Fun Outdoor Activities You Can Do While Visiting La Jolla

San Diego is often called America’s finest city – and La Jolla is the gem of San Diego – a beautiful community situated along San Diego’s Pacific Coast. People flock to La Jolla, captivated by its trendy boutique-lined streets gemmed with art, clothing, jewelry, gifts and other shopping destinations. Indulgent soft sand beaches, amazing weather, laid back people and an abundance of activities make La Jolla a visitor’s paradise. Here are five activities that should not be missed.

Originally designed as a safe place for children to wade, Children’s Pool is a man-made pool-into-the-ocean that one was a children’s beach but is now a famous haven for wild Harbor Seals. Visitors enjoy venturing out along a cement walkway over the water to watch the seals and their youngsters lounging, playing and slipping away into the ocean. Nearby, you will find the beautiful La Jolla Cove bathing beach and tide pools.

La Jolla Cove is situated along a bay sheltered from the ocean’s surge. Its soft sandy beach offers great sun bathing, swimming and surfing; the clear waters along the offshore reefs provide excellent snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities. In the summer and autumn months the surf is gentle, the water warms into the 70s, and the beaches are busy with swimmers, scuba divers and surfers making it a great place for participating or just people watching.

Descend down 144 steps into Sunny Jim Sea Cave, the largest of La Jolla Cove’s famous sea caves. You’ll find the stairway through a hole in the floor of “The Cave Store” where you can also see lots of historic photographs of La Jolla and browse through unique souvenirs and turn-of-the-century postcards. A trip to The Cave Store provides a fascinating glimpse into what lies under, as well as over, the rugged and scenic California coastline. You can also enter Sunny Jim and six other ocean-carved caves from the sea by kayak, but Sunny Jim is the only sea cave in California that you can access from a stairway

Be sure to take a drive up Nautilus Street to the pinnacle of the city, the top of Mount Soledad. Dr. Seuss and his wife Audrey lived for years in the Seuss house on this mountain. From the park at the peak you can see San Clemente Island 65 miles west in the blue Pacific, North County beaches to the north and the San Diego downtown skyline and the Mexican border beyond to the south. The view is simply spectacular at night. The site is well known for the controversy generated by the Easter Cross war memorial that towers above the peak. There is no admission charge, the park is always open.

Situated over the ocean on sandstone bluffs north of La Jolla, between Torrey Pines Park and La Jolla Farms, The Torrey Pines Gliderport is designated specifically for today’s gliders. On days when the winds are just right, gliders line the cliffs, waiting for the perfect gust to carry them into the sky. The graceful navigators riding the sea breezes in their brightly colored gliders attract admiring spectators up and down the Torrey Pines shoreline year-round. You can fly like a bird by going tandem with an instructor after a 30-minute ground school, then up and away off the edge of a 300 foot cliff out over the ocean, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

La Jolla and nearby beach communities have great accommodations. Here are two informative websites with useful lodging information: Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts and Del Mar California Hotels.

Five Great San Diego Activities

1. Spend your vacation in the heart of San Diego at a one of the may quality hotels in Old Town. Take the time to explore the many historic sites and shop in a variety of stores that can only be found in Old Town. They all offer different types of unique and delicious items just waiting for you to discover! You may wander through historic buildings (a blacksmith shop, historic stables and the oldest schoolhouse in San Diego). At the Southern entrance to Old Town, overlooking San Diego Avenue from the second floor, is El Agave Restaurant and Tequileria. As you enter from a curved staircase with Mexican tile and cactus plants you have a sense of Old Mexico. A short walkway past wonderful, balcony seating and you arrive at the dark but inviting doorway and inside you will find an array of tequila like you won’t find anywhere else -1,700 bottles of tequila, some over 100 years old.

2. Visit the Cave Store at La Jolla. What would you expect to find in a “cave store”, maybe some fossils or seashells? There’s more. They have a hole in the floor of the store that leads down to the only sea cave in California you can enter by land via 40 stairs into the earth – the wonderful and spooky Sunny Jim Cave. The smells, the sounds, the feel! Walls of the tunnel have water trickling and you go down…down…until you walk out a small wooden dock into the cave with the ocean crashing on the rocks below and gulls nesting in tucked away places above.

3. Visit downtown San Diego’s Seaport Village for hours of free entertainment, leisurely strolling and window-shopping. Here you can explore 50-plus diverse shops, 17 unique eateries and outdoor entertainment and find everything under the sun. Enjoy a laid-back day of hanging out in the grass, watching yachts and ships go by on picturesque San Diego Bay or take in the sights and absorb the unique atmosphere from one of the many bay-view eateries.

4. Spend a cool, relaxing day at the enormous (4,000 plus acres!) Mission Bay Park surrounding Mission Bay. Many families pack the car and spend the day here. They bring bikes, scooters, camping chairs and foldable picnic tables. On the way to the park be sure to pick up a bunch of take-out food… (we recommend Rubio’s or Filberto’s) and pack a cooler full of drinks and extra snacks. Bring the badminton set and books, crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. It’s a great place to relax or bike or walk along the sidewalks. Just find a nice spot under one of the many trees and either catch some sun or fall asleep in the shade. On warm days you get a cool breeze from the bay and the ocean. Oh, and you can bring your dog too. This is America’s Finest City, get outside and enjoy it!

5. Grab your beach towel and Coppertone and get to one of dozens of San Diego beaches (they are all free) and swim, jog, boogie-board, read a spy novel, watch world-class surfers or just bake in the sun. Alcohol is prohibited on all San Diego beaches. Both South Mission Beach and Ocean Beach are hotspots for beach volleyball. Ocean Beach has six courts, and South Mission Beach has 15 courts.

