Gay San Diego Attractions

Gay San Diego Beaches

BLACK'S BEACH (Gay Beach)
Located about 10 miles north of downtown at the bottom of 100-yard-high cliffs, Black's is probably America's most famous nude beach - and it is heavily gay. To get there, head north from San Diego on I-5 and exit west on Genesee Avenue. Go one mile to the intersection with North Torrey Pines Road. Turn left (south) on TPR. After 3/10ths of a mile, look at ground level for a 5-foot-by-3-foot brown sign, mostly obscured by a large green junction box which reads: "Hang Gliding and Paragliding Lessons. Torrey Pines Glider Port." Turn right at the sign, follow the road around and enter the dirt parking lot. Go as far north as possible (straight ahead) in the (very cruisy) parking lot, park, and follow the homosexuals down the treacherous cliffside path. When you reach the bottom, the straight beach is to the left and the gay beach to the right. 

CORONADO BEACH 
Named one of the top 10 in America by the Travel Channel, Coronado Beach is family-friendly and well-patrolled by lifeguards. Here, you can swim, play volleyball, build a sandcastle, or simply relax. The most popular stretch of sand is known as Central Beach, adjacent to the historic Hotel Del Coronado. Constructed in 1888, the charming red-roofed hotel has hosted numerous presidents and celebrities and was the setting for the movie "Some Like it Hot." To the north, the beach offers a designated area where dog owners can let their pets romp in the surf, while to the south, the Shores area is a popular spot for bodyboarding. 

WINDANSEA BEACH 
Fans of pop satirist Tom Wolfe may recall The Pump House Gang, which pokes fun at the Southern California surfing culture. Wolfe drew many of his barbs from observations he made at Windansea, the surfing beach west of La Jolla Boulevard near Nautilus Street. The wave action here is said to be as good as that in Hawai'i.

Gay San Diego Attractions & Museums

ALCAZAR GARDENS 
Balboa Park 
The gardens surrounding the Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain, inspired the landscaping here; you'll feel like royalty resting on the benches by the exquisitely tiled fountains. The flower beds are ever-changing horticultural exhibits featuring more than 6,000 annuals for a nearly perpetual bloom. Bright orange-and-yellow poppies appear in spring and deep rust and crimson chrysanthemums arrive in fall.

BIRCH AQUARIUM 
This stunning La Jolla landmark attracts visitors of all ages. Children are especially attracted to the "touch and learn" exhibit of starfish and other sea creatures; the outdoor tidepool; the fanciful seahorses; and the impressive collection of sharks. On certain days, guests can watch divers descend into the 70,000-gallon giant kelp forest tank to point out various species of fish, feed them, and answer audience questions. The aquarium also has an Explorers Gallery with science displays and interactive features, and a simulator ride with surround sound and computer-generated visuals that mimics an underwater adventure.

BOTANICAL BUILDING BALBOA PARK
The graceful redwood-lathed structure, built for the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition, now houses more than 2,000 types of tropical and subtropical plants plus changing seasonal flower displays. Ceiling-high tree ferns shade fragile orchids and feathery bamboo. There are benches beside miniature waterfalls for resting in the shade. The rectangular pond outside, filled with lotuses and water lilies that bloom in spring and fall, is popular with photographers.

CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT 
This 144-acre preserve marks the site of the first European visit to San Diego, made by 16th-century explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (circa 1498-1543) -- historians have never conclusively determined whether he was Spanish or Portuguese. Cabrillo, who had earlier gone on voyages with Hernán Cortés, landed at this spot, which he called San Miguel, in 1542. Government grounds were set aside to commemorate his discovery in 1913, and today the site, with its rugged cliffs and shores and outstanding overlooks, is one of the most frequently visited of all the national monuments. 

CORONADO MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY  
The neoclassical First Bank of Commerce building, constructed in 1910, holds the headquarters and archives of the Coronado Historical Association and a museum. The collection celebrates Coronado's history with photographs and displays of its formative events and major sights. Three galleries have permanent displays while a fourth hosts traveling exhibits; all offer interactive activities for children and adults. For information on the town's historic houses, pick up a copy of the inexpensive Coronado California Centennial History & Tour Guide at the gift shop. There's also a café and lecture hall.

EL CAMPO SANTO  
The old adobe-walled cemetery established in 1849 was until 1880 the burial place for many members of Old Town's founding families -- as well as for some gamblers and bandits who passed through town. Antonio Garra, a chief who led an uprising of the San Luis Rey Indians, was executed at El Campo Santo in front of the open grave he had been forced to dig for himself. These days the small cemetery is a peaceful stop for visitors to Old Town. Most of the markers give only approximations of where the people named on them are buried; some of the early settlers laid to rest at El Campo Santo really reside under San Diego Avenue.

