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Beacon's Beach
Categories: Active Life Swimming Pools Active Life Beaches Swimming Pools, Beaches [Edit]
Neptune & Leucadia BlvdLeucadia, CA 92024
Neighborhood: Encinitas
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
13 reviews for Beacon's Beach
13 reviews in English
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Review from Mike B.
Encinitas, CA
10/17/2011 17 Check-ins Here
the bayest!
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Review from Kathy M.
12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Love me some Beacons. The walk down is half the fun - and it's a great longboarding spot.
Be advised that it is on a ONE WAY street people. If you miss the parking lot, you cannot turn around and go back. It's a small lot, so if you don't know where you're going, keep an eye out! -
Review from Vanessa C.
Las Vegas, NV
7/27/2011 20 Check-ins Here
Our family has a beach house on Neptune and the obvious highlight of our summer is walking down to Beacons beach.
There is nothing more beautiful than looking out our beach house windows and seeing the dolphins jumping and all of the surfers waiting to catch the next perfect wave. My daughters took their first surfing lessons their as well.
One of my favorite things about Beacon's beach is that the main entrance to get to the beach is a somewhat steep climb... I know it sounds crazy but I enjoy the Leg workout that I get going up and down the beach. I also really like that they have a lifeguard on duty.
The only reason that I don't give Beacon's a 5 star is because they don't have a bathroom.
This is a beach that memories are definitely made of. -
Review from David H.
Driving by on Neptune Drive over the Columbus Day weekend and stopped here to take a look see out over the cliffs. Nice area and watched the sun as it was descending over the ocean. Very pretty here.
Listed in: Just Visiting
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Review from Carolyn S.
Costa Mesa, CA
8/1/2011
Beautiful. Clean. Secluded. You have to climb down a long ramped path to get to the beach. Saw alot of surfers so it must be a good spot for the locals. If I lived in this area I would come here regularly.
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Review from E David C.
Carlsbad, CA
8/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great view. Watch sunset from here. Feel like a local when you check out the surf
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Review from Shelley S.
Encinitas, CA
7/18/2011
It is my local beach. I am very lucky.
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Review from Rob K.
Encinitas, CA
7/12/2009 7 photos
Not exactly a world class beach, but this is San Diego and not Bora Bora after all. Beacons has been my local beach for going on 15 years now and I pretty much love it. For the first couple years that I lived in Encinitas I never once came here. My friends and I always surfed the higher-profile spots down in Cardiff. I don't think I even knew the place existed, which isn't all that surprising considering its reputation as a mediocre wave. So it wasn't until late summer of '95 when the boys and I moved into a little place in Leucadia that I stumbled on to Beacons. Being within walking distance from our apartment we started to surf there on a regular basis. It wasn't long before Beacons had attained "home break" status.
I'll be the first to admit that the surf at Beacons is in no way spectacular. That being said, the spot is a lot better than it gets credit for. It picks up most swells and has three or four different peaks to choose from depending on the day. As a result of its lackluster image, the crowd is much less intense than what you'll find at the A-grade breaks around SD County. In fact the crowd is mostly older longboarders (which is a blessing and a curse, but I won't get into that now).
There are two directions a wave can break - left or right - and Beacons is predominantly a left-breaking wave, making it great for goofyfooters like myself. Suffice it to say over the years I've scored lots and lots of very fun waves at Beacons, while probably never getting so much as a single mind-blowing ride. It's an acceptable arrangement.
There is more to talk about than simply Beacons the surf spot. It's a fine beach for regular people, too. The parking lot at the top of the bluff is on the small side but it's easily accessed and free. It's also right in the middle of a residential neighborhood so the environment is more tranquil than many city beaches. To get down to the sand you folllow a switchback trail - it's pretty easy going both ways and families with small kids do it all the time.
Like most of Encinitas, Leucadia's coastline is marked with high bluffs, and they add a sense of privacy and remoteness to the whole experience. Aside from the fancy homes lining the blufftop, the only exposure you have to the modern world is the distant sound of horns from the trains making their way up and down the coast.
