North Pacific Beach(Law Street Beach, Palisades Park Beach)

Located in the northern part of the neighborhood of Pacific Beach, North Pacific Beach is a mile-long wide beach with light brown sand. This beach is situated below steep oceanfront bluffs. The blufftop area above the beach has many grassy parks and the Crystal Pier is situated towards the beach’s southern end.

The beach and the area around it have many amenities including lifeguards, showers, and restrooms. The beach allows dogs on leash before 9 am and after 6 pm between April and October. Between November and March the beach allows dogs before 9 am and after 4 pm. 

North Pacific Beach offers many fun activities including swimming, paddleboarding, wildlife watching, kayaking, canoeing, beachcombing, boating, kitesurfing, sailboarding, surfing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, skating, biking, fishing, and sunbathing. The water near this beach has gentle waves and is relatively calmer than other San Diego beaches. In addition, the water here is ideal for all kinds of surfers and swimmers. If you are an amateur surfer, the nearby San Diego Surf School offers surfing lessons taught by CPR-certified instructors and also organizes surf camps for kids and offers surf boards on rent. However, if you are planning to go into the water near North Pacific Beach, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents. In addition, we recommend visiting early if you are planning to go into the water here as it can get crowded during the latter part of the day. It is also important to note that the local authorities may periodically designate separate surfing and swimming areas in the water near North Pacific Beach in order to avoid overcrowding. Depending on the time of the year, you can see many kinds of animals in the water near this beach including seals, sea lions, dolphins, and migrating whales.

The Ocean Front Walk is a concrete walkway that runs along the blufftop area above North Pacific Beach which features numerous exciting nightclubs, shopping stores, bike and water-sporting equipment rental facilities, and restaurants and is also a popular skating and biking spot. The grassy parks situated in the blufftop areas above North Pacific Beach offer fantastic Instagram-worthy views of the San Diego shoreline, particularly during sunsets. The Crystal Pier is a wooden pier located near the southern end of the beach which offers amazing pier fishing spots and marvelous Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean. If you are planning to fish in the water near North Pacific Beach, make sure that you comply with the local fishing regulations.

Getting to North Pacific Beach is easy - there are multiple access stairs to the beach along Ocean Boulevard near its intersections with Law Street, Loring Street, Crystal Drive, Chalcedony Street, Diamond Street, and Felspar Street. Street parking is available near all these intersections.

There are many attractions near North Pacific Beach. Kate Sessions Park is a 79-acre park that offers amazing Instagram-worthy views that is named in honor of renowned local horticulturist Kate Sessions. The park has two separate sections - one section is popular among families and has walking paths, restrooms, barbecues, drinking fountains, and picnic tables. The other section of this park has coastal scrub vegetation that you can explore via hiking trails. This park also has a children’s playground. Belmont Park is an amusement park offering a number of exciting rides, a gaming arcade and a restaurant. This park also has the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, which was built in 1925 and is a part of the United States’ National Register of Historic Places. If you are looking for another attraction near North Pacific Beach, Mission Bay Golf Course and Practice Center has an 18-hole golf course that offers a challenging session of golf.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near North Pacific Beach. The JRDN Restaurant is an upscale oceanfront restaurant that offers delicious coastal Californian cuisine with Japanese and Mexican influences and serves great fusion seafood dishes and steaks. Pacific Beach Fish Shop offers a casual ambiance and amazing South California-inspired seafood. In addition, this restaurant has been praised by many online and print-based publications including the San Diego Magazine and sdnews.com. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near North Pacific Beach, the modestly priced and family friendly Kono’s Surf Club Cafe  offers fantastic breakfast dishes including French toast, burritos, eggs, and their outstanding signature dish Kono potatoes. 

If you are looking for a hotel near North Pacific Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Pacific Terrace Hotel offers many amenities including a pool, a hot tub that offers views of the ocean, and massage services. In addition, the hotel also charges a resort fee for bike rentals and access to a fitness room that operates 24 hours-a-day and seven days a week. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Sands of La Jolla that offers many amenities including a pool and a lounge area. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near North Pacific Beach, the modestly priced 2-Star Holiday Inn Express San Diego Seaworld-Beach Area, an IHG Hotel offers many amenities including a pool, fitness center, and complimentary breakfast.