The Bluffs And Beaches Of Encinitas

By Terry Hunefeld


Encinitas California is blessed with 6 miles of gorgeous beaches, eleven of them! Whether its surfing, swimming, scuba diving, boogie-boarding, sunning, reading a book, jogging, volley-balling or just basking in the serenity of a secluded beach, Encinitas is a great place to be 12 months a year.

If you're into fitness, you'll get a great workout at Stone Steps Beach. The author ran these stairs 5 times every morning when visiting and was in the best shape of his life. These awesome leg-building stairs lead down from the bluffs to the ocean offer fantastic views to enjoy while you work out. At high tide the ocean laps the bottom of the stairs, at low tide, the beach is up to 300 feet wide with lots of room for volleyball.

Swami's Surf Beach, forever immortalized in the Beach Boys Surfin USA, is just five blocks south of Moonlight Beach on historic Highway 101 and still draws the finest surfers in the world on a daily basis. Great scuba diving is just offshore from Swamis at the Encinitas Marine Life Refuge, North San Diego's underwater park.

Moonlight Beach is a only a four minute walk from a wonderful little Bed and Breakfast Inn called the Inn at Moonlight Beach. Stone Steps Beach, Beacon's and Grandview surfing and bathing beaches are north of Moonlight Beach, all within walking distance or a brief drive up Neptune Avenue.

You can learn to surf by taking a class at Beacons Beach from Kahuna Bob, a well-known icon in Encinitas. Bob's classes are fun and you really do learn to surf.

Moonlight Beach is my favorite beach in Encinitas because it has lifeguards, a big playground, easy-to-use parking lots, safe play areas for the kids, fire-rings (popular year-round), showers, clean restrooms, extensive beach rentals, a snack bar and, one of the best sandy beaches in all of Southern California.

Following are three websites with helpful hotel and B&B information when you visit San Diego, Encinitas or other surrounding communities: Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts and Del Mar California Hotels.




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