San Diego has many beautiful beaches, each with its own character and crowd of locals. Here we outline some of the more popular beaches, although many grads may be able to tell you about lesser known beaches discovered during explorations of San Diego.
La Jolla Shores
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This is the closest beach to campus, and the one you will most probably frequent the most if you utilize campus housing and don't want to go far. It is described as a "long, gently-sloping beach with beautiful views of La Jolla Cove." Many UCSD students come here on the weekends, and is also popular for families and beginning surfers since the waves are a bit more mellow.
Should you find yourself hungry or thirsty during a day of beaching it, the nearby Avenida de la Playa provides relief in the form of various stores and restaurants.
Should you find yourself hungry or thirsty during a day of beaching it, the nearby Avenida de la Playa provides relief in the form of various stores and restaurants.
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This beach community is notorious for being a party town, full of college students and beach bums. This is for the most part true, although there are also many nice aspects of Pacific Beach, and many grads over the years have chosen it as their place of residence.
As far as beach activities go, there are beach volleyball nets normally set up towards the south end of Pacific Beach, and many people bring horseshoes and other beach games to the more popular street endings, such as Pacific Beach Drive, Reed Ave, Diamond Street, and Law Street.
Pacific Beach has a "rich" nightlife in that it probably has the most bars per block out of neighborhoods in the area. Several of these are enormous combination bar / dance clubs which are experiences in themselves (Pacific Beach Bar & Grill, Moondoggie's, Typhoon Saloon), while others are tiny yet enjoyable holes in the wall (Plum Crazy, Thruster's, Bub's, Silver Fox).
As far as beach activities go, there are beach volleyball nets normally set up towards the south end of Pacific Beach, and many people bring horseshoes and other beach games to the more popular street endings, such as Pacific Beach Drive, Reed Ave, Diamond Street, and Law Street.
Pacific Beach has a "rich" nightlife in that it probably has the most bars per block out of neighborhoods in the area. Several of these are enormous combination bar / dance clubs which are experiences in themselves (Pacific Beach Bar & Grill, Moondoggie's, Typhoon Saloon), while others are tiny yet enjoyable holes in the wall (Plum Crazy, Thruster's, Bub's, Silver Fox).
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Mission Beach is bit more family-oriented, but still very enjoyable. Right next to beach area lies Belmont Park, a miniature amusement park complete with a "Giant Dipper" roller coaster, and many small bars and eateries.
Slightly east of the beach one can find a myriad of recreation areas, with plenty of grass for sports, covered areas for shade, and barbecue setups.
Slightly east of the beach one can find a myriad of recreation areas, with plenty of grass for sports, covered areas for shade, and barbecue setups.
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Slightly north of La Jolla lies the community of Del Mar (just drive north along the coast and you'll run into it). The downtown area consists of mostly upscale shopping and restaurants with a bar or two scattered around. The beach scene is really quite nice, with the best spot to go being roughly 15th street. There are many restaurants in the area and a park/recreation area overlooking the beach.