South Carlsbad Surf Spot
Carlsbad has many miles of
coastline within it's city limits so here is our attempt to
cover all of them and provide as much information as
possible about each and every surf spot and beach in
Carlsbad.
Carlsbad is a very
beautiful community with many awesome surf spots and some
even better beaches. There are many options from Tamarack to
the warm water jetties to the Campgrounds. Here is a look at
the Campgrounds and surrounding breaks.
Location:
Carlsbad is located South
of Oceanside and North of the Encinitas area and covers a
long stretch of coastline with some awesome views and great
surf. There are many different ways to access the beach in
Carlsbad but one thing to remember is that Old Highway 101
is split into two separate roads as it enters Carlsbad and
while you are heading North on 101, it can be somewhat of a
challenge to reach the beach.
As my Directions will
indicate, I find it much easier to access this portion of
Carlsbad from the North so that you don't have to deal with
U-Turns and crossing across side streets to get to where you
want to be.
Because there are several
parking lots and ways to reach the beach, I will be
referring to them as the North and South parking lot. Both
of these lots lead to the South Carlsbad beach but these
definitions will help clarify.
Click Here for Directions
The Parking Scenario:
There are many options for
parking in the Carlsbad Campground area and each area
provides easy and great beach access. The first parking area
that is easy to find is the parking area North of the
Campgrounds. It is located right off the Old Highway 101
Southbound and has many parking spots.
The Southern parking lot
which is right next to the Campgrounds.
The great thing about
Carlsbad is that there are so many ways to get onto the
beach. Not only is there the above parking lot which is
awesome and very nice but there is a smaller parking lot
located right off of the Palomar Airport Exit off the 5
Freeway. This lot is also located on the Southbound side of
the Old Highway 101 an is smaller in size but can still
accommodate around 20 or so vehicles.
The North parking lot right at
Palomar Airport Road
You can in fact see the
larger parking lot in the far distance in the above picture
to give you an idea of their proximity to each other.
Beach Accessibility and Conveniences:
In the South Carlsbad
beaches, most of the beach access is limited to small cliffs
or dirt walkways. In the Northern portion of this section of
beach, the access is actually quite difficult and can be
very dangerous. There is no set walkway, just a series of
trails that other surfers have carved into the cliff over
time. I recommend that you take extreme caution if you
decide to scale these cliffs.
The Cliffs at South
Carlsbad beach
The South parking lot for
Carlsbad has much easier beach access and is definitely more
welcoming to the common beach goer that doesn't feel like
hiking down to the beach. Once you've parked your car in the
South parking lot, simply walk down the hill heading North
and the fencing will open up to a small walkway down onto
the beach.
Beach access in the
Southern Carlsbad parking lot
There are restrooms
located at the Southern parking lot but not at the Northern
lot. The restroom is fairly new and looks to be well
maintained by the city.
The restroom at the
Southern parking lot
Lifeguard:
There is no lifeguard
tower or station located at the Northern parking lot but
there is at the Southern parking lot. It is located right by
the beach entrance. The lifeguard is usually only on duty
during the Summer season so please take notice to check if
there is somebody on duty before you paddle out or go
swimming.
The lifeguard tower at the
Southern parking lot
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