LOCAL WALLY
RATES THE SAN DIEGO BEACHES!

Woodies at Moonlight Beach

From Nude Beach to Dog Beach, San Diego has it All! Local Wally knows that not everyone will like the same sort of beach. Each beach has its own personality. Some people like nice and calm beaches, from easy waves to easy going people. Others like wild people, wild surf, and beach bodybuilding. San Diego has tons of beaches, one of which is sure to become your favorite. So grab a towel and some sunblock! We're going to the Beach, starting close to the border in Imperial Beach and moving up the coast until we reach Oceanside.

1. Imperial Beach

Wow, you've read the tourbooks claiming that IB is some sort of lost paradise, a local's favorite and a part of "hidden" San Diego with sandbuilding competitions and uncrowded sand. Hmmm, why do you think something this good is so uncrowded? Perhaps it's because IB has a reputation for having a, ummm, "water quality problem" due to it's proximity to Tijuana. New improvements to the sewage treatment plant has decreased the problem and IB locals swear the water is fine, but Wally still says NO to IB simply because there are better beaches. Wally says SKIP IT.
BEST FOR IB LOCALS

2. Coronado Silver Strand

It can get windy here and it might be a little unnerving when the military helicopters fly over you throughout the day, but Silver Strand is a great young family beach because the shore drops gradually making it unlikely Little Johnny will drop into an moray eel pit. With 4 parking lots and an RV campground (first come, first served), good choice for a quiet beach.
BEST FOR FAMILIES

3. Coronado Beach (by the Hotel Del Coronado)

Excellent public beaches located right outside the "Del". Like the Silver Strand, the gradually sloping shoreline is safe for kids, the surf is generally small, and restrooms are close enough. Watch for stingrays in the sand (shuffle your feet to scare them as you walk in the water versus stepping right on one. Rays typically do not like being stepped on.) Parking during midday can be a bitch.
BEST FOR FAMILIES

4. Sunset Cliffs

Located beneath the cliffs of Point Loma, this secluded beach is popular with surfers, tidepool hunters, and locals. No restrooms, so this is not the place for those with weak bladders or adversity to doing it as the fish do in the waves. BEST FOR TIDEPOOL HUNTERS

5. Ocean Beach

Do you listen to the Grateful Dead? Do you have a pierced eyebrow? Then OB is your type of place. Ultra laid back and casual, OB is for the young and odd. It has a pier, complete with food stands and fishermen, that makes interesting walking with the local characters. Fairly uninteresting shops are in the area, barely worth your efforts, but some good restaurants. Swimmers beware: Rip currents can make swimming here a life changing experience.
BEST FOR BURNED OUT HIPPIES

6. Mission Beach

This popular beach is everything you would expect from Southern California. With nearly naked hardbodies showing off in the sun, rollerbladers and bicyclists doing tricks on the boardwalk, and an old wooden rollercoaster right on the beach, this is the place to be if you are young, cool, hip, or just want to pretend you are. If you've spent all winter working out "just minutes a day" with your Ab-Master, here's the place to show off your new Abs of Steel. Just got breast enhancements? This is your beach!

With nearby restaurants and shops, you won't be bored. Get a shaved ice at Ice Heaven Hawaii, grab a place to sit on the seawall, and watch all the "scenery"!
BEST FOR SINGLES WITH GOOD BODIES

6. Pacific Beach

Pacific Beach is popular with tourists and locals alike, and for good reason. It's a nice mix of singles and families. You might not see as many hardbodies here, but you also won't have to put up with some idiot with a boombox blasting hip-hop music putting down a towel next to yours. Parking is often difficult and parking 5 or more blocks away is not unsusual, so pack light and get ready to walk. Diamond Street is a good place to start hunting for your piece of sand.
BEST FOR SENSIBLE SINGLES AND YOUNG FAMILIES

7. La Jolla

La Jolla has every type of beach you can imagine, from a big crowded "Baywatch" beach (La Jolla Shores) to tiny, private alcove sort of beaches (Shell Beach). If you only go to one beach, make it La Jolla. The beauty of the area will absolutely astound you.
BEST ALL AROUND BEACHES IN SAN DIEGO

The La Jolla beaches are:

