A sampler of notable area beaches offers a variety of recreational options

By BETH WOOD Special to the U-T

10:39 a.m., May 26, 2011

Information

San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau’s beach guide:

sandiego.org/article_set/Visitors/5

San Diego city beaches:

sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches

Information on beaches in North and South County: individual city websites

Coastal water closures or advisories in San Diego County: (619) 338-2073

The sun sets behind the Imperial Beach Pier. K.C. Alfred • U-T

With the skyline of San Diego in the background, Suzanne Parker of Orange County relaxes with the dogs at Fiesta Island. Howard Lipin • U-T

People flock to the beach in Oceanside near the pier. David Brooks / Union-Tribune

Ask any group of San Diegans to rank the area’s top beaches and you might start a heated argument. To keep things peaceful, we offer a list of eight particularly notable beaches. How’s that for gingerly stepping around the fire ring?

Amusement unlimited: Mission Beach

If you surf, swim or party at the fire pits, you’re sure to enjoy Mission Beach. If you skate, walk, jog, bike or people watch, you’ll love the boardwalk (an eight-mile-an-hour rule keeps the pace safe). Condos and vacation rentals outnumber shops and eateries, but near the corner of Ocean Front Walk and Ventura Place is a beach-side mall.

Highlight: Belmont Park’s roller coaster, carousel and other rides.

Family fun (North): Moonlight State Beach

Not only does it have a children’s playground, lifeguards, fire rings, sand volleyball courts and picnic facilities, this beach (run by the city of Encinitas) features an overlook area with panoramic views.

Highlight: A short walk from the Coaster station.

Family fun (South): Imperial Beach

This low-key, family-friendly beach features swimming and surfing, lifeguards, playground, fishing pier and playful public art. Near the pier and Seacoast Drive are mostly casual shops and eateries.

Highlight: Cow-a-Bunga, an outstanding ice cream parlor, right by the pier.

Great getaway: Harbor Beach

The largest of Oceanside’s eight beaches, Harbor Beach has three lifeguard towers, picnic tables, barbecue grills, fire rings, gazebos and showers. For those seeking a quieter setting, to the south is the less populated Breakwater Way beach.

Highlight: Nearby Oceanside Harbor’s marina with shopping and culinary options.

Multitasker: La Jolla Shores

Body-boarding, surfing, kayaking, swimming, diving and snorkeling all are possible at this wide, mile-long beach just south of Scripps Pier. It has a boat launch, fire pits, showers and volleyball. The area gets crowded fast in good weather, so morning arrivals are wise.

Highlight: The adjacent Kellogg Park offers grass and a big playground.

Pooches unleashed: Fiesta Island

Yes, canines love Ocean Beach’s Dog Beach and Coronado’s North Beach Dog Run. But they can roam leash-free on almost 100 acres here. All three places are open 24 hours; Fiesta Island has no public restrooms (not that Fido will care).

Highlight: Calm waters.

Rugged icon: Windansea Beach

Famous for its hard-breaking surf, this beach is not for beginners. Swimmers are warned to watch out for rocks when leaving the water, and only skilled surfers are encouraged. Tom Wolfe chronicled Windansea surfers in his 1968 book “The Pump House Gang.”

Highlight: A still-standing, wall-less, Polynesian-style shack built in the 1940s.

Versatility: Coronado Beach

This wide and sandy beach with usually gentle waves makes for an ideal family outing. But adults can splurge on drinks at sunset at the Hotel del Coronado. Nearby Orange Avenue offers restaurants from fancy to funky. During the week, loud aircraft often fly overhead.

Highlight: Flat-out gorgeous.

 

View this article at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/may/26/eight-seaside-personalities/

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by Debbie Hatch

The Mission Bay Park Planning Committee (MBPC) decided by a 6-2 vote Dec. 7 to allow area paddlers — including outriggers, dragon boats and stand up paddlers — to have a facility and use nearly an acre inside of the 90 acres set aside for off-leash dog use, to the dismay of the nonprofit Fiesta Island Dog Owners (FIDO).