GASLAMP QUARTER 
The 16½-block national historic district contains most of the Victorian-style buildings that rose in San Diego after Alonzo Horton arrived in 1867 bent on supplanting San Diego's Old Town with a new downtown closer to the waterfront. Business boomed in New Town in the late 1800s, when Market Street was the center of the downtown commercial district, but at the turn of the 20th century commerce moved west toward Broadway, and many of San Diego's first buildings fell into disrepair. During the early 1900s, prostitutes picked up sailors in lively area taverns and dance halls, and crime flourished; the blocks between Market Street and the waterfront were best avoided. The quarter became known as the Stingaree district, possibly because, it was said, you could be stung as easily here as by a stingray in San Diego Bay.

HILLCREST 
Northwest of Balboa Park, Hillcrest is San Diego's center for the gay community and artists of all types. It truly is one of the city's most interesting neighborhoods, and welcoming to all. University, 4th, and 5th Avenues are filled with cafés, a superb collection of restaurants (including many outstanding ethnic eateries), and boutiques (among which are several indie bookstores selling new and used books along 5th below University). The self-contained residential-commercial Uptown District, on University Avenue at 8th Avenue, was built to resemble an inner-city neighborhood, with shops and restaurants within easy walking distance of high-price town houses. To the northeast, Adams Avenue, reached via Park Boulevard heading north off Washington Street, has many antiques stores. Adams Avenue leads east into Kensington, a handsome old neighborhood that overlooks Mission Valley.

LA JOLLA CAVES 
It's a walk of 145 sometimes slippery steps down a tunnel to Sunny Jim, the largest of the caves in La Jolla Cove and the only one reachable by land.

LEGOLAND  
Legoland California in Carlsbad was the first LEGO theme park in North America, and it offers far more than classic building blocks. The park, which is geared toward children ages 2 through 12, has more than 50 shows, rides and exhibits - many of which provide learning opportunities and creative play as well as entertainment. Among the most popular: Kids can dig for "fossils" at Dino Island, pilot their own Lego-built boats at Skipper School, view life-size dinosaurs from the Coastersaurus ride, or attend "driving school." Don't miss Miniland -- miniature replicas of famous structures throughout the world sure to fascinate grownups and children alike.

MARITIME MUSEUM
A must for anyone with an interest in nautical history, this collection of six restored and replica ships affords a fascinating glimpse of San Diego during its heyday as a commercial seaport.

MUSEUM OF ART 
Known primarily for its Spanish baroque and Renaissance paintings, including works by El Greco, Goya, Rubens, and van Ruisdael, San Diego's most comprehensive art museum also has strong holdings of South Asian art, Indian miniatures, and contemporary California paintings. The Baldwin M. Baldwin collection includes more than 100 pieces by Toulouse-Lautrec.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART 
California artists figure prominently in the museum's permanent collection of post-1950s art, but the museum also includes examples of every major art movement since that time -- works by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Joseph Cornell, and Jenny Holzer, to name a few. Important pieces by artists from San Diego and Tijuana were acquired in the 1990s.

MUSEUM OF MAN 
Inside, exhibits at this highly respected anthropological museum focus on Southwestern, Mexican, and South American cultures. Carved monuments from the Mayan city of Quirigua in Guatemala, cast from the originals in 1914, are particularly impressive.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM 
There are 7.5 million fossils, dinosaur models, and even live reptiles and other specimens under this roof. Favorite exhibits include the Foucault pendulum, suspended on a 43-foot cable and designed to demonstrate the Earth's rotation; a full-size gray-whale skeleton; and Ocean Oasis, the world's first large-format film about Baja California and the Sea of Cortéz.

OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO STATE HISTORIC PARK 
The six square blocks on the site of San Diego's original pueblo are the heart of Old Town. Most of the 20 historic buildings preserved or re-created by the park cluster around Old Town Plaza, bounded by Wallace Street on the west, Calhoun Street on the north, Mason Street on the east, and San Diego Avenue on the south. The plaza is a pleasant place to rest, plan your tour of the park, and watch passers-by. San Diego Avenue is closed to vehicle traffic here.

SAN DIEGO WILD ANIMAL PARK 
The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park is an expansive wildlife sanctuary operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. It is home to more than 3,500 animals representing 429 species, including the largest crash of rhinos in any zoological facility, and one of the only California condor exhibits in the world. Naturalist habitats provide an opportunity to view animals lounging in natural settings, while unique construction at areas like Lion Camp allow you to come face-to-face with Africa’s biggest cat. Modeled after the hot air balloon tours of the Serengeti, Balloon Safari offers visitors scenic views of the Wild Animal Park’s lush grounds and don’t forget Photo Caravan Safaris offer an intimate adventure inside the Wild Animal Park’s field habitats in open-air trucks. Close-up photography experiences are the norm where Indian rhinoceros lumber alongside vehicles and giraffes peer into the camera lens from inches away.

SAN DIEGO ZOO 
With approximately 4,000 animals on more than 100 lushly-planted acres.  In addition to the Zoo's famous pandas, on loan from the People's Republic of China, top exhibits include the Polar Bear Plunge and Hippo Beach (both enclosures offer underwater vantage points); the brand new Monkey Trails exhibit, home to many endangered species; and the tropical jungle environs of Tiger River.

SEAWORLD SAN