The 9 Best Things to Do in Del Mar, Ranked

Del Mar has its beaches and its bluffs, but in summer the town's calendar runs on a race card. When the meet is on, an afternoon at the racetrack at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, on Jimmy Durante Boulevard, is the plan that feels most like Del Mar itself. Racing is part of the neighborhood's identity and a community tradition, tied to the place in a way nothing else here is. That's why Race Day at Del Mar takes the top spot.

The 2026 summer meet ran from July 17 through September 7. First post, the start of the day's first race, was 2 PM on most days and 1:30 PM for the final three days, September 5 to 7, and the gates opened roughly two hours ahead of it. Those two hours are the good part. Get there when the gates open and you have time to find your seat, read through the card and settle in before the first race goes off. Planning around a future meet? Check the events calendar for upcoming race days before you pick a date.

Getting there is where the smart move comes in. The Pony Express package bundles a round-trip ride on the COASTER or the BREEZE, your track admission and the shuttle from Solana Beach station, at $15 for adults and $12 for youth. Track parking can fill to capacity, so letting the train do the driving takes the biggest variable out of the day. Ride in to Solana Beach, hop on the shuttle, and you're at the gate.

If you're coming by car or you're already in town, regular admission is $10, and kids 17 and under get in free. Diamond Club members have one more option in the Free & Easy Thursday offer: scan your membership in the app and it covers admission, a program and a reserved seat. Each offer comes with its own date rules, so read the terms for your exact race day before you buy.

The track is also the only stop on this list where the whole day has a start time. Treat first post like a dinner reservation and be in your seat before it.

If race day is Del Mar's big summer event, Powerhouse Park and Del Mar Main Beach are the everyday answer, and they work in every season. This compact beachfront park on Coast Boulevard has a lawn, a playground, restrooms and showers, plus two walkways that lead straight onto the sand. Accessible paths run through the park as well.

What puts it at number two is how easily one visit turns into several. Start with the playground while the little ones have energy, walk out to the beach, then head back to the grass when someone needs a snack or a break. Nobody has to pack up the car to change plans. It gets a lot of love as a family spot, and the praise keeps coming back to how well kept and accessible the park is.

Lifeguard headquarters is staffed from 9 AM to 8 PM in summer and 9 AM to 5 PM in winter, so there's someone to ask about conditions before anyone swims. Ask, and pull up the County's water-quality map that morning as well. A staffed beach can still have an advisory, and the river mouth and lagoon outlets along this stretch of coast are the reason the map is worth a look.

Concert nights change the parking math. Village parking fills early on those evenings, so arrive early or come on foot. The rest of the time, Powerhouse makes a natural base for the day: Seagrove Park is within walking distance for sunset, and the low-tide walk to Torrey Pines starts there when the tide cooperates.

This is the one plan on the list that runs on the ocean's schedule. The walk from Del Mar to Torrey Pines at low tide starts at Seagrove Park, where you drop to the sand and follow the beach toward Torrey Pines for as far as the tide allows. Fans of the route talk about how scenic and uncrowded it is, and about seeing the coast from a perspective nothing else on this list offers.

Pick your distance before you leave. Roughly 3.5 miles round trip gets you to the mouth of Los Peñasquitos Lagoon, and about 5.5 miles round trip reaches Flat Rock. Along the way you cross out of incorporated Del Mar and onto Torrey Pines State Beach, where dogs aren't allowed, so leave the pup with the Dog Beach plans.

The tide makes the rules. Start roughly two hours before low tide, while the water is still falling, and turn back well before it starts reclaiming the bluff line. Three things have to line up: the tide window, daylight and an open beach. When all three agree, go. When they don't, save it for another day and spend this one at Powerhouse.

The bluffs deserve real respect. Cliffs here can collapse without warning, so stay at least 10 feet from the base, never stop to rest under an overhang, and leave enough margin that incoming water never presses you against the bluff. The route also passes lagoon outlets, so check the County's water-quality map before anyone wades in.

Powerhouse works whenever you show up, and this walk works when the tide says yes. That tradeoff is what sets it at number three.

At Del Mar North Beach, the calendar decides how much freedom your dog gets. This is Del Mar's designated dog beach, at Camino del Mar and 29th Street, and it's the stop on this list built around four-legged visitors. Dog owners come for the open sand and the room to walk, and the river mouth and the sunsets give the whole outing a good-looking backdrop.

Here's how the rules work. From the day after Labor Day through June 15, dogs under voice control can be off leash all day. From June 16 through Labor Day, the off-leash window runs from dawn through 8 AM, and the leash goes back on after that. The summer switch can catch visitors mid-visit, so in summer the move is to arrive at dawn and enjoy the full window before 8 AM.

Come prepared. Bring water for your dog, carry a leash no longer than 6 feet, and keep your dog's license current. The river mouth sits right at this beach, so check the County's water status before your dog, or anyone else, goes in.

Parking is scarce, especially in the morning, so leave a few extra minutes to find a spot. It lands at number four because the seasonal rules and the parking take some planning. For dog owners, that planning pays off every time the leash comes off.

