Thank you, Mommy! This sounds encouraging! Did you try any other beaches? Coronado? How did you find driving in SD?
What were your favorites and the kids'?

Hate to burst your bubble but Californians who live on the coast, know about June gloom. Here are some good sites to check the facts:

http://meteora.ucsd.edu/cap/gloom.html

http://www.localwally.com/first.html

Gotta laugh about the freeway speed limit being 65. The reality is, if you are driving 70 or even 75, everybody passes you! Except during rush hour traffic, when the freeways are crammed and that slows traffic way down.

June gloom is great for theme park visits. It's not as hot, and also, June is less crowded, especially the first 2 weeks of June before our schools get out. I just went to Legoland 2 days ago and it wasn't crowded at all! (not yet.)

Our ocean temp is cold in June, however, Our ocean is only warm in August and September, in my opinion.

Beaches are definitely more crowded on the weekend. Most crowded beach time is between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. there isn't any parking between those hours in July and August. I have actually driven to la Jolla, driven around for 40 minutes between those times in the summer, then given up and gone home!!!

Go to the beach early and have breakfast there. Then you can get parking...

mommybryant - June gloom is definitely a factor on the San Diego coast. When you were here last week it was exceptionally hot, close to 100 where I live inland and very nice at the beaches.

This week, however, has been the useful June weather, in fact, maybe a little worse. I was by the coast around noon on Tuesday and it was still overcast with a light drizzle. The rest of this week has been very overcast. I live 15 miles inland, it is now 2pm and still no sun.

Melissa is right about the June gloom being good for other attractions. Legoland, SeaWorld, the Zoo and Balboa Park are great when it's not so hot. I believe needsun said she is coming on June 14th. Most schools get out that week so the beaches may be a little more crowded on the weekend. I think it really depends on the weather. If it is bright and sunny early, head out to the beach and get that parking spot. Even if it's not that sunny, if you go to La Jolla or Coronado, you can still get there mid-morning, walk around some and then hit the beach when the sun comes out. Be warned, the water temperature is cold-at least to me. I think it's running about 68 degrees right now. That is way too cold for me but I know my kids could tolerate it when they were younger.

I think you and your daughter will really enjoy Coronado. You can go to the beach by the Del Coronado hotel and then also walk around the town. Also an easy drive from downtown.

meant to say usual June weather-not useful. Not sure what useful June weather would be lol

It's not too bad in June. The weather might be lousy for beaches, as SD is known for its June gloom--constant overcast sky for the whole month.

If you want to avoid the tourists and have the best weather--inside and outside the water--go in September.

The reason people are bringing up June Gloom is that the poster wrote:

<< I have a dilemma here that I cannot solve w/t your help. When is the better days to do the beaches/ La Jolla in June?>>

another person from so. cal chiming in about June gloom, it's real and it's here in June.
Yes, last weekend was gorgeous, but now we're so socked in, it's hard to remember what that beautiful sunny weather looked like. And it could easily be the end of July before it gets sunny again. Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but it's true.

traveltess-I think when the OP asked the question about the best days to do the beach in June, she was refering to either going to the beach on the weekdays or the weekends. As far as her trip to San Diego in June, it seemed her travel reservations were already set. If you read her postings, her trip was arranged around going to LA first with her mother and daughter before her mother headed off to Seoul.

needsun-I am sure you will have a great time in San Diego since you are coming next week. In looking at the extended forecast for next week for Coronado, it looks like it there will be more sun than this week. Of course, you never know. Make sure, though, that you bring jackets. You will definitely need them by the coast especially in the evenings or early morning.

Thanks to all of you for a wonfderful info. You guys are great. Time to go, will check it out myself. I am sure I will enjoy the trip. See you on Fodors pages.

Paula - thanks so much for your reply. I understood very well what she meant. I just wanted to explain why we wanted to make it clear to the poster what she was in for weather-wise. No harm. no foul...reading comprehension has always been off the charts.....

traveltess-didn't mean to imply that you didn't have good reading comprehension-just sometimes when these treads get long people don't read every single word of them especially the early postings. I know I am guilty of that myself.

65 mph????? Come on guys. I travel to San Diego every year and I-5 north traffic moves at about 12 mph at all hours of the day until the road "forks" at that point, several miles up. Unless you're driving at 3 in the morning, you won't be going over 30 mph on that road going north!

Southbound moves a little better.

Just had to respond to budget4me..
North 5 is not 12 mph all day long..certain times of the day..Yes..but it's usually is 65-75mph with no problems..Rush hour traffic, Del Mar Fair, Horse Racing and basically parts of the summer..South 5 can be awful on the weekend from LA to SD and that gets going around 12mph..
needsun..weekend at the beaches can be tough but not impossible and with good planning and leaving around 10-11am, you shouldn't have a problem...just depending on which beach you are going..LJ Shores has quite a large parking lot or if that is full, park in the residential area..
4th of July is another animal...
Have a great time here the beaches have warmed up to 69-70 and it is gorgeous!

Needsun,

A reply to your questions. We had no trouble navigating SD. The freeways were pretty easy to get around on. I had a local map from AAA, so I already had traced the directions to where we were going and actually had everything all written out in my notebook, so we didnt waste time getting lost. That is the best hint I have for you. A few times if we left early, it took a few minutes to get on the freeway, but during the week, travel around 9:30AM or later was simple. My boys loved the Padres game best and then Knotts Berry Farm. We tried LaJolla Shores beach and Coronado. Coronado was nice and we found several whole sand dollars, but where we were, there were no bathrooms or changing areas. So be prepared. LaJolla had bathrooms and several food stands nearby for lunch, which was nice, but our favorite was Pacific Beach near our condo. Try Marine Street Beach as well. We also stopped at Oceanside when coming back from Knotts in Buena Park and they had a great beach. Cant wait to hear all about your trip when you get back.

Tahititams, I must be one unlucky traveler then, since each time I've visited San Diego (been there about 24 times by now) I have had I-5 north move at a snail's pace in the middle of the day (around noon to 1 pm). I'm talking the section north of Sea World, heading towards La Jolla north and other areas. Driving south to San Diego from LA I have noticed the same pattern with the northbound traffic when I look over (more like 2 to 3 pm then), but southbound I have never had a problem. This is usually a Wednesday or a Thursday, not a weekend. I'd love to know what times I should shoot for to avoid adding an hour to my trip--thought middle of the day would avoid the CA rush hours. :(