San Diego has a lot of beaches but each one has its unique cool thing. So in this guide, we will give you the highlights of the best beaches and the things they are best for. These are the best beaches in the sense of what they are best for.
Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach is the best beach for taking a walk on a pier. Ocean Beach has California’s and the West Coast longest pier. The pier takes about five to ten minutes to walk down to the end. It’s the best place to watch big waves because big waves will crash into the pier. There will always be a big group of people standing by the parking lot watching the waves crash, making it the best place to watch people surf because you can get right above the action and watch the surfers and close up. Finally, Ocean Beach is also best for antiquing. On Newport Avenue which is Ocean Beach’s Main Street, they have several antique shops which are nice if you are into that sort of thing.
Mission Beach
The best beach for-wheeled activities in Mission Beach. Mission Beach has a huge boardwalk that runs from mission beach all the way up to the Pacific Beach which is really great for riding a bike, rollerblading, skateboarding, segways, and anything on wheels. Mission Beach is also the best beach to ride a roller coaster. There is a historic roller coaster here in Mission Beach, it’s a wooden roller coaster that offers lots of fun.
Pacific Beach
The Pacific Beach is just to the north of Mission Beach and it is San Diego’s best Beach for partying and by partying we mean enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Pacific Beach as a neighborhood has the most bars per square foot of any neighborhood in all of San Diego. One of the most famous drinking establishments in Pacific Beach is the Lahaina Beach House. It is literally a house that is on the beach but has this crazy outdoor patio on it. It is definitely an exciting place to come and enjoy your outdoor alcoholic beverage. If you like people watching, the best place in Pacific Beach is Woody’s Breakfast and Burger.
La Jolla Shores
The best beach for learning how to surf or kayaking is La Jolla Shores. This beach is a very flat beach with very calm waves and there are also several companies that rent surfboards here for beginners. This makes it an ideal place to learn how to surf or learn how to see kayaks because you can rent the kayaks here too and take them out to the caves of La Jolla. La Jolla Shores is also great for tide pooling when the tide is low. If you go to the south part of the La Jolla Shores right in front of the marine room, there are some great rocks that are exposed. You can see the starfish, sea urchins, and all sorts of sea creatures. There are also reasonably good tide pools to the north but those aren’t quite as good as the ones in the south.
Black Beach
Black Beach is famous for two main things – big wave surfing and a nude beach. Black Beach has some of the best big wave surfing in all of San Diego. Being a nude beach, Black Beach is an unofficial nude beach. You will find many people that will be nude and there’s a section that people really don’t get ticketed on if they decide to bear it all. So if you are in San Diego and you are looking for a beach that will get you away from some of the hustle and bustle of the main beaches like Pacific Beach or Mission Beach check out Black Beach.