1) Coronado City Beach: Wide, sandy, resort-style beach was voted one of USA’s best beaches. Ideal for family and kids. One of most romantic beaches in the world. Beautiful views of Las Coronado Island, boats, and Point Loma peninsula. Surf more gentle than at other beaches. Ideal for swimming and walking. Next to Hotel Del Coronado and historic homes with nearby downtown shops and restaurants.

2) Harbor Beach in Oceanside: Widest, sandy beach in the county. Next to harbor. Great for family, romance, walking. Playground, fire rings, overnight camping, nearby dining.

3)  Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas: Great family beach. Playground, snack bar, fire rings, large sandy area. Good swimming, boogie boarding, walking. Dining and shops in nearby downtown Encinitas.

4) Carlsbad State Beach: Wide, sandy beach. Great for family and kids. Good swimming, boogie boarding, walking. Next to Carlsbad Seawall, palisades, Frazee Park, hotels, quaint Carlsbad Village.

5) Del Mar City Beach: Resort-style beach, with grassy park, dining and nearby Del Mar Village at south end. Expensive homes line the beach to Dog Beach at north end. Great for family. Good swimming, boogie boarding, and walking.

6) Cardiff State Beach: Campground at north end; tide pools at south end. Great for family. Good swimming, boogie boarding, and walking. Near Cardiff Town Center. Next to Restaurant Row.

7) Torrey Pines State Beach: More secluded, away from urban life. Beautiful, tall Torrey Pines cliffs on south side. Park your camper or RV nearby. No overnight camping. Great for family, walking, or romance. Good swimming, boogie boarding, and walking. Dining a short drive away.

South Mission Beach to North Pacific Beach: Actually 4 beaches. Nearly 4 miles of sandy beaches, paralleled by Oceanfront Boardwalk. Attractions along the way include Belmont Park, Crystal Pier, and Pacific Beach Palisades.

9) La Jolla Shores: Great family beach. Large grassy park with playground. Beautiful view of La Jolla peninsula. Dining nearby. Surf more gentle than at other beaches. Good swimming, boogie boarding, walking, romance. Popular spot for scuba diving.

10) Silver Strand State Beach: Secluded beach away from urban life. Good family beach. Includes overnight campgrounds. Beautiful views of Las Coronado Island, boats, and Point Loma peninsula. Good swimming, boogie boarding and walking.

See San Diego Beach Pictures

San Diego has miles of sandy beaches. In North San Diego County, you could literally walk from Oceanside’s Harbor Beach to the south end of La Jolla Shores. There would only be a few minor detours over some nearby bridges to cross over the water inlets.

Farther down on La Jolla peninsula, the beaches are very different. The beaches are small, isolated small strips or patches of sand, hidden by cliffs and rocks. The best known of these beaches are La Jolla Cove and Children’s Pool.

Like with North County beaches, the beaches along Pacific Beach and Mission Beach form a long, continuous stretch of sandy beach, about 4 miles. At the north end is Tourmaline Surfing Park and south end is South Mission Beach. The famous Oceanfront Boardwalk runs parallel to these beaches for about 3 1/2 miles.

Across the San Diego Channel, Ocean  Beach Park is an isolated sandy beach. Beyond that farther south is Sunset Cliffs, which has two small isolated sandy beaches.

Coronado’s resort-style beach is probably the best beach in San Diego and one of the best in the world. Silver Strand State Beach is a long, sandy beach, isolated along The Silver Strand.

Imperial Beach is the southwestern most beach in the USA. It is a long, sandy beach, good for walking or any other beach activity.

Get more information on San Diego Beaches, including the best San Diego beaches, family beaches, walking beaches, romantic beaches, beach dining, beach events, the San Diego beach directory and much more at San Diego Coast Life.

Carsbad Beach, especially near the jetties, is a popular surfing spot. The jetties offer good fishing. This family-friendly beach is fairly wide during low tide and has good sand.

Carlsbad Seawall separates the beach from Carlsbad Blvd above. The seawall has a concrete pathway about half way down the bluff that extends the length of the beach. Atop the seawall is another concrete pathway and a narrow palisade park with benches and picnic tables. The pathways are a popular spot for walking, jogging, rollerblading, bike riding and strolling baby carriages.

Most of Carsbad Beach is in a residential area. Carlsbad Village begins on the Frazee Beach side, with restaurants, shops and hotels. On top of the bluff at Frazee Beach at the seawall’s north entry point is a small park, a favorite spot for viewing the sunset.

Although there’s a hotel on the pier, Crystal Pier is open to a public during daylight hours for sightseeing and fishing.

At the pier’s entrance is the historic “Crystal Pier” sign, as well as the famous Pacific Beach Boardwalk, which stretches for 3 1/2 miles along the beach from North Pacific Beach to South Mission Beach. Also at the entrance is a palisade park on the north side with stairway leading down to the beach. This is a center of activity with shops, restaurants and hotels nearby.

Coronado City Beach

Choose from an array of activities like swimming, volleyball, boogie boarding, surfing, kite flying, fishing, and sunbathing. The beach is next to a residential neighborhood of expensive historical homes, and with downtown Coronado’s Orange Ave is just a few blocks away. Parking is available along Ocean Blvd and side streets.

