I’m going to be on vacation at Pacific Beach this week and would like suggestions from the San Diego contingent on where I can SAFELY do an ocean swim. I’ve seen people swimming up at La Jolla, but not sure if that is the best/safest place.
Signed,
Novice Ocean Swimmer
Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.
However, La Jolla is the most convenient place to Pacific Beach that I can think of.
The Triathlon Club of San Diego website may have some more locations…www.triclubsandiego.com
If by safe you mean other people around, La Jolla Cove at 6-7 am and in the evening is your best bet as far as finding other open water swimmers around. There’s a large dedicated swim area (no power craft, mileage buoys), and depending on the surge the underwater view is awesome. Also, La Jolla Shores just across the way is guarded during the day and you can swim along the beach - watch for stingrays in the sand on the way in and out - not a big problem, just remember to shuffle your feet.
I agree with the other posts. If you’re staying in PB, you can swim in an area similar to LaJolla shores (more crowded beach but same situation with surf and lifeguards) at Mission Beach. Park in the lot just south of Belmont Park (where the roller coaster is). From there north for a while is swim only (no surfers allowed). If there are waves the surf here may be a bit stronger than LJ Shores but this time of year it is usually nothing significant.
Heads up though, they are predicting a big swell to hit mid week so be careful. wetsand.com, surfline.com, surfshot.com