From Coronado to Pacific Beach: Welcome to Southern California’s most scenic oceanside neighborhoods.

San Diego’s beach area spans from the Coronado peninsula in the south to Pacific Beach in the north. Each neighborhood has a distinct flavor: Coronado is quaint, Ocean Beach is full of character and Pacific and Mission Beach are all about collegiate cool.

Coronado
Coronado is an island of small-town quaintness amid San Diego’s big-city bustle. Well, it’s not really an island, though many locals call it that. Coronado is actually an isthmus, attached to the mainland at the southern end of Silver Strand State Beach.

Two iconic structures define Coronado: the gracefully curving San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, erected in 1969, and the Pacific Coast’s largest beach resort, the distinctive Hotel del Coronado (1500 Orange Ave.), which opened in 1888. The latter, also known simply as The Del, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. By day, the area’s vast beaches are ideal for running and sunning; by night, the main drag, Orange Avenue, is an inviting entertainment district.

Orange Avenue shops include La Provençale (1122 Orange Ave.), featuring fabrics and other accoutrements from France; gourmet grocer In Good Taste (1146 Orange Ave.) and Wood’n Angel (1339 Orange Ave.), offering custom folk art just up the street from the Hotel Del. Shop Kippys (1114 Orange Ave.) for women’s fashions, Bay Books (1029 Orange Ave.) for military and business books as well as general interest reading and Seaside Papery (1162 Orange Ave.) for a charming array of fine stationery.

The Coronado Ferry Landing Marketplace (1201 First St.), at the north end of town, offers great shopping and gallery hopping at places like Art for Wildlife. Bikes and Beyond has everything from beach cruisers and mountain bikes to adult trikes and pedal surreys. With its flat, tree lined streets, biking is the perfect way to explore Cornado. Be sure to pause and take in the fabulous views of downtown San Deigo, across the bay.

Shelter Island and Harbor Island
Shelter Island and Harbor Island aren’t really “islands” either; they’re connected to the mainland by a strip of land. They were created more than 35 years ago with millions of tons of dredged sand from the floor of the bay. Shelter Island, with its many bars, restaurants and nautically themed stores, is also the departure point for various sportfishing charters. The area is also home to Humphrey’s Concerts By the Bay, a 1,350-seat outdoor theater that hosts jazz, blues and pop headliners well into October. Nearby Harbor Island has its own, smaller outdoor festival site, Spanish Landing Park, and several bayview restaurants. Both islands offer postcard vistas of the downtown skyline, plus flat paths for walks and bike rides.

Ocean Beach and Point Loma
O.B. for short, this neighborhood is truly one of San Diego’s most unique. It’s an endless summer of love in O.B., an aggregation of aging hippies, surfers, bikers, artists, musicians and other free spirits. OBceans possess a strong sense of community and territorial pride best summed up by a once-popular bumper sticker: “U.S. out of O.B.”

At 1,971 feet, the Ocean Beach Pier is the longest free-standing public pier in the country. Nearby Dog Beach gives four-legged beachgoers a chance to cut loose without leashes. Find organic eats at People’s Organic Foods Co-Op (4765 Voltaire St.) and O.B.’s colorful Wednesday evening Farmers Market, held along Newport Avenue, which is also lined with bars and eateries.

The county’s largest antique district, O.B. boasts some 200 dealers on two blocks at collectives like Ocean Beach Antique Mall (4926 Newport Ave.) and Newport Avenue Antique Center & Coffee House (4864 Newport Ave.). Newport Avenue is also home to Blondstone Jewelry Studio (4925 Newport Ave.), Rock Paper Scissors (4976 Newport Ave.), a multi-vendor galleria with international textiles and ceramics; Cow Records (5029 Newport Ave.), which attracts music junkies with its vintage vinyl; and South Coast Surf Shop (5023 Newport Ave.) and South Coast Longboards (5037 Newport Ave.), which will have you looking like a local in no time.

Nearby Point Loma is home to a small but charming array of restaurants and cafes, as well as the Cabrillo National Monument, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and military installations. The Cabrillo National Monument (see page 70) offers panoramic vistas stretching from San Diego to Mexico. There are also hiking trails, tidepools, a historic lighthouse, a bookstore and museum exhibits about conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the founder of San Diego.

