You won't find more beach diversity anywhere.

With 17 miles of coastline and 4,600 acres around Mission Bay Park, San Diego offers a wide variety of beaches and amenities.

According to Wikipedia, "Some beaches in the San Diego area are long continuous stretches of sandy coastline, others, like many of the beaches in the Village of La Jolla (which was built on a large rocky promontory), are small sand beaches within rocky coves or between rocky points. A number of beaches in the San Diego area have cliffs behind them, usually composed of rather soft sandstone; some other beaches front freshwater lagoons where rivers run into the coast."

Beach Areas

Ocean Beach

The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, built in 1966, is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast at 1,971 feet. The pier supports a restaurant and bait shop (Ocean Beach Pier Cafe), which is located about 200yd down the pier. It is open 24 hours a day. A concrete walkway spans part of the length of the 1 mile beach. The northern end of O.B.'s waterfront is known as Dog Beach. It's open 24 hours a day for leash-free dogs and was one of the first such beaches in the United States (founded in 1972).

Mission Beach

Mission Beach spans nearly two miles of ocean front. It is bounded by the San Diego River estuary on the south, Mission Bay Park on the east, and the community of Pacific Beach on the north. A boardwalk runs along the beaches on both the ocean and bay sides of the community. The main artery through Mission Beach is Mission Boulevard.

Torrey Pines State Beach

Located south of Del Mar and north of La Jolla. Coastal erosion from the adjacent Torrey Pines State Reserve makes for a picturesque landscape. It is a local favorite among surfers and remains a quintessential Southern California beach. Occurrences of bioluminescence have been noted. The beach is at the bottom of 300 foot sandstone cliffs. The Northern side of the beach has a Surfer/Surfing side while the Southern side hosts swimming, body boarding, etc.

Silver Strand State Beach

The Strand is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus 7 miles long partially within the Silver Strand State Beach. It connects Coronado Island with Imperial Beach. Together with the Point Loma peninsula it shelters and defines San Diego Bay. State highway 75 runs the length of the strand and is a popular site for jogging and bicycling. The Silver Strand Half Marathon is run along the route each November.

List of San Diego Beaches

Complete List