Set on a beautiful natural harbor, San Diego offers 70 miles of fabulous sandy coastline with some of the best beaches in the country. That's why if you ask someone about San Diego and what kind of things to do there, you will probably hear about San Diego's beaches first and foremost. The city is most famous for its perfect climate suitable for swimming and surfing all year round. The waterfront offers a pleasant resort atmosphere, when you and your family can stroll, bike ride, or roller blade leisurely along the coastline. It is true, as they say, in San Diego the beach is a way of life. Going to the beach defines this city's culture. You can't miss Mission Bay Beach located in the famous Mission Bay Park, the largest aquatic marine park of its kind and a host to the world famous Sea World. The Mission Bay Beach offers a wide array of things to do for families, such as fishing, boating, sailing, jet skiing, swimming, and kayaking. When planning a family trip to San Diego, decide what you would like to do when you go to the coast. Going to the beach in San Diego is a source of pride and joy for everyone who lives in this city and a great thing to do for families traveling there. San Diego's beaches have something for everyone. Check them out by reviewing the links below.
- Blacks Beach
- La Jolla Shores
- La Jolla Cove
- Coronado Beach
- Imperial Beach
- Children's Pool
- Windansea Beach
- Mission Bay Beach
- Pacific Beach (The Strand)
- North Pacific Beach (The Strand)
- South Mission Beach
- Ocean Beach (Dog Beach)
- Moonlight Beach
San Diego Best
Beaches
Black Beach is the most popular beach in San Diego
and one of the most popular beaches in the country. Although not officially
sanctioned, some patrons of Black's Beach practice nudism. There is no
permanent lifeguard station at this beach. You will also need to bring your own
food and water, as there are no amenities on the beach.
La Jolla Shores is a sandy beach approximately one mile long, adjacent to a residential area. It is excellent for walking and strolling. In summer, waves at this beach are usually the most gentle of all San Diego beaches, although rip currents may still be strong at times. For this reason, many novice scuba classes are held at La Jolla Shores. Kellogg Park, a grassy area, is located behind the main lifeguard station and is ideal for picnicking. A wide cement boardwalk parallels a portion of the beach between the park and the sand.
La Jolla Cove is a very small beach, tucked between adjacent sandstone cliffs. Due to its extraordinary beauty, La Jolla Cove is one of the most photographed beaches in Southern California. It is within a short walk of the commercial area of the community of La Jolla. One of the smallest San Diego beaches, La Jolla Cove has some great tidepools and a small, rocky cave. Check the tide tables to be sure you get here at low tide.
Located in a tiny upscale island city of Coronado, Coronado City Beach is a perfect beach for families. Surrounded by boutiques and restaurants, Coronado Beach offers a multitude of things to do for families of all ages. Spend quality time with your family and swim, surf, sail, body board, fish, or just fall asleep in the sun. Other things to do include beach volleyball, tide pool exploration, and kite flying. The Coronado beach offers lots of clean sand and gentle waves; it is a great place to take the kids.
This beautiful, sandy beach is a great place for families seeking much-needed relaxation away from the crowds. Quiet, solitary, and still a bit of a hippie community, Imperial Beach is 20 miles south of downtown San Diego and a few miles short of the Mexican border. Swim, surf, sunbathe, jog, fish, or spend the day building a sandcastle with your kids. The U. S. Open Sandcastle Competition is America's largest and longest-running sand castle competition.
The Children's Pool, also known as the Casa, is a small beach partially protected by a seawall. The original intention was to create a fully protected swimming area, but sand has filled in much of the area inside the wall. This is a very picturesque beach with a panoramic view. During much of the year, seals and sea lions are present on or near the beach and a reserve for these marine mammals, called Seal Rock, is just offshore. The Children's Pool is within a short walk of the commercial area of the community of La Jolla. Grassy park areas can be found a short distance to the north and south. Several small beaches are nearby including Wipeout Beach to the south and Shell Beach to the north. This is a popular beach for scuba divers because of the reefs just offshore. These same reefs can create very strong currents and other hazards, particularly in high surf conditions. .