• Tourmaline Beach: Take Mission Blvd, which turns into La Jolla Blvd, and turn right (west) on Tourmaline St. Popular with surfers and sailboarders.
• Windansea Beach: Take La Jolla Blvd and turn west onto Nautilus St. Big waves, great scenery, and great sunsets.
• Children's Pool: With live seals taking up the bulk of the beach, probably not the best place to lay down your towel but certainly an excellent place to get some pictures.
• Shell Beach: Just north of the Children's Pool is Shell Beach, a small and secluded beach. Ignore the crowds on the sidewalk above you and instead watch for seals and dolphins in the waves.
• La Jolla Cove: Has to be one of the best beaches and most beautiful spots in the entire world. If this doesn't impress you, nothing will. Don't forget that there's a short hiking trail starting by the Cave Store.
• La Jolla Shores: The busiest beach perhaps in all of San Diego on a hot summer day, and Local Wally's choice for top beach for "Visitors with only one beach day". Sure it's busy, and yes, parking is an absolute joke. But get there early and plan to stay all day and, yes, all night! Here's the Wally plan: Get yourself some firewood, some hotdogs, and some shishkabob skewers. When you get to the beach, grab a fire ring then. They'll be all gone within minutes after you get there. Then when the sun goes down, make a fire and have a beach party! Got an old guitar? Then everybody sing - "Ah Louie, Louie, ohhh, baby now, we gotta go... yeah yeah yeah yeaaah now...!"
• Blacks Beach: One more beach, and this one is the unofficial "clothing optional" beach (NUDE BEACH). Now let me warn you - don't expect some sort of crazy Larry Flint sort of sex orgy as you make your way down the steep trails. Whatever you find down there, you are sure to be disappointed. And do you really want to be woken up from your suntanning by a fully clothed policeman?

8. Torrey Pines

If the idea of wall to wall traffic in La Jolla doesn't seem like that good of an idea, then perhaps a more sedate adventure at Torrey Pines is a good alternative. Located south of Del Mar, Torrey Pines offers a mix of forested pine trees (the Torrey Pines only grow here in San Diego) and sunny California beach. You can hike the trails along the bluffs, or just get lazy and hit the sand. The only problem with Torrey is that the high tides sometimes don't leave much room for the sand, so check the tide tables and back up to the edge of the rocks if you'll be there at high tide. The best news is that the $4 parking lot keeps most tourists away, making access to the sand easy and painless.
BEST FOR STRESSED EXECUTIVES WHO DON'T WANT TO FIGHT FOR A PARKING SPACE

9. Del Mar, Downtown Area

The tourists thin a bit when you reach Del Mar, a nice upscale beach community, though summer can still get pretty crowded. "Where the Surf Meets the Turf" is the town's unofficial logo, and the beach where this happens is north of where the downtown area ends. Just drive until you see the big Del Mar Plaza on the right, then turn left to get to the ocean. Public parking is across the street, and the nice grassy area is perfect area to set up the BBQ. Jakes Del Mar (1660 Coast Blvd, Del Mar, 619 755-2002) is one of Wally's favorite for a summer lunch on their patio overlooking the beach.
BEST FOR FAMILIES AND BBQ'S

10. Del Mar's Dog Beach


Where do you go if you are an upscale sort of dog and you want to go to the beach? How about Del Mar's Dog Beach, located just south of Via De La Valle by the fairgrounds. If you love dogs, a stop at this beach to watch the pedigree'd pooches play in the surf is a lot of fun. BEST FOR PUREBRED DOGS AND THEIR OWNERS

11. Solana Beach, Cardiff by the Sea

These are local's beaches, and best for surfers. You can get to Solana Beach's Fletcher Grove if you take Lomas Santa Fe to the parking lot. Wonderful tidepools, excellent sunset walk. With Cedros Design District nearby, you can easily made a day of shopping in eclectic shops, sushi at a nearby restaurant, then off to a deserted local beach. You do this and you're almost a local! BEST FOR LONELY TRAVELERS LOOKING FOR LOCAL BEACHES

12. Encinitas

More local beaches, more surfer beaches. But wait! Moonlight Beach (take Encinitas Blvd until it runs right into the ocean) is a fantastic throwback to the beaches of the past. With easy parking, volleyball courts, firepits, and an honest to God concession stand selling ice cream and corn dogs, this is one heck of a great beach experience!

For a very local beach, try Beacon Beach in Leucadia. Just take Leucadia Blvd until you hit water, park in the small lot and trek down the stairs. Bet you won't find too many non-locals here, and it's a pretty nice primitive beach.

As with all beaches north of Del Mar, traffic can be tough during rush hour, so plan accordingly. If you must leave during rush hour, do what Wally does - forget the freeway and take 101 along the coast until you get to Carmel Valley Rd. in Del Mar, then cut back into the freeway. More relaxing, even if there is traffic.
BEST FOR SMART BEACHGOERS WHO DON'T MIND DRIVING TO GET TO UNCROWDED BEACHES

13. Carlsbad

Carlsbad is big. That's good because BIG means lots of sand! Start at South Carlsbad Beach (where you can camp overnight with an RV), and keep going until you get to Carlsbad Village. All along the way you will find excellent, mostly local and typically uncrowded beaches. These are some of my favorite beaches if all you want is the sun, the sand, a beer and no hassle.
BEST FOR FAMILIES AND LOCALS

14. Oceanside

OK, it's not that Oceanside is bad, it's just that it's too far and doesn't offer anything special that you can't get at a closer beach. Now if you are already in the area (visiting your Marine? - tell him Wally says "Thanks!"), the pier is nice to take a stroll on - but don't make a special stop here otherwise. Look, I'm not down on O'side, just that you got options.
BEST FOR MARINES

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