San Elijo State Beach
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA
San Elijo State Beach offers both day-use sand and a genuine bluff-top campground with real ocean views, rocky in places but with enough open sand for a proper beach day. It's a popular overnight stop for anyone driving the coast through North County San Diego.
A solid camping and day-use beach with real bluff-top views, a reliable stop on a North County coastal drive.
How we score beachesThe bluff-top campsites book up well ahead for summer, reserve early if camping is part of the plan.
Fee day-use lots; camping requires a separate reservation.
Dogs are allowed on leash only on the southern stretch of beach from Lifeguard Tower 16 to the San Elijo Lagoon mouth; the rest of the sand is off limits except within the campground.
San Diego County's water climbs into the upper 60s and low 70s by late summer, the most comfortable window for swimming.
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