“We’re very happy and grateful,” said Les Hopper, U.S.A. dragon boat coach.

The vote decisively approves the current Fiesta Island Redevelopment Plan and sends it on to the San Diego Park and Recreation Board for consideration.

“We just want to make sure that we are part of the plan,” Hopper said.

However, the plan is not expected to appear on the Park and Recreation Board’s agenda for approximately 8 to 12 months, said Scott Reese, assistant director of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department.

Final approval of the plans will be decided by the San Diego City Council.

“We expect it to be developed over 30 to 50 years,” Reese said.

He compared the long-term development of Fiesta Island to that of Balboa Park.

The decision is viewed as a relief for paddlers who emphasize that 94 acres should not be reserved for one group. However, FIDO members insist that the dynamic of their group underscores the argument that the off-leash dog area currently on Fiesta Island serves a multi-use audience.

Mike Singleton, project manager for the Fiesta Island Redevelopment Plan, has completed nearly 20 versions of the plan since it was announced in 2005, Hopper said.

In a Dec. 6 memorandum from San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer and Councilwomen Donna Frye and Lorie Zapf supported the endeavors of FIDO and the South Shores area of the island “as an appropriate location for the paddling community.”

However, the MBPC did not agree.

The South Shores area of the island is one of the most polluted areas in Mission Bay, Hopper said.

The well-attended meeting at the Marina Village Captain’s Room, 1936 Quivira Way, heard an onslaught of emotional comments and outbursts from the audience.

FIDO’s position is that it does not want a road leading to the location of the paddling facility to bisect the off-leash area, said Alise Shatoff, spokeswoman for FIDO. The road creates a possible hazard to dogs in one of two off-leash areas set aside for dogs — Dog Beach in Ocean Beach and Fiesta Island, she said.

The vote disappointed FIDO supporters, who will continue to fight for unobstructed off-leash acreage in the plan, said Dr. Jean Spengel.

Read more:San Diego Community News Group - Paddlers happy with Fiesta Island vote Dog owners group seeks unobstructed off leash acreage

FOX 5 San Diego Reporter

8:17 AM PST, December 8, 2010

SAN DIEGO — 

Updated 7:41 AM PST, Wed, Dec 8, 2010

It's dog owners versus paddlers in the battle over a dog park on Fiesta Island.  

Paddlers made waves when they won the first round of this battle.  

The City is putting together a major redevelopment plan for Fiesta Island that probably won't come to life for at least 8 years.  

Dog owners want ot preserve a  90-acre area on the island that is fenced off and designated for off-leash use.  

But the Mission Bay Park Planning Committee voted six to two that dog owners would have to share the off-leash area with paddlers.  

The recommendation includes storage for paddlers and a road that would run through the fenced area, so paddlers and others, would have direct access to the water.

"It's a little ridiculous to hear them complain about having to paddle, to get to the sea," said Carolyn Chase who is with the group Fiesta Island Dog Owners, "when that's what they do."

Paddlers say all they've ever wanted is to share the park. 

Fiesta Island and Ocean Beach were set aside for dogs in 1972, when dogs were banned from City beaches.  

Dog owners say they will continue to  fight what is expected to be a length approval process.

Original Source of Article

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Pet owners who love to let their pups run free are running up against a new plan that would cut down their space.

In this News 8 video story, Richard Allyn has both sides.

Original Source

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2010 AT 1:31 P.M.

Three San Diego city councilmembers are siding with dog owners over paddlers in an ongoing spat over plans to re-think Mission Bay Park's Fiesta Island, one of the least developed areas in the region.

Kevin Faulconer, Sherri Lightner and Lorie Zapf in a letter sent Tuesday oppose the proposed reduction of fenced, off-leash land used by dog owners to accommodate a storage and launch area for paddlers and other amenities. Paddlers said they don’t understand why the island can’t be shared and think it's unfair that certain councilmembers have already reached a decision before hearing their side. (Read the letter, posted on the right.)