Windansea is considered one of San Diego's best surfing beaches, but it's not for novices. The rocky shore of Windansea Beach is perhaps best known for its beautiful scenery and surf breaks created by underwater reefs. Sandstone rocks act as partitions along the beach offering a secluded atmosphere for sunbathing. Much of the beach at Windansea experiences shore break, a condition on steep beaches which results in hard breaking surf right at the shoreline. Swimmers should enter and exit the water carefully.
Mission Bay Park is the largest man-made aquatic park in the country, consisting of 4,235 acres, approximately 46% land and 54% water. The park offers a wide range of recreational activities including paths for walking and jogging, and playgrounds for children. It is one of San Diego's most popular locations to fly a kite, picnic or sail a model yacht. Fire rings make it possible to cook out and stay warm. Mission Bay Park also offers a variety of free opportunities to the public such as professional volleyball and Over-the-Line sporting events. Annual attendance in the park is estimated at 15 million.
The beach area south of Crystal Pier is known as Pacific Beach. This beach continues south for over two miles, becoming Mission Beach and then South Mission Beach, eventually ending at the channel entrance to Mission Bay. This long beach, known as The Strand, lies directly adjacent to the residential and commercial areas of the Pacific Beach and Mission Beach communities. The Strand is the most popular beach in the City of San Diego and draws large crowds in summer. North Pacific Beach continues to the north, but is visually separated by Crystal Pier, a publicly accessible fishing pier. A somewhat narrow cement boardwalk parallels the entire beach. Walking, biking, bicycling, and related activities are permitted on the boardwalk, but speed is regulated and must be kept to eight miles per hour or less.
The beach area north of Crystal Pier extends approximately one mile from the north end of the community of Pacific Beach to the south end of the community of La Jolla. This beach is bordered by cliffs up to 75 feet in height. A sidewalk traverses the cliff-top along much of the south end of the beach. In this area, parking is very limited. At the north end of the beach is Tourmaline Surfing Park which includes a public parking lot and limited facilities. This area is heavily used by surfers and sailboarders year round.
South Mission Beach is bordered on the south by the Mission Bay Channel. It has, perhaps, the widest beach in the City. Recently, it has become known as a popular place to engage in sports such as beach volleyball and basketball following an extensive refurbishing of the courts. A popular game similar to baseball called "Over-The-Line" is allowed in a portion of this area.
Ocean Beach
(Dog Beach)
Ocean Beach is located in the community of Ocean Beach, just south of the Mission Bay channel entrance. This is a wide beach approximately one mile long. A volleyball area can be found near the north end of the beach. The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is located at the south end of the beach and is available to the public for walking and fishing. There is a restaurant and bait shop on the pier. Fishing from the pier does not require a fishing license, but catch regulations are enforced. Numerous restaurants, surf shops, and other commercial establishments are available near the south end of the beach. The north end of the beach is primarily bordered by residential properties. One unique feature of Ocean Beach is Dog Beach, a sandy area at the north end. This is a dog run area where dogs are permitted without a leash at all hours of the day.
Moonlight
State Beach is situated in a residential neighborhood at the bottom of a hill
which gently slopes to the Pacific Ocean. A wide, sandy beach offers
swimming, surfing and fishing. Facilities include volleyball and tennis
courts, recreational equipment rentals and a snack bar. The
"Moonlight" in the name of the beach comes from the fact that
residents used to come to the area for midnight picnics in the early
1900s. Another spin on the name, Moonlight Beach, says that Chinese
immigrants building the railroad system gave way to smuggling of liquor during
the prohibition of the early 20th century. A boat came to the shore of
Moonlight beach with bottles of alcohol.
La Jolla has some of the best beaches for surfing which include Black's beach for advanced surfers and Tourmaline for beginners. San Diego overall has some fantastic beaches.UCSD was recently ranked the top university in the United States for surfing. www.sdsurfspots.com
hang ten!
Posted by: Sarah Beener | August 13, 2009 at 02:07 PM