Southern California is not more than a road trip away from Utah. For roadtrip tips for kids visit our post here which includes many stops to make along the way.
Many people visit The Golden State for their summer vacation. Known for its many theme parks, often people will travel their with children to visit one one of these parks.
Southern California is so much more than Disney, Legos, Zoos, and SeaWorld. It is home to some amazing beaches and hiking. Follow along as we highlight things to do in Southern California that are not a theme park.
Beaches with Playgrounds
Spending the day at the beach is obviously a must when visiting Southern California. It helps that so many beaches have playgrounds for children. As much fun as the sand and water are it is nice to have something else for the kids to do.
We are not from SoCal and we don’t claim to be experts of the area. However, through a lot of time spent in satellite view on Google Maps we have made a list of all playgrounds that are on a beach or within 2 blocks of a beach between San Diego and Los Angeles. Click here for our list on Google Maps of every park on the beach.
Beaches
A beach doesn’t necessarily have to have a playground to be a fun beach for kids. Here is a list of some beaches we have enjoyed even though they do not have a playground.
Coronado Beach
Coronado Beach perfect as it has a ton of sand and space. This is a great beach for playing volleyball, wiffleball, and other beach games. We also love that the sand and water have golden speckles to it. It truly looks like there is gold on this beach. Coronado Island is also a quaint town.
1000 Steps Beach
Although it feels like you have to take 1,000 steps to get to this more secluded beach it is really more like 224 steps (yes, we counted). All the steps are worth it!
You will find that you are a little more secluded as you are below the cliffs above. There is a restroom at the bottom of the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs head left for a sea cave and tide pools. When we went the tide was high and the water conditions were rough so access to the sea cave and subsequent tide pools was closed. It was still beautiful to see from a distance and hang out in the small tide pool before the cave.
Swings
There are swings that are part of a playground structure then there are swings that have just been hung in a tree for all to enjoy. We found two of the latter hidden swings that have phenomenal views of the ocean.
Hidden Swing at Birch Aquarium
This hidden swing is set with a beautiful backdrop as it overlooks the coastline.
There is always a message attached to the swing. This message gets changed from time to time. While visiting the message read, “Let it be”.
This is just a fun little area for the kids to explore too.
Park halfway through the visitor’s parking lot at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. There will be a short trail up to the swing.
Hidden swing at La Jolla Coast Walk Trail
What makes this hidden swing so spectacular is its setting. You climb down under a canopy of palm trees for your own little secluded oasis.
Although it is a little bit of a climb down, it really isn’t that difficult. There are ropes the entire way to help you. Our 6 year old did it without any problems. We found it most helpful to do this in good shoes or in your bare feet. Sandals tend to slip easily.
To get to this swing you will need to take the Coast Walk Trail in La Jolla. When you get to the white wooden bridge you will see a rope to the side. Follow this rope down.
Hikes
There are numerous hikes and coast walks in Southern California. Here are a few that we found to be worth it.
Annie's Canyon
Annie’s Canyon is unique in that it is a hike through a slot canyon near the beach!
Access Annie’s Slot Canyon from the Solano Hills Trail. The entire trail is a moderately trafficked 2.2 miles with sweeping views of the ocean and lagoon.
Coast Walk Trail
Located next to Jimmy’s Sea Cave this trail is a short .6 mile walk along the coast. You will see beautiful views of the coastline. This is also where you can access one of the hidden swings.
This trail is wide and relatively flat. There is a rope along the cliff most of the way, but be sure and watch young children closely. Especially towards the end lookout. There are a few stairs to climb up and down and a beautiful white bridge.
Sunset Cliffs
Caution!
Please use caution when hiking around Sunset Cliffs!! This one may not be good to bring young children to. I only felt fine doing so as there was enough adults so that each child had someone's hand to hold the entire time. We pre taught profusely to the children the importance of not going close to the cliffs.
Sunset Cliffs is the perfect place to take a walk about 1 hour before sunset. You will see numerous sea caves and arches.
We suggest parking at the Sunset Cliffs Natural park and walking the .6 miles to Luscomb’s Point then back. Luscomb’s Point is where the infamous open air sea cave is. It is fenced off from the top. You can go down into the open air cave, but ONLY when it is low tide. I would never take a child down there (even during low tide) as it could be dangerous.
There are also some stairs down to another cave. It was high tide when we went so we did not take our children down the entire way. This is still a beautiful little spot to see the ocean.
Old Town San Diego
Old Town San Diego is a quaint walk through time. Be sure and walk through all the museums, shops, and grab some candy from Cousin’s Candy Shop.
There are many wonderful Mexican Restaurants in Old Town. We particularly love to eat at Casa Guadalajara when we visit.
Mormon Battalion Museum
An interesting museum in Old Town is the Mormon Battalion Museum. They do tours throughout the day that follow how the history of the battalion and how they came to help the early settlers of San Diego.
Happy Trails
This list just barely scratches the surface of all the amazing things to do in Southern California. We cannot wait to go back to experience more. Happy Trails to So Cal until we meet again!
