Solana Beach

 

 

Solana Beach is a charming coastal city in San Diego County’s North County area. This eclectic community is bounded by the Encinitas neighborhood of Cardiff-by-the-Sea to the north, Rancho Santa Fe to the east, Del Mar to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. A vibrant city with excellent shopping and upscale dining, Solana Beach’s neighborhoods include the private, master-planned Lomas Santa Fe Country Club, where spacious single-family homes and condominiums overlook two golf courses. San Elijo Hills 1 and 2 are also planned communities, with attractive homes perched atop oceanside bluffs. Other areas include the 1920s neighborhood of La Colonia, located within a mile of the beachfront.

 

• Cedros Avenue Design District
• Varied beaches 
• Golf and country clubs
• Wide-ranging shops and restaurants 
  
  

Solana Beach is a diverse city, with many families living here for generations. It has a lively and artsy downtown area centered on Cedros Avenue, while Lomas Santa Fe offers its affluent residents a refined country club lifestyle.

 

The Cedros Avenue Design District is the heart of Downtown Solana Beach. The Design District features more than 85 unique businesses, including European-style sidewalk cafes, stylish fashion and jewelry boutiques, chic salons and spas, art galleries, and yoga and Pilates studios. Belly Up Tavern is touted as the best live music venue in the San Diego area, hosting performances from some of the nation’s finest touring acts since the 1970s. Belly Up’s Wild Note Café has a delicious menu of internationally-inspired seafood eats.

Solana Beach’s 1.7 miles of sandy oceanfront is divided into Fletcher Cove, Tide Beach Park, Seascape Sur, and Del Mar Shores beaches and are great places to surf, swim, or sunbathe. Scores of restaurants line Pacific Highway 101, which runs parallel to the beach along the entire length of the community. Highlights include Bangkok Bay's traditional Thai cuisine and Pizza Port, a pioneer of San Diego’s thriving craft beer scene that has paired beers brewed on-site with delicious pizza since 1992. 

More great dining choices can be found along Via De La Valle, which marks Solana Beach’s southern border with Del Mar. Standouts here include The Fish Market’s fresh seafood, oyster bar, and cocktails, and Zagat-rated Pamplemousse Grille’s creative and contemporary takes on French Country Kitchen-style cooking. Big-box retailers and other shopping and dining options can be found at Solana Beach Towne Centre and Lomas Santa Fe Plaza on either side of the San Diego Freeway.

 

Fletcher Cove is the most central and busiest of Solana Beach’s four beaches. This popular sandy beach is also known as Pillbox due to the World War II-era gunneries located along the blufftops surrounding it. The bluffs also contain a park with a basketball court. At low tide, you can walk, run, or swim along Fletcher Cove to the other beaches and explore the tidepools at Tide Beach Park or join the surfers at Seascape Sur.

Cedros Avenue Farmers’ Market takes place every Sunday between 1 PM and 5 PM. The market is open year-round except for select holidays and features a wide selection of organic produce, pastries, artisanal chocolates, juices, and smoked salmon. 

Lomas Santa Fe Executive Golf Course is located a mile from the oceanfront. This William Bell-designed course offers dramatic panoramic ocean views and has been ranked one of Golf Range Magazine’s top short courses. 

North Coast Rep at Lomas Santa Fe Plaza is one of San Diego’s best intimate theaters. With less than 200 seats, audiences at North Coast Rep are drawn to its creative contemporary and classic productions.

 

Schools within Solana Beach are operated by the Solana Beach Elementary School District.

• Solana Vista Elementary School, Public, K-3
• Skyline Elementary School, Public, K-6
• Santa Fe Christian Schools, Private, Christian, PK-12