Pacific Beach, San Diego CA has a zip code of 92109 and is one of the best San Diego neighborhoods to live in, then again, I am a little biased because I grew up in this San Diego beach town. Pacific Beach or P.B. as it’s called by the locals was founded in 1887 and when the 1st lots were sold Golden Era Magazine touted Pacific Beach as a place for “magnificent beach, unsurpassed in California and the bay for yachting, fishing and duck-shooting.” While the duck hunting doesn’t hold true any longer Pacific Beach really has one of the best beaches in all of San Diego and the bay is great for sailing and fishing too.
Today, Pacific Beach is known for its laid-back beach community with many different businesses, bars and restaurants and is a favorite with professionals of all ages, surfers and families. Out of all the communities in San Diego there really isn’t a neighborhood quite like Pacific Beach which epitomizes the eclectic nature and diversity San Diego is known for.
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There are many activities to do in Pacific Beach. When I was younger we use to go fishing on Crystal Pier or some call it the Pacific Beach Pier almost daily during the summer. You can catch all types of species of fish: Halibut, Sculpin, Bonito, Perch, Smelt, Mackerel, Yellow Tail, Rays and if you get really lucky the occasional Tuna may swim by. Crystal Pier is also known for the Crystal Pier Hotel which was built in 1930. The hotel consists of 24 cottages on Crystal Pier itself where you can sleep over the ocean at night and feel the pier sway as the waves go by underneath you or you can stay in one of the rooms in the main Hotel at the end of the pier if you don’t have your sea legs
Crystal Pier is the only Public pier in Pacific beach, but at sundown it is reserved strictly for guests. In the morning you can walk across the street to one of Pacific Beaches local’s favorite restaurants KONOS. I’ve been going there since 1991 when they opened. They make a great breakfast and it’s very affordable. You can eat in their restaurant or take your breakfast burrito to the patio or you can go to the patio next to Crystal Pier and watch the waves roll in, I like that patio the best. After breakfast you may want to grab surf lessons or maybe rent a few bikes or roller blades and cruise the boardwalk. The Pacific Beach Boardwalk is 2.3 miles long one way and it takes you from just north of Crystal Pier to the Jetty just south of Belmont Park home of the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster in South Mission Beach. Along the way to Belmont Park you will pass many Mission Beach Vacation Rentals. These homes usually sit right on Mission Bay or Mission Beach and are available to rent by the week or the month. If you’re looking for homes in Pacific Beach and you don’t know the area I highly recommend doing a vacation rental in Mission Beach or renting a Vacation Rental in Pacific Beach first, before you start looking for homes in Pacific Beach to buy. This way you really get submerged into the culture of what it’s like to own one of the many Pacific Beach homes for sale.
On your way back from South Mission Beach it may be fun to stroll Mission Bay or as the locals say the “Bay Side”. It just has a different feel to it, you can follow the bay path to the Catamaran Hotel and then hop on Mission Blvd or you can go all the way around the bay to Crown Point. The Crown Point Neighborhood is within Pacific Beach, this area is more geared to families and is set away from the bars and hustle and bustle of busy beach life, the same could be said about North Pacific Beach as well. As you cruise the bay you can see many of the homes on Crown Point Drive that face Mission Bay and many of the homes in Crown Point have picturesque views of Mission bay.
One thing I love about beach community homes in San Diego is they are for the most part very contained with in the neighborhood, so if you live and work at the beach you really don’t need a car to get around. Once you’ve made it to Crown Point you can look across the bay and see Sea World. During the summer Sea World has their firework shows that light up the sky. I remember when I was a teenager we had a house by Kate Sessions Park which is a 139 acre park with sweeping views of Mission Bay, Crown Point and Pacific Beach and I would sit on my deck and watch the fireworks while I was doing homework.
Kate Sessions Park is located just North of Beryl Street off Lamont located on a hilltop between La Jolla and Pacific Beach. Kate Session Park has two sides to it, useable space and preserve space. The useable space at Kate Sessions Park is for recreation and is approximately 79 acres, it has a well manicured lawn, a picnic area, public bathrooms and a play area . When I was in College I would spend many nights up at Kate Sessions Park doing homework in my car and just enjoying the view and listening to tunes on my radio. Outside of the grassy area is a preserve with many plants that Kate Sessions imported from around the world as well as many native San Diego plants. There is a cemented walkway or trail that will take you through and around the preserve area of Kate Sessions Park.
The park was named after Kate Sessions known as “The Mother of Balboa Park” She was a horticulturalist and botanist who owned flower shops and nurseries in Coronado, Pacific Beach and Mission Hills. Kate Sessions was commemorated for planting 100 trees a year in Balboa Park and planting over 300 trees throughout San Diego. You can see why Kate Sessions Park is a favorite among the locals.
Once you’re done exploring Kate Sessions Park It’s probably time for lunch and there is nothing more San Diego than a Carne Asada burrito at one of my favorite restaurants Taco Surf located on Mission Blvd or a fish Taco at the Original RUBIO’s Fish Tacos which is located close to Mission Bay High School at 4504 Mission Bay Dr, Pacific Beach, CA 92109. You can’t go wrong with either of them, but I’d rather give my business to non chain stores myself. Other notable places to eat in PB are, ROCKYS CROWNE PUB (Best Burgers in Town), Cafe Athena, World Curry, World Famous (Best Happy Hour in San Diego, IchiBan PB, Pacific Beach Ale House, Lamont Street Bar and Grill, Iron Pig Ale House, Sushi Ota, Firehouse, Oscars Mexican Food, MR FROSTIE (PB ICON), Fig Tree Eatery
Once your done with Lunch You may want to take some time to Cruise Garnett Ave. or Mission Blvd. There are many shops and things to do as well.
Did you know that Pacific Beach is home to many entrepreneurs and just some really cool dudes? Larry Gordon and Floyd Smith started Gordon and Smith out of their garage and later had a little shop on Mission Blvd. Also, Ralph Rubio Started the very 1st Rubio Restaurant in Pacific Beach, San Diego CA. and the legendary Frank Zappa went to Mission Bay High School? a few other Notables that went to Mission Bay High School are: Casey Nicholaw (Broadway Director), Matt Bush (Baseball Player), Adia Oshun Barne (Head Women’s Basket Ball Coach UOA), Arain foster (Football), Skip Frye (Legendary Surfer) and the list goes on. As you can see Mission Bay High has quite the collection of over achievers, The school is rated better than most sporting a 7 out of 10 according to great Schools, and Pacific Beach Elementary School has pretty good marks rated an 8 out of 10. Kate Sessions Elementary School is ranked 10/10 according to Great Schools and Pacific Beach Middle School comes in just above average . Not to bad for a beach town.
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