La Jolla Shores, with its northern part Scripps Beach, is a beach and vacation/residential community of the same name in the community of
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California. The La Jolla Shores business district is a mixed-use village encircling Laureate Park on Avenida de la Playa in the village of La Jolla Shores.
The beach is approximately long and stretches from the
sea cliff
A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast.
Formation
In coastal areas in whic ...
s just north of
La Jolla Cove to
Black's Beach
Black's Beach is a secluded section of beach beneath the bluffs of Torrey Pines on the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It is officially part of Torrey Pines State Beach. The northern portion of Black's Beach i ...
south of
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal state park in San Diego, California. The reserve is one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast, covering . It is bordered immediately to the south by Torrey Pines Golf Co ...
. La Jolla Shores meets
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma.
Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...
and Kellogg Park and encompasses Scripps Pier. It borders
San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area and th
Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve(SMR), formerly known as the
San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park
The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park is the historical name for a marine reserve that includes the San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) anMatlahuayl State Marine Reserve(SMR), adjoining marine protected areas that extend off ...
.
The beach is a popular launch point for
kayak
]
A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...
ers as it is the only beach boat launch in the San Diego city limits. The beach is also popular among stand up paddlers, swimmers, and snorkelers.
The southern end of the beach is especially rich with wildlife. During certain times of the year,
leopard shark
The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family (biology), family Houndshark, Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically ...
s,
diamond stingrays,
round stingrays, and species of
guitarfish
The guitarfish, also referred to as shovelnose rays, are a family, Rhinobatidae, of rays. The guitarfish are known for an elongated body with a flattened head and trunk and small, ray-like wings. The combined range of the various species is tro ...
are common.
Green sea turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...
s and
broadnose sevengill sharks are elusive but can be found farther offshore.
Described by the ''
Orange County Register
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...
'' as "the best beach in the area", La Jolla Shores regularly features in the
TruTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...
show, ''
Beach Patrol: San Diego and Lifeguard on
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...
''.
Public Art
Map of the Grand Canyons of La Jolla
located a
Kellogg Park
was opened to the public in October 2020. The 2,200-square-foot mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
map, embedded in the ground, shows more than 100 life-size images of creatures found just offshore. Significant underwater canyons are indicated by varying shades of blue to mark ocean depths. The mosaic, made using a process called LithoMosaic, was sponsored by th
Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans
among other community groups.
In 2023, a 4-000 lb. bronze topographic map of the La Jolla Canyon was installed at Kellogg Park in La Jolla, titled “From the Heights of Mount Soledad to the Depths of the Grand Canyons of La Jolla.”
Gallery
File:La Jolla Shores Beach July 1978.jpg, Crowded La Jolla Shores beach in July, 1978
File:La jolla shores from ocean - 800px.jpg, View of La Jolla Shores from the Pacific Ocean
File:La jolla shores at night - 800px.jpg, Palm trees along La Jolla Shores boardwalk
File:Scripps Pier La Jolla CA.jpg, Birds in front of Scripps Pier
File:SIOpier.jpg, Scripps Pier in La Jolla Shores
File:LaJollaShores.jpg, La Jolla Shores
File:Scripps Beach.jpg, Scripps Beach
File:Slideshow3.jpg, alt=La Jolla Shores Beach
File:Scripps Pier 1.jpg, Scripps Pier, La Jolla, at sunset
File:La Jolla Shores, San Diego, CA 92037, USA - panoramio (6).jpg
See also
* List of beaches in San Diego County
This is a list of beaches in San Diego County, California. The beaches are listed in order from north to south, and they are grouped (where applicable) by the community in which the beach is situated.
Some beaches in the San Diego area are lo ...
* List of California state parks
References
External links
La Jolla Shores
Scripps Institution of OceanographyScripps Pier, La Jolla
{{coord, 32, 51, 39, N, 117, 15, 25, W, type:landmark_region:US_dim:3500, display=title
La Jolla, San Diego
Beaches of Southern California
Parks in San Diego
Beaches of San Diego County, California