That proposal to reduce the existing 93 acres of gated, off-leash land to 87 is part of a draft master plan that will guide city decision-making for recreation facilities and protect open space on the island. The land taken away from dogs would be used for a road, parking lot, restrooms and watercraft storage.

The Mission Bay Park Committee, which advises the Park and Recreation Board on the development and use of the park, is meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday to revisit the plan and possibly approve it. Hundreds of people are expected to attend. (See tonight's agenda here.)

If the plan makes it out of committee stage, it must go through a subcommittee and the Park and Recreation Board before reaching City Council chambers.

The master plan has gone through numerous revisions to appease a wide range of interest groups who want a piece of the island, which is about 500 acres. Much of the delay in drafting the conceptual plan is due to an ongoing fight between paddlers and dog owners, two groups that have used the island for decades. Many pet advocates are represented by the Fiesta Island Dog Owners group, or FIDO.

Faulconer, Lightner and Zapf -- who represent the city's coastal zones -- support keeping the existing off-leash acreage intact to maintain the "a very unique commodity to the dog enthusiastic community," their letter said. "Maintaining the existing contiguous gated area for off-leash use is very important."

The councilmembers suggest moving the proposed paddling area to Mission Bay's South Shores area because that area has existing infrastructure to accommodate paddlers, including parking, roads and beaches.

"The location on South Shores offers calm waters that are protected from potentially dangerous motorboat traffic," their council letter states.

Paddlers have said it doesn’t make sense for them to relocate to South Shores or other spots because those spots are not being redeveloped while Fiesta Island is.

The paddlers - which include canoeists, kayakers and dragon boaters - say they're frustrated that councilmembers have already taken a stance on the issue without hearing what they have to say.

Cheance Adair, a paddling advocate who has been close to the issue, said reading the letter "sent us (the paddling community) reeling."

"I feel as a user group we haven't been completely heard," said Adair, head coach of the San Diego Outrigger Canoe Club. "We're going to play hard ball. They forced us into a corner."

Tonight's meeting will be held at the Captain's room of Marina Village, 1936 Quivira Way.

Original Source of Article

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010 AT MIDNIGHT

It is unfortunate that the Union-Tribune chose to give a very shortsighted view of the details regarding the use of Fiesta Island in “Pet owners pitted against paddlers” (Local, Nov. 29).

The city and state are in the grips of a fiscal nightmare, and this will not be over anytime soon. Meanwhile, the city is looking to develop Fiesta Island at a conservative estimate of $128 million, according to documents from the Mission Bay Parks Committee presentation July 6. This includes new structures, utilities, roadways and paved parking, public art and signs and native-habitat creation that no one will be allowed to use.

Most of the infrastructure being proposed is to service the paddler groups and their needs. The Park and Recreation Department budget was cut again this year by more than 20 percent. How is it possible that this newly built area is going to be maintained, let alone built, with fiscal prudence?

Fiesta Island is absolutely fine right now as it is. Let its rustic presence watch over the constant building and development that occurs too much in America’s Finest City. Let the joggers, walkers, bikers and dog owners have their unimpeded space.

Brent Wells, San Diego

Puja Patel, San Diego

In the story, Cheance Adair of the San Diego Outrigger Canoe Club says it doesn’t make sense to relocate paddlers to South Shores or other areas because the alternative places are not being redeveloped. That is misleading.

The requirement that started this process was issued by the Coastal Commission and also includes South Shores. Furthermore, a project for South Shores could be started at any moment. The city is currently ignoring this requirement and it does so at its own peril, and sadly also at great expense using funds that should be going to park improvements and not an artificial conflict introduced by the city.

Also, it was unfortunate that the U-T used photos that are unrelated to the conflict to illustrate the story. The cute paddle event pictured is unrelated to any of the facilities being proposed to evict dog owners from Fiesta Island.

Carolyn Chase

FIDO board member