Like most Southern California beaches, the sand quality here is just so-so. It was glorious for a short time several years ago when the local governments carried out a "sand replenishment" project that actually worked. For one summer you'd have thought you were at Makena Beach on Maui. But it wasn't long before the quality stuff they dug up from the sea floor had all eroded away, leaving the beach looking and feeling much like it had before, gray and compact, with all that fluffy pink sand but a distant memory. At least the beach isn't piled high with cobblestones the way south Cardiff is. Those things are a pain in the ass (and on the feet).
Be advised there are no services to speak of, not even showers, so it's up to you to bring what you need. For lucky guys like me who live just a cobblestone's throw away - and have a wonderful outside shower to stroll right into after getting out of the water - these things are of no concern. In the colder months the beach is almost always empty but come summertime it definitely attracts a lot of locals and a few wayward tourists as well. Parking gets tough then. The number of surfers in the water stays fairly level year 'round and fluctuates more with the surf conditions than the seasons.
One last thing, Beacons is a great place to watch the sun go down. On almost any evening if you arrive shortly before sunset you'll find the top of the bluff lined with people of all stripes, just taking it all in. Some things never get old.Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Jessica R.
Encinitas, CA
4/29/2009
You're so ugly.
{I've never seen a more beautiful display of gold sand grains, teal water breaks, or tanned, toned surfers.}
You smell awful.
{That salty sweet air breeze that is your cologne must be an aphrodisiac.}
What a workout.
{Like sex on the beach. I mean.... wait, what?}
You're so unpopular.
{I hope to keep our relationship monogamous.}
I hate you.
{I love you.}Listed in: Hello Encinitas
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Review from Tyler H.
San Diego, CA
11/10/2007
As a native Leucadian and someone who learned to surf here and who has surfed this spot for more than 20 years, by the surfer code I'm probably supposed to write a fake-bad review and try and get people not to come here but I can't do it. Even though I consider Beacons to be my home break (although I no longer live as near it) I have to admit that it is the perfect spot for people of almost all surfing stripes to come to.
For beginners the place is perfect, with it's predictable lineups and relatively soft-breaking waves. Longboarders will enjoy the long lefts off of south-reef (lineup off the house on south end of the parking lot) and the nice big channel to paddle back out in. Young rippers might get a fun wave or two that hits the inside and stands up, but if you're looking for high-quality, high-performance waves there are other beaches nearby that break better.
Non-surfers should enjoy the beach too. In the summertime there is now a lifeguard on duty, low tide reveals some nice tidal pools when the sand isn't covering them all up, and the view of the cliff and surrounding area is very beautiful. Come here to get a more mellow 'local' vibe than at the more 'urban' nearby beaches like cardiff or moonlight or ponto.Listed in: Surf City
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Review from Diana H.
Encinitas, CA
8/18/2008
Yay! Great beach! There's actually a parking lot but - good luck with that. But you can vulture around the neighborhood and find something without too much trouble. The descent down the bluff is easier in that it's a trail with switchbacks rather than stairs, but it's also longer, so pick your poison. This beach is wider that those a bit south, so you don't get that squeeeeezed feeling at high tide.
The waves were breaking nice and evenly on Sunday, so that may have colored my opinion. But this was a FA-bulous beach. And again, relatively hippo free (except for me). No bathrooms, no booze, no dogs. Duh. -
Review from Josh S.
Encinitas, CA
6/5/2007
All of the beaches in San Diego are incredible...except for this one. You'd be happier somewhere else, I can tell by the way you're reading this. I mean, you're going to have to walk down a big hill...then back up it...if you can even find a parking spot....you really don't want to do all that do you
Why don't you head back down to moonlight, you'll like it there! -
Review from Julie G.
Berkeley, CA
11/10/2006 6 photos
This is one of North County San Diego's hidden treasures. Located in the Leucadia section of Encinitas, the view from the cliff is spectacular. However the decent down to the actual water is long and windy and not for everyone. It's just as well as the locals like to keep the crowds away.
In summertime there is always enough room to spread out and the water seems to be warmer here as the shallow bits extend for a while before the remnants of the breaking waves spread out upon the shore.
You find lot's of longboarders here but the inside set is also decent for the fast trackers.
http://www.beaconsbeac.../
