men set aside a segment of land adjacent to the La Jolla Cove for use as a public park. The development of the park was, in part, guided by New York City landscape architect Samuel Parsons, who encouraged the planting of salt resistant flora, including the cypress tree groves, which have since become an integral feature of the landscape. Known alternatively as La Jolla Park and La Jolla Shoreline Park, the landscape was renamed Ellen Browning Scripps Park in 1927 in honor of the local journalist and philanthropist.
Located thirteen miles northwest of downtown San Diego, the park comprises a 3.8-acre, irregularly shaped lawn elevated more than twelve feet above three separate beaches. Commencing at La Jolla Cove to the east and extending westward to Shell Beach, the beaches make up a large part of the park’s approximately 1,500 feet of shoreline. The lawn, which gradually slopes downwards to the cliff face, is encircled by a concrete path that provides access to a series of scenic overlooks, as well as to the beaches through descending staircases and ramps. Ice plants and other coastal flora canvas the surrounding bluffs and diminish erosion. The park’s roadside edge is lined with Mexican fan palms, originally planted by La Jolla resident Walter Lieber in 1904. Canopy cover is provided by Monterey cypress, Australian tea, and single trunk dragon trees. Structures include a single-story, wood-framed building that houses the La Jolla Bridge Club (designated as a local landmark in 2009) and a lifeguard station that overlooks La Jolla Cove.
Hifadhi hiyo ya mawe yenye ukubwa wa ekari 5.6 ilikuwa sehemu ya eneo la ekari 400 lililonunuliwa na mfanyabiashara Frank Botsford mwaka wa 1886. Mwaka mmoja baadaye, Botsford na mshirika wake wa biashara George Heald walichunguza na kugawanya ardhi hiyo ili kuunda kijiji cha pwani kilichoitwa La Jolla Park. "Wanaume hao wawili walichochewa na harakati ya ""City Beautiful"" ya karne ya kumi na tisa, wakaweka kando sehemu ya ardhi iliyo karibu na Ghuba ya La Jolla ili itumiwe kama bustani ya umma." Ujenzi wa bustani hiyo uliongozwa na mbuni wa mandhari wa New York City Samuel Parsons, ambaye alitia moyo kupanda mimea inayopinga chumvi, ikiwa ni pamoja na misitu ya miti ya cypress, ambayo tangu wakati huo imekuwa sehemu muhimu ya mandhari. Hifadhi ya La Jolla, ambayo pia inajulikana kama Hifadhi ya Pwani ya La Jolla, ilibadilishwa jina kuwa Hifadhi ya Ellen Browning Scripps mnamo 1927 kwa heshima ya mwandishi wa habari wa ndani na mfadhili. Iko kilomita kumi na tatu kaskazini magharibi mwa jiji la San Diego, mbuga hiyo ina ekari 3.8, lawn isiyo ya kawaida iliyoinuliwa zaidi ya futi kumi na mbili juu ya fukwe tatu tofauti. Kuanzia La Jolla Cove upande wa mashariki na kuenea magharibi hadi Shell Beach, fukwe hizo hufanyiza sehemu kubwa ya mbuga hiyo ya karibu futi 1,500 za pwani. Lawn, ambayo hatua kwa hatua inaelekea chini kwa uso wa mwamba, imezungukwa na njia ya saruji ambayo hutoa upatikanaji wa mfululizo wa maoni ya mandhari, pamoja na fukwe kupitia ngazi za kushuka na ramps. Mimea ya barafu na mimea mingine ya pwani hufunika miamba iliyo karibu na kupunguza mmomonyoko wa ardhi. Mimea ya mti wa fan palme ya Mexico, iliyopandwa na Walter Lieber, mwenyeji wa La Jolla, ilianza kuenea katika eneo hilo. Miti ya Monterey cypress, chai ya Australia, na miti ya joka yenye shina moja hufunika paa. Jengo hilo lina majengo ya mbao na jengo la daraja la La Jolla, ambalo lilitambuliwa kama alama ya eneo hilo mwaka 2009 na kituo cha walinzi wa kuokoa uhai kinachoangalia La Jolla Cove.