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Moonlight beach is Encinitas’s city
beach. It is located off of Highway 101 and Encinitas Blvd. This beach
has it all but in a limited supply. There are picnic tables, fire rings
BBQs, a playground, volleyball courts, plenty of free parking on the
bluff, showers, restrooms, lifeguards year round and a long and spacious
coastline, there is even a trail that leads to the water from the parking
lot (made especially for people in wheelchairs and for strollers).
The only problem is the beach is really small and popular with the kids
and large families. |
So you have to share in the beach fun with many
others. This is a flat and sandy beach, which is perfect for sunbathing
and picnicking.
Supposedly the name Moonlight beach came from moonlight picnics held
here
in the early 1900s. Every weekend in Encinitas there is a small street
market
off the Highway 101, where you can load up on picnic items before you
head
off to the beach for lunch or dinner. This is one of the seagulls favorite
beaches,
because the amount of food that lingers. They tend to keep their distance,
but are
known to snatch abandoned food items. The beach is also close to downtown,
so
there are many facilities and restaurants available.
The surf is usually small but fun. There is surfing towards the north
and south end
of the beach but surfing is restricted in the center of the beach during
most of the
year because of the large amount of people traffic in the water (keep
an eye out
for the black ball flags). Most people skim and boogie board or swim.
When the
tide is out you can run or walk from Moonlight beach all the way south
to Swamis
(about 3 miles) on the sand.
Volleyball is definitely the dominant sport at this beach. The sand
courts are never
empty. People of all ages come to the courts to play. There are three
sand courts
towards the north end of the beach. If you want to play in the summer
time, you
have to arrive early or else be very patient.
Moonlight beach hosts an annual Woody car show festival around mid-September.
The Moonlight beach parking lot is reserved for owners of old Woodies
to come
and show off their cool cars to other owners and the town of Encinitas.
Not only is it a car show, but somewhat of a fair as well. It’s
a lot of fun.
- Open 5am-10pm
- No dogs
- No camping
- No alcohol/glass containers
- No smoking
- No fires (in fire rings only)
- No vehicles on the beach
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