Seagrove Park makes sunset about as easy as it gets in Del Mar. It's a small blufftop lawn at 15th Street and Coast Boulevard, with benches and an open view west over the ocean, and it's free. People love it for the views, the sunsets, the well-kept grass and how calm it feels, and together those make it the easiest way on this list to end a Del Mar day.

The plan writes itself. Pick up takeout in the village, carry it up to the park and claim a bench about 45 minutes before sunset. That leaves time to eat before the sun goes down.

Parts of the lawn can be reserved for private events like weddings, so some evenings you'll share the view with a celebration. Spread out on whatever space is open. Seagrove is within walking distance of Powerhouse Park, so skip circling the village for parking and walk up from there.

Seagrove is also the starting point for the low-tide walk to Torrey Pines, which makes it a natural meeting spot for a whole beach afternoon. If Powerhouse is the all-day park, Seagrove is the last-hour park. It sits at number five because the lawn is small and events sometimes claim part of it, and on a clear evening, a bench here is all the plan you need.

Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary swaps the beach for feathers. This small nonprofit on Jimmy Durante Boulevard, the same street as the racetrack, is home to exotic birds, and a visit gets you close to them, with the chance to feed some of the residents.

It's a look-and-feed visit, so plan on watching and feeding the birds without holding them. The praise centers on the birds' personalities, the close views and the feeding, along with staff who know a lot about their flock. Families especially like it, and it makes a good change of pace between beach stops.

Every visit needs a reservation. Slots run from 11 AM through 3 PM, and the sanctuary closes at 4 PM. Booking ahead costs $10 and same-day is $15. The 11 AM slot is the one to grab, and it's worth reserving two or three days out, especially for a weekend.

A little planning keeps the visit smooth. There's no public restroom on site, so make a stop before you arrive. Parking is limited and posted, so follow the signs. Weather can cancel a slot on short notice, so check before you drive over. That planning is what puts Free Flight at number six, and once you're booked, it's an easy stop to fit between the beach and lunch.

Rare pines, sandstone formations and a view across the lagoon to the ocean: the Torrey Pines Extension packs all three into a short trail network. It's a State Parks property just outside incorporated Del Mar, so State Parks rules apply here, and it gives you the Torrey pines on a smaller, quieter scale.

Finding it is part of the fun. The trailhead sits at the end of Del Mar Scenic Parkway on a residential street, and it doesn't look like a formal park entrance, so trust your map when you think you've taken a wrong turn. From there, Red Ridge is the clearest goal for a compact walk, with views of the ocean beyond the lagoon.

Late afternoon is a great time to walk out to Red Ridge, as long as you keep an eye on the clock. State Parks opens the gates at 7:15 AM and closes them at sunset, so leave yourself time to get back out, and check trail status before you go. Hikers love how scenic and uncrowded it is, and the shorter trails make it an easy add-on to a beach day.

Pack what you need, because there's no restroom, no water and no guaranteed parking at the trailhead. Dogs and bikes aren't allowed. Where the low-tide walk shows you the bluffs from the beach, the Extension puts you among the pines and the sandstone, and it sits at number seven only because the start takes a bit more planning.

Del Mar's lagoon gets its own walk on the RiverPath. Begin at the Grand Avenue Overlook for a flat, easy stroll beside the lagoon and its restored habitat. The lagoon, not the ocean, is the point here, and people who walk it talk about the birding, the lagoon views and how peaceful it feels.

Morning is the time to go. It's the practical window for birding, before the day gets busier, so bring binoculars if you have them. Keep to the signed western RiverPath segments. Those are the open public stretches, and freeway noise grows as you head east, so the western end is the quieter one.

Treat it as an out-and-back. The half-mile connection toward Crest Canyon isn't open, so there's no through-route to plan. Walk out along the signed trail, turn around when you're ready, and come back the way you came.

It lands at number eight because it's a specialized walk, best for birders and early risers. For that crowd, a quiet morning beside the restored lagoon is time well spent, and it's a nice counterpoint to the beach stops higher on the list.

Del Mar Plaza on Camino del Mar has a view that doesn't need a dinner reservation. Walk up through the Plaza to the public open-air decks and you get a free look out over the coast, with shops and restaurants nearby if the view turns into a meal.

Golden hour is the time to go, before the dinner tables start turning. People who come for the view also like how walkable the Plaza is and how easy it is to add dinner or a little shopping. Restaurant, shop and event hours change, so check the Plaza calendar before you plan around a specific meal.

Parking is simple. The garage gives you the first hour free, then charges $3 per 30 minutes, up to $30 a day. It's open daily from 6 AM to 11:30 PM, so if dinner runs long, keep that closing time in mind.

Why number nine? The Plaza is a shopping and dining center, so it ranks behind the beaches and bluffs on local character. It makes up for it by being the lowest-effort stop on the list, and when the benches at Seagrove are full, the decks are a fine place to watch the day wind down.