Beach access can be reached from a dirt path near the hotel and farther north on a concrete path that leads down to the beach and restrooms.

Torrey Pines State Beach

At the north end from Del Mar Beach to Carmel Valley Rd, Torrey Pines State Beach is hidden below bluffs. On the bluffs is a small natural park. To the south is Los Peñasquitos Marsh inlet which separates the northern section of beach from the main stretch of beach to the south.

This main stretch is open to the coast highway with easy street parking and access along side the beach. Some rocks separate the beach from the highway. Across the highway is Los Peñasquitos Marsh, a scenic preserve, nestled in a small valley, closed to the public.

Further south, the bluffs begin again, taller than those to the north. Atop the bluffs is Torrey Pines State Reserve, which can be accessed from a road at the base of the bluffs near the highway. A large beach parking lot is located next to the park reserve entrance. Both parking and access to the reserve require a fee.

The beach below the Torrey Pines bluffs is more secluded and less crowded than the beach to the north. This southern section of beach is popular for walking, jogging, and photography. The south end of Torrey Pines State Beach is marked by Bathtub Rock, a small flat rock that protrudes above the surf several feet from the beach.

Beyond this point is Blacks Beach, San Diego’s most secluded beach, hidden by tall bluffs, and difficult to access.

Embarcadero Marina Park South

The park has a small public fishing pier, basketball courts, picnic tables, bike paths and parking, exercise stations, a gazebo, waterfront pathway, grassy knolls beside the bay, and a large, flat grassy peninsula near the marina.

During summer, the grassy peninsula, which makes up about half the park, becomes the setting for the San Diego Symphony Summer Pops, featuring popular classical tunes, broadway melodies, and nostalgic Americana themes, presented by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.

Embarcadero Marina Park South is within walking distance of Seaport Village, popular waterfront hotels, PETCO Park, Convention Center, Gaslamp District, and Embarcadero attractions.

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One of San Diego’s most popular tourist attractions, Seaport Village is reminiscent of an old Spanish sea village located on the San Diego Bay waterfront near Downtown San Diego. The village is a mixture of restaurants, both formal and casual, specialty stores, and open air plazas, with cabanas, water fountains, a Japenese pond and bridge with coy, and a fully-restored 1895 antique carousel with hand carved animals by Charles Loof.

Seaport Village

Families, convention goers, and other folks love Seaport Village because of its easy going atmosphere, with outdoor dining on the bay or in the plaza with live music; exciting shops with clothing, wind chimes, kites, artwork, toys, hats, flags, hammocks, candles, soap, souvenirs, candy, fudge, and more; and its proximity to downtown attractions and the waterfront.

Speaking of attractions, Seaport Village sits next to the Embarcadero, a boardwalk, which connects many popular waterfront attractions, including the USS Midway Museum, Maritime Museum of San Diego, Embarcadero Marina Park North and South, the San Diego Convention Center, Hornblower Cruises, San Diego Harbor Cruises, America’s Cup Cruises, B Street Cruise Ship Terminal and more.

Other downtown attractions include PETCO Park, Gaslamp District, and Little Italy.

A large parking lot resides next to Seaport Village with the first two hours parking free with a receipt from one of the village shops or restaurants.

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Cabrillo National Monument is a historic landmark and park near the tip of Point Loma in San Diego, CA. The monument commemorates explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s first landing at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. This Spanish explorer was the first European to visit what is now the west coast of the United States.

Cabrillo National Monument Park

The center piece of the national park is the tall monument of Cabrillo himself looking toward the San Diego Bay, considered a natural harbor at the time. The statute with bay is a popular backdrop for photo opportunities of families and friends.

Nearby the monument is the visitors center, which includes a large gift store, along with a theatre for viewing movies about the park and local history. Outside the visitors center are decks which face the bay. The decks have large stationary binoculars and educational pictorial displays about the bay, the park and the areas history.

These decks offer a panoramic view of San Diego Bay with Coronado and North Island in the foreground and the downtown San Diego skyline and Coronado Bay Bridge in the background. Farther south is Mexico.

Another feature of Cabrillo National Monument is the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, just a short distance along a trail, up the hill. The lighthouse, now a historic landmark, once guided sailing vessels into the harbor during the second half of the 1800s. The living quarters of the Keeper of the Lighthouse appear much as they did during the 1880s.

Moonlight State Beach

The beach also has volleyball courts on the sand, as well as several fire pits. Moonlight Beach is a popular spot for gatherings, especially on weekends and holidays. The water directly in front of the beach is designated for swimming while the water to the left and right are for surfing, marked by flags.

Moonlight Beach is part of an almost uninterrupted stretch of sandy beach that extends from La Jolla to Oceanside. The beach is ideal for walking and jogging, especially from Moonlight Beach to South Ponto Beach in Carlsbad.  Just be aware of the tides, since much of the beach along the bluffs can disappear at high tide.

During late spring and summer, the beach hosts such events as Wavecrest Woodie Meet, Encinitas Sunday Concerts by the Sea, and the Encinitas Sports Festival.

The beach is within walking distance or an easy drive to Encinitas historic downtown on South Coast Hwy 101. The town is a bit quaint and off beat at the same time with its good selection of outdoor cafes, restaurants, specialty shops, and old Hwy 101 charm. The commuter train station is also nearby.