Located between Del Mar to the south and Encinitas to the north, you will find Solana Beach. Known for great restaurants, night life and shopping, this mellow beach town offers endless opportunities for fun and is a must see for a vacation by the sea.
Read on for our idea of the perfect weekend spent in the sunny beach town of Solana Beach California.
Dawn Patrol
Grab your board and head to one of the four beaches in Solana for an early morning surf. Located at 111 S. Sierra, at the end of Plaza Street where Lomas Santa Fe Boulevard meets the beach, you’ll find Fletcher Cove. offers easy public access. Fletcher Cove Beach is a small, protected inlet that is great for swimming, bodyboarding, surfing, surf-fishing and kayaking and offers easy public beach access. Families will especially appreciate the adjacent playground and grassy area with restrooms, picnic tables and a basketball court. A public parking lot located at the Cove as well as free street parking ensure that parking is seldom a problem for visitors traveling to the beach by vehicle.
Post-Surf Fuel
Located a block north of the Design District, Claire’s on Cedros is a cozy LEED-certified cottage that was designed to be as sustainable-focused as their menu. Prized for the freshly baked pastries and breads, Claire’s serves California-style comfort food that includes Quinoa Cake Benedict, Corn & Zucchini Enchiladas, Shrimp & Grits and the not-to-be-missed signature pancakes known as “Clairecakes.” A recent addition is their just-as-healthy grab & go bakery/coffee shop located across the street from the restaurant.
Retail Therapy
The Cedros Design District is quintessentially the best area for shopping. Filled solely with independent boutiques and businesses, you can spend a whole day on the 2 ½ block shopping mecca. Many of the boutiques are housed in Quonset huts from the 1940s. You will find art galleries, antique shops, home decor imports, European eateries, day spas, cafes, restaurants and more, including the legendary music venue, the Belly Up.
Each Sunday afternoon, Cedros Design District hosts a farmers market filled with local seasonal fruits and vegetables, baked good and fresh flowers, along with a selection of craftsman and artisans displaying their goods.
Pizza And A Craft Beer
There are so many options when it comes to restaurants in Solana, but one long-time local favorite is Pizza Port. At the northern part of town is Pizza Port’s original location where they started it all in 1987. A long-time local favorite for their pizzas–optionally made with their signature wholegrain beer crust–they were also one of San Diego’s earliest craft breweries (from 1992) and influential in making San Diego the craft beer capital it is today.
Take A Stroll At Tide Beach Park
Approximately ½ mile north of Fletcher Cove, Tide Beach Park is a beautiful sand beach with a large reef and tide pools. At low tide, neon-bright sea anemones, purple urchins, barnacles, crabs and starfish become temporarily marooned for all to see.
Take A Hike
Annie’s Canyon Trail is a short trail (also known as mushroom cave hike) and gives access to a sandstone canyon created by water erosion. See panoramic views of both the Pacific Ocean and the San Elijo Lagoon, with naturally eroding sandstone walls engulfing you.
Then entrance is located at Rios Ave Trailhead.
Reward Yourself With A Glass Of Wine
Conveniently located in the heart of the Cedros Design District, Carruth Cellars is an urban winery founded by local native Adam Carruth. Their full functioning urban winery, tasting rooms, and wine garden are open for 7 days a week, no reservations required. They also offer private wine tastings and tours by reservation. Book a reservation to learn how they source grapes from Northern and Central California and produce all their wines in their urban facilities by the beach!
Treat Yourself To Some Great Mexican Food And A Margarita
Fidel’s Little Mexico has been a San Diego landmark since the early ’60s when owner Fidel Montanez came up with the idea to serve tacos at his busy barber shop. The shop was located in a small neighborhood in Solana Beach that was home to a number of Mexican families. The business thrived and expanded as Fidel converted his two-story residence into three different levels, including a festive courtyard, a couple of bars and outdoor patios, and a taco bar. Today, Fidel’s ranks among the top restaurants in San Diego County. Happy hour is offered four days a week in the large upstairs bar. Fidel’s menu offers traditional favorites as well as house specialties that will transport you and your party South of the Border.
Enjoy Some Live Music
Voted “San Diego’s Best Live Music Venue” and touted as one of the hottest live music venues on the West Coast by Rolling Stone magazine, the legendary Belly Up has been bringing great live music to San Diego since 1974. Over the years, this casual, intimate setting has hosted renowned musicians such as B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Maroon5 and The Rolling Stones.
Have you ever been to Solana Beach? Is there anything we missed? Haustay has a number of vacation rentals so head over to the website to book your stay in the beautiful beach town of Solana.
