Visiting San Diego for a weekend in July. Anyone have suggestions for
1. Beaches (and specifically where to park for these)
2. Hikes, beach walks, basically somewhere to walk
Thank you.

The water may still be a little on the cool side (probably in the 60 degree range - so you may want to rent a wet suit). I live in La Jolla which has lovely beaches: the La Jolla Shores area is great for swimming and is a small little beach community (slightly east of downtown La Jolla) which has a lot of surf, snorkle and kayak shops. The ocean area is a marine preserve and the famous Scripps Institute is on the same beach but further north.
In the downtown area of La Jolla (which is great for spending the day shopping too) is the La Jolla Cove which is a protected ocean area. It's a great place especially for families. Down the road about a mile is the Children's Pool (which is really another protected cove type ocean area) and is home to tons of seals!
Windansea is about five minutes south of downtown La Jolla off Nautilus Street and is a famous surfing beach.

Having put in a plug for La Jolla, I also love Coronado. It has a world class beach - it stretches for about a mile or more, and is also in a lovely town. It's about five minutes from downtown across the Coronado Bridge. I personally think this beach is a great place for jogging or walking on the beach. It also has a section for dogs.

I concur with nanabee's recommendations. As for parking, all the beaches have parking lots nearby. If you get there early you will get a spot. If you arrive 11am or later the lots will probably be full but you can circle around until someone pulls out.

Torrey Pines State Preserve is one of the prettiest hikes in LJ and all of SD..
I like to swim, boogie board at LJ Shores and Del Mar.
In the summer, parking is at a premimum.

torreypines.org

Right next to the Preserve is Torrey Pines State Beach. It's very popular, and has lots of parking. If you go just for the beach you have to pay to park, but there are toilets and showers. We usually go to the north side, but they're both good. Don't sit on the beach right under the cliffs-they're not very stable. In fact, even if you walk along the beach towards the south/la Jolla, stay close to the water.

Del Mar beach at 15th Street is one of the best in the county. There's a pay parking lot across the street, but in the summer it's hard to find parking. There are two restaurants right on the beach there-Jake's Del Mar and Poseidon. IMO, Jake's is better, but Poseidon has an outdoor patio right on the beach. Both have valet parking which can, and does, fill up at busy meal-times. There is street parking available.

I forgot "walks"! Penasquitos Canyon Preserve is not well-known amongst tourists, but is a popular place for residents. Here's a link:


http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-rec...s/penasq.shtml

good call Barbara on Jakes Del Mar and Penasquitos Canyon Preserve..
We love swimming at 15th street too!