Gay San Diego Area Info 

San Diego with over 70 miles of beaches has morphed into one of the nation's hottest gay and lesbian getaways. America's seventh-largest city (as of the 2004 Census) combines the best of a diverse, culturally rich urban destination and a laid-back, sunny resort. The sun shines here more than 300 days a year. The ocean is warm enough for swimming about half the year.

Within its borders of 4,200 sq. miles, San Diego County encompasses 18 incorporated cities and numerous other charming neighborhoods and communities, including downtown's historic Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Escondido, La Mesa, Hillcrest, Barrio Logan, Chula Vista just to name a few.

San Diego is renowned for its idyllic climate, 70 miles of pristine beaches and a dazzling array of world-class family attractions. Popular attractions include the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Sea World San Diego and LEGOLAND California. San Diego offers an expansive variety of things to see and do, appealing to guests of all ages from around the world.

In San Diego's East County, the terrain varies from gentle foothills to mile-high mountains and the historic mining town, Julian, down to the 600,000-acre Anza Borrego Desert State Park, offering nature-conscious visitors endless opportunities to hike, camp, fish, observe wildlife and much more. In San Diego's North County, the agricultural community produces quantities of flowers and magnificent produce. Wine growers are also making a mark by growing and harvesting quality grapes that become excellent wines, which are served at some of the most elegant restaurants and resorts in the region. Along the west, 70 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline not only supports year-round outdoor recreation, such as surfing, boating, sailing and swimming, but also important scientific research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. To the south, it's a whole different country, Mexico, featuring its own cultural offerings in various towns along the border and coastline, including Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada.

San Diego's gayest and most cosmopolitan neighborhood is Hillcrest, centered at the intersection of Fifth and University avenues. Bars, coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, and kitsch outlets - many of them gay-owned - stretch along University from Third Avenue to Park Boulevard. The strip also features America's only all-gay Ace Hardware store.

Several other neighborhoods - including North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights, and Kensington - have large gay populations and a smattering of gay businesses. The bear/leather scene is centered in North Park.


There are about 30 gay bars (plus eight more 15 miles south in Tijuana) and a full range of gay businesses and organizations here in America's sixth-largest city. Hotels that charge about $50 a night may still be found throughout the city; and at least four in Hillcrest target gay consumers.

Black's Beach, an extremely popular nude beach with a half-mile-long gay section, is one of San Diego's unique gay offerings. It is 12 miles north of downtown below the Torrey Pines Glider Port. (Exit I-5 West on Genesee Avenue.)

With the addition of swank new (and affordable!) hotels, a hip new lesbian-owned restaurant and much more on the way, San Diego is well worth putting on your travel gaydar this year.

Still as gay as ever!
In the city's best-known gay neighborhood, Hillcrest, the scene remains as vibrant as ever.

NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE

North Coastal/Carlsbad 
North County is San Diego's final frontier. The Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base forms a buffer zone to the north that prevents San Diego from being absorbed into the sprawling megalopolis of Los Angeles and Orange County, and lends North County its isolated, outback appeal. In the old days, the sleepy seaside town of Carlsbad was nothing more than a whistle stop on the Santa Fe train route.

Del Mar 
The old cliché still rings true in the idyllic coastal community of Del Mar and its country counterparts: Rancho Santa Fe, Carmel Valley and Fairbanks Ranch. In fact, if you rise early in the morning before beach umbrellas and boogie boards crowd the sand, you might spot thoroughbred horses from the world-famous Del Mar Racetrack exercising along the shore.

La Jolla 
With its dramatic coastline and spectacular views, it's no surprise that La Jolla was one of the first San Diego neighborhoods to be settled, and has since become some of the most prized real estate in the nation. Surrounded on three sides by the sea and backed by the steep slopes of Mt. Soledad, La Jolla has a mediterranean feel and enjoys a unique microclimate which rarely drops below 50 degrees or exceeds 90 degrees.

Coronado
Coronado, "The Crowned City," is the queen of San Diego's neighborhoods. Not truly an island, but the headland of the peninsular sandspit that guards San Diego's fine natural harbor, Coronado's appeal is as strategic as it is aesthetic. Early in the city's history, the U.S. Navy staked its claim, while entrepreneurial land dealers capitalized on the beautiful beaches and fine weather. Today, Coronado is still true to its roots as a premiere resort destination, prized residential address and patriotic Navy town.

Downtown San Diego 
San Diego is a vibrant, metropolitan city with a laid-back, small-town feel, and no other San Diego neighborhood embraces this best-of-both-worlds spirit like downtown. Neatly packed into a single square-mile grid between the 5 freeway and the Harbor, downtown San Diego has it all: soaring skyscrapers bustling with big business, old turn-of-the-century buildings housing trendy new nightclubs, and peaceful parks perfect for a short stroll or a relaxing rest. Visitors and residents alike can enjoy dining in Little Italy, shopping at Horton Plaza, taking in an opera at the Civic Center, exploring an aircraft carrier at the Harbor, and dancing in the Gaslamp Quarter, all in the space of a few dozen city blocks. Close to the international airport, cruise ship terminal, Balboa Park museums and world-renowned San Diego Zoo, downtown is a fine place to begin your visit to America's Finest City.

Hillcrest/Balboa Park 
The more things change, the more they stay the same in San Diego's popular Hillcrest neighborhood. As San Diego began to prosper in the mid-1900s, Hillcrest met a growing demand for affordable housing in proximity to downtown's booming business district and an exploding defense industry around the port. Today, Hillcrest remains one of San Diego's best real estate values for professionals and working-class residents alike. The old, single-level, single-family, Craftsman-style homes have been well-maintained with lovingly tended gardens that reflect pride in ownership and a respect for aesthetics. As you explore the commercial center around Fifth Ave. and University, you'll still find iconic '50s style restaurants and storefronts. But, where the majority of residents in this seemingly status quo neighborhood were once conservative, middle-class families, today Hillcrest is home to a prominent gay and lesbian community.

Old Town/Mission Valley 
The native Kumeyaay Indians knew it. So did the Spanish missionaries and American settlers who arrived after them. The San Diego River Valley is a good place to call home. 
You'll find established residential neighborhoods, a major university, big shopping centers, hotels, and the Chargers football stadium. It's literally the center of town, where all roads in San Diego lead. Those early residents wouldn't recognize their pastoral farming community now, but San Diego's Mission Valley neighborhood remains synonymous with prosperity, just as it always has been. 

Pacific Beach 
Down by the Boardwalk, down by the sea, in the coastal communities of Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, you'll find the stereotypical California Dream alive and well. What started in the early 1900's as a seasonal summer vacation resort, has grown into one of San Diego's hippest year-round residential neighborhoods and party hotspots.

Mission Bay 
Located just minutes from downtown San Diego, Mission Bay Park is a 4,600-acre water wonderland, the largest park of its kind in the world. Offering 27 miles of bayfront and 17 miles of oceanfront beaches, Mission Bay is a place where visitors can take advantage of a wide range of water activities including swimming, powerboating, fishing, sailing, waterskiing and kayaking.

Point Loma/Harbor Island/Shelter Island 
Point Loma is a neighborhood of dramatic contrasts encompassing at least four distinct districts. Up on The Point are beautiful, multi-million dollar mansions. Down by The Midway you'll find seedy strip shows. On the Ocean Beach side, surf pounds the rugged coastline, while The Harbor side is a safe haven for yachts.


Planet Out & San Diego Convention & Visitor's Bureau.