Mission Beach(Oceanfront Boarwalk)

Located in the Mission Beach neighborhood of San Diego, Mission Beach is a long and popular beach with light brown sand that is slightly over a mile long.  Travel+Leisure magazine listed this beach as one of the best beaches in the United States, and it is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Mission Beach has lifeguards between 9 a.m. and dusk.  In addition to lifeguards, the beach and the area around it offer many other amenities, including restrooms, bonfire pits, showers, basketball courts, watersports equipment rental facilities, concession stands, volleyball nets, picnic sites, sitting areas, and grassy recreational areas. 

Dogs on leash are allowed here before 9 am and after 6 pm from April to October, and before 9 am and after 4 pm from November to March. 

Mission Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, volleyball, jet-skiing, surfing, swimming, boogie boarding, bodysurfing, skimboarding, paddleboarding, wakeboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing, parasailing, skateboarding, biking, scuba diving, boating, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching.

This beach is popular with beginner swimmers and surfers because the water here has mild and manageable waves – you can check the Mission Beach surf report online for checking the waves here.  You can also scuba dive here – there is a series of shipwrecks a half-mile offshore that form an artificial reef which can be explored by experienced divers.  However, if you are planning to swim, surf, kayak, or canoe here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents.  In addition, the local authorities also designate separate marine areas for surfers and swimmers, so it is advisable to look out for signs marking the swimming and surfing areas on the beach. 

If you like beachcombing, we recommend visiting this beach early in the morning because you can find many shells here during this time.  If you like fishing, the Mission Bay Jetty at the southern end of the beach is a great fishing site and you can catch many kinds of fish here.  Bonfires are also permitted here and this beach also offers a fun oceanfront beach bonfire experience.

Mission Beach has mobility mats for visitors with disabilities – these mats are located near the main lifeguard towers here.  In addition to mobility mats, this beach also has manual and motorized beach wheelchairs for visitors with disabilities – you can contact the main lifeguard stations at the beach to use the manual beach wheelchairs.  In addition, you can also contact the local authorities at (619) 980-1876 to book a motorized beach wheelchair.

Getting to Mission Beach is easy – this beach is located along Mission Boulevard and its northern end starts at Mission Boulevard’s intersection with Ventura Place.  You can park at the free parking lot at a nearby amusement park named Belmont Park, which is located near 3146 Mission Boulevard.  In addition, multiple free parking lots are also available near 1100 West Mission Bay Drive, 3071 Ocean Front Walk, and 3105 Mission Boulevard.  In addition, free parking lots are also available at the eastern ends of two nearby roads named Santa Clara Place and El Carmel Place.  You can also find a free parking lot near the beach’s southern part at 339 North Jetty Road.  In addition to these free parking lots, you can also find multiple free and metered street parking spaces around Mission Boulevard.  However, it is advisable to visit early because the parking lots and street parking spaces here fill up quickly. We also recommend visiting this beach early during summer because it can get crowded.

Mission Beach and the area around it hosts many fun events throughout the year including volleyball tournaments, tournaments for a sport named “Over-The-Line,” musical concerts, and a festival named “Belmont In Bloom.”

There are many attractions near Mission Beach.  Ocean Front Boardwalk – also called Ocean Front Walk and Mission Beach Boardwalk – is a nearby concrete walkway that runs along the San Diego County shoreline.  This walkway passes near many exciting nightclubs, shopping stores, and restaurants and is also popular with skaters and bikers.  SeaWorld San Diego is a very popular theme park and aquarium that has a variety of thrilling and exciting rides – it also has exhibits featuring a variety of unique marine animals including dolphins, sharks, otters, and orcas.  This theme park also offers excellent animal shows and presentations.  Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a historical landmark that has many buildings dating back to the Mexican and early American period of California – some of the park’s historic buildings and museums include Casa de Estudillo, a 19th century courthouse, and Mason Street School.  The state park also has interesting shopping stores and it also hosts interesting historical re-enactments and cultural performances.  Mission Bay Park is a 4,235-acre aquatic recreational park that features many amenities including picnic spots, grassy playgrounds, water play areas, watersports and watercraft rental shops, and volleyball and softball courts.  It also offers many fun activities including fishing, swimming, picnicking and boating.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Belmont Park is a popular amusement park that offers exciting rides, a gaming arcade and a restaurant – one of the most popular rides here is the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster which was built in the 1920s.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Mission Beach.  Draft Belmont Park is a restaurant and bar that offers a variety of outstanding dishes including sandwiches, burgers, fries, salads, and steak and frites.  Oceana Coastal Kitchen is a waterfront restaurant that serves excellent dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including seafood, steaks, poultry dishes, sushi, flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, pancakes, ceviche, and waffles.  World Famous PB offers many delicious dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including pastas, steaks, soups, seafood, salads, and pancakes.  Luigi’s At The Beach is an Italian restaurant that offers delicious pizzas and it also offers a variety of other dishes including calzones, pastas, salads, sandwiches, and burgers.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, La Playa Taco Shop is a Mexican restaurant that offers many amazing dishes including tacos, burritos, nachos, and quesadillas.  Another great dining option  near Mission Beach is the Mission Bay Beach Club that has a cafe named Superbloom – this cafe offers many amazing dishes including toasts, sandwiches, salads, and bagels and it also offers amazing coffee, along with alcoholic beverages.

If you are looking for a hotel near Mission Beach, there are many great options nearby.  The 5-Star THE US GRANT, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Diego offers many amenities including a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, dry cleaning service, and a gym.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Paradise Point Resort & Spa that offers many amenities including five pools, four restaurants, spa, a marina, an 18-hole golf course, a fitness center, and tennis and basketball courts.  Another 4-Star hotel is the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa that offers many amenities including a spa, multiple restaurants, a lounge, a pool, a gift shop, a gym, an area containing tropical birds, and watersports rental activities.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Bahia Resort Hotel that offers many amenities including a pool, a hot tub, a kids’ game room, tennis courts, a restaurant, watersports equipment rentals, a playground, a gift shop, and a bar.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel,  the 3-Star The Dana on Mission Bay offers many amenities including a restaurant, a bar, two pools, and a hot tub.  Another great accommodation option is staying in a vacation rental – you can find many great Mission Beach vacation rentals and Mission Beach house rentals online.