Mission Beach and Pacific Beach
Two of San Diego’s most popular beaches, Mission Beach and Pacific Beach (“P.B.” to locals) form anunbroken band of sand that stretches for three miles, from the mouth of Mission Bay to the rocky points of La Jolla. Both are overflowing with restaurants, bars and boutiques.

great find
PROST!
Laid-back Pacific Beach is hiding a little secret: Truly Fine Wine, a wine shop specializing in German imports. Well aware of the American wine drinker’s stereotypes about German wines—namely, that they're all cloyingly sweet, especially Rieslings—shop owners Damon and Sabrina are happy to watch as skeptical tasters swallow their words with a sip of 2005 Spatlese Riesling from the Blees-Ferber estate. Aiming to demystify German wines, this knowledgeable husband-and-wife duo hand-selects every bottle on the shelf while offering keen food-pairing suggestions, such as manchego cheese and silky foie gras for the aforementioned Riesling. Visitors can also shop for hard-to-find wines such as the 1996 Gutzler Chardonnay Eiswein (ice wine). Call ahead to schedule a group tasting. 4060 Morena Blvd. #K, Pacific Beach, 858.270.9463. — Sara Park

South Mission Beach is home to serious beach volleyball and bayside basketball games. Farther north, check out the star attraction at the Belmont Park amusement park: the Giant Dipper, a restored 1925 wooden roller coaster (see page 70). Another landmark dating back to 1925 is Crystal Pier, at the foot of Garnet Avenue in P.B. This 400-foot-long wooden pier is gated and lined with rental cottages. However, the pier is open to the public during the day and is always popular with fishermen. Walk halfway down the pier and look over the edge for a unique view of surfers catching waves.

The best way to experience this area is to walk along the boardwalk, where people-watching is not just encouraged, it’s a must. If the nonstop parade of skateboarders, in-liners, bikers, joggers and walkers gets to be too much, walk across Mission Boulevard to the bayside boardwalk, where there’s much less of a scene.

Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard form the backbone of this funky, retro retail district, which boasts dozens of boutiques filled with surfing gear, swimsuits and casual wear. Begin the 10-block shopping stroll where the two main streets intersect, then head east. (Note: These are long blocks.) Start with Pangaea Outpost (909 Garnet Ave.), an emporium with 60 cosmopolitan shops under one roof; Sun Splash (979 Garnet Ave.), which offers swimwear and casual beachwear, and BerryDog (1043 Garnet Ave.), which creates custom bikinis for any figure.

A couple of “don’t-miss” shops are farther up Garnet Avenue. Rusty Spokes Vintage Bicycles (1344 Garnet Ave.) is a true treasure for the bicycle-lover. Bikes range from an 1889 Roadmaster to classic Schwinns from the ‘70s. Four blocks up is Beach Baby Boutique (1753 1/2 Garnet Ave.), a tiny shop featuring trendy beachwear for tykes.

Mission Boulevard highlights include beachwear boutiques Pilar’s (3745 Mission Blvd.), Gone Bananas! (3785 Mission Blvd.) and Star Surfing Company (4652 Mission Blvd.). Recharge with a soy latte at Olive Café (805 Santa Clara Place) in Mission Beach or P.B.’s Café 976 (976 Felspar St.), a converted Craftsman surrounded by lush gardens.

Mission Bay Park
Mission Bay Park is a 4,000-acre gathering spot for locals and visitors to enjoy outdoor activities including running, biking, skating, kite-flying, sailing and boating. The park comprises various coves, points and islands with excellent picnicking spots and fire pits. Several sportfishing charters depart daily from Mission Bay, and a variety of watercraft can be rented nearby. The Visitors Information Center is off Interstate 5 at East Mission Bay Drive, at the foot of the Clairemont Drive exit (619.276.8200).

The west side of the bay is also home to several resort hotels and SeaWorld (see page 70), the internationally known park sheltering more than 12,000 aquatic animals. Don’t miss Shark Encounter, a 57-foot underwater walkway offering a peek into the world of sand tiger, bonnethead and whitetip sharks.