La Jolla Beaches
La Jolla (Spanish for “the jewel”) has European elegance, a sunny Mediterranean climate, and some of the most picturesque beaches and beachfront hotels in the world. La Jolla offers world-class hotels, restaurants, art galleries, and boutiques. It is a hot spot for spa goers, surfers, tourists, and nature lovers alike. Treat yourself to a massage and facial at a day spa or stroll the coast and take in the stunning emerald blue beaches and coves.
La Jolla beaches offer endless hours of fun and relaxation… from the pretty sandstone cliffs towering high above the Pacific at Torrey Pines State Beach to the crystal clear water at La Jolla Cove, an ideal snorkeling spot.
La Jolla Shores, a favorite of familes, offers a wide sandy beach, gentle surf and a playground for kids. Kayakers begin their ocean excursions at La Jolla Shores along with Scuba Divers and ocean swimmers.
La Jolla Children's Pool, a haven for California Sea Lions, is a tourist favorite offering wildlife viewing and incredible photo opportunities.
Marine Street and Windansea beaches are intimate coastal retreats perfect for romantic getaways or a quiet day at the beach with a good book.
Windansea Beach
Down the hill, past La Jolla’s ritzy homes, hotels, boutiques and restaurants, lies Windansea Beach, flanked by surfers and sunbathers on hot summer days. With its sandstone cliffs, sandy beach, and incredible surf breaks, Windansea has been a popular surfing haunt as far back as the 1940s and a gathering spot of the Windansea Surf Club since the 1960s. The shack on the beach, built by surfers during World War II, is now a San Diego Historic site.
La Jolla Cove
Not far from downtown La Jolla — an upscale hamlet of hotels, boutiques, and galleries — lies La Jolla Cove, a swimming and diving paradise. This tiny beach nook, part of the San Diego La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve, is sheltered by picturesque cliffs and offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean in an intimate setting. La Jolla Cove has some of the clearest water of all San Diego beaches, making it ideal for scuba diving and snorkeling.
La Jolla Shores
La Jolla Shores Think palm trees next to the Pacific, green lawns dotting hillsides, and bougainvillea blossoms — pink, white, and orange — complementing the Spanish-style architecture of some of the most expensive real estate in all of California. La Jolla Shores, home to world-class resorts, is a 1 mile stretch of shoreline with parks and picnic areas. It also features a boardwalk that spans a length of the beach and is great for walking, jogging, bicycling, or rollerblading.
Blacks Beach
Blacks Beach
San Diego's most notorious and least-visited beach, Black's Beach lies north of La Jolla Shores and South of Torrey Pines State Beach. Well known for its history as a nude-beach, Black's is a local favorite for those seeking solitude and laid-back atmosphere. While nudity is not permitted, life guards tend to look the other way (no pun intended) and if you're so inclined, you can sunbathe sans clothing.
Black's Beach can be reached by walking north from La Jolla Shores when the tide is low enough or south from Torrey Pines. There is also a trail that winds down to the beach from the Glider Port parking lot.
Marine Street Beach
Marine St. Beach
Marine Street Beach is near the upscale community of La Jolla, a small cluster of high-end clothiers, hotels, shops, and galleries. It’s legendary to body surfers and body boarders because of its thunderous waves, which crash right at shoreline. However, this beach may not be ideal for families, as there are no pubic restrooms or picnic areas and the rough surf is not well suited to children.
La Jolla Children's Pool (Casa Beach)
La Jolla Children's Pool ( Casa Beach )
Close to downtown La Jolla, the Children’s Pool — or the “Casa,” as locals have calledl it — is a tiny cove protected by a concrete breakwater. It was once a swimming area for children until the seals and sea lions took over. Now visitors can sunbathe and enjoy the added bonus of an ongoing marine mammal show courtesy of the seals and sea lions that play in and around the shore or at Seal Rock, their offshore reserve.
Torrey Pines State Beach
Beautiful sandstone cliffs rise 300 magnificent feet from the Pacific Ocean to greet miles of walking paths along the bluffs at Torrey Pines State Beach. Hiking trails take visitors through the reserve among the Torrey pines (one of the rarest varieties of pine in the world), wildflowers, and other plants and animals with panoramic views of the ocean.