Following are three websites with helpful lodging information when you visit San Diego or other surrounding communities: San Diego B&Bs, Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels in Del Mar California.

Five Fun Things Every Visitor Should Not Miss While Visiting San Diego

1. Old Town sidewalks overflow with people who come to revisit history, to shop and to savor some of the best and greatest variety of food that San Diego has to offer. Guests wander through Old Town’s historic buildings, including the blacksmith shop, Seeley Stables and the haunted Whaley House. According to the Travel Channel’s America’s Most Haunted, the Whaley House is the number one most haunted house in the United States. The alleged hauntings of the Whaley House have been reported on numerous other television programs and been written up in countless publications and books since the house first opened as a museum in 1960.

2. Visit the Cave Store at La Jolla. What would you expect to find in a “cave store”, maybe some fossils or seashells? There’s more. They have a hole in the floor of the store that leads down to the only sea cave in California you can enter by land via 40 stairs into the earth – the wonderful and spooky Sunny Jim Cave. The smells, the sounds, the feel! Walls of the tunnel have water trickling and you go down…down…until you walk out a small wooden dock into the cave with the ocean crashing on the rocks below and gulls nesting in tucked away places above.

3. Visit downtown San Diego’s Seaport Village for hours of free entertainment, leisurely strolling and window-shopping. Here you can explore 50-plus diverse shops, 17 unique eateries and outdoor entertainment and find everything under the sun. Alongside four miles of tree-lined paths you’ll find all sorts of entertainers doing their thing. Bands, singers, dancers, magicians, whatever. There’s something for any age, so have a seat, take in a show and get a little sun. Check for the scheduled stage performances and daily entertainers. All of the talent performs, where else, outdoors – after all, you’re in San Diego!

4. Bike, walk or jog in Mission Bay Park, the largest man-made aquatic park in the United States (over 4,235 acres). It’s an enormous, scenic waterfront park with minimal commercialization; a rare example of a visionary public amenity not usually seen in SoCal. There is something for everyone here, walkers, runners, cyclists, skaters, scooters, roller-blade-skaters, Volley-ball players, kite flyers, dog owners, model airplane pilots, birdwatchers, sailors, kayakers, rowers, windsurfers, jet-skiers, motor-boaters and joggers. Facilities include boat ramps, marinas, bocce, tennis courts, playgrounds, picnic tables, acres of turf, miles and miles of concrete trails and numerous fire rings.

5. Head to one of dozens of San Diego beaches (all free!) where you can swim, body surf, boogie-board, read a book, people watch, collect seashells or just chill. No adult beverages are allowed on San Diego beaches anymore, so you can be assured of a fun, peaceful day at the beach. Sunsets are always magnificent with sparkling postcard-perfect views of the ocean.

Here are some lodging resources in the San Diego area:: San Diego B&B, Carlsbad CA Bed and Breakfasts and Del Mar Hotels – Del Mar California.

Five Activities Every Visitor Must Try While Visiting San Diego

1. Old Town sidewalks overflow with people who come to revisit history, to shop and to savor some of the best and greatest variety of food that San Diego has to offer. Guests wander through Old Town’s historic buildings, including the blacksmith shop, Seeley Stables and the haunted Whaley House. According to the Travel Channel’s America’s Most Haunted, the Whaley House is the number one most haunted house in the United States. The alleged hauntings of the Whaley House have been reported on numerous other television programs and been written up in countless publications and books since the house first opened as a museum in 1960.

2. Visit La Jolla Cove and stop by “the” Cave (via the Cave Store) where you go down a narrow stairway through a manmade tunnel into the mysterious Sunny Jim Cave. The cave’s first owner, Sunny Jim, thought he could make a living from his cave, so he hired two Chinese laborers in 1902 to excavate an underground tunnel to the interior of the cave. The workers finished the cave using only picks and shovels and carrying out the dirt with a wheel barrow. Back then the public could only get down into the cave by lowering themselves down a rope. You can also enter the cave from the sea (via kayak) along with the other six ocean-carved caves, but Sunny Jim is the only sea cave in California that you can access from a stairway.

3. Visit downtown San Diego’s Seaport Village for hours of free entertainment, leisurely strolling and window-shopping. Here you can explore 50-plus diverse shops, 17 unique eateries and outdoor entertainment and find everything under the sun. Enjoy a laid-back day of hanging out in the grass, watching yachts and ships go by on picturesque San Diego Bay or take in the sights and absorb the unique atmosphere from one of the many bay-view eateries.

4. Spend a cool, relaxing day at the enormous (4,000 plus acres!) Mission Bay Park surrounding Mission Bay. Many families pack the car and spend the day here. They bring bikes, scooters, camping chairs and foldable picnic tables. On the way to the park be sure to pick up a bunch of take-out food… (we recommend Rubio’s or Filberto’s) and pack a cooler full of drinks and extra snacks. Bring the badminton set and books, crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. It’s a great place to relax or bike or walk along the sidewalks. Just find a nice spot under one of the many trees and either catch some sun or fall asleep in the shade. On warm days you get a cool breeze from the bay and the ocean. Oh, and you can bring your dog too. This is America’s Finest City, get outside and enjoy it!

5. Head to one of dozens of San Diego beaches (all free!) where you can swim, body surf, boogie-board, read a book, people watch, collect seashells or just chill. No adult beverages are allowed on San Diego beaches anymore, so you can be assured of a fun, peaceful day at the beach. Sunsets are always magnificent with sparkling postcard-perfect views of the ocean.

San Diego Accommodations: LaJolla B&Bs, Carlsbad Bed and Breakfast and Beach Hotels in Del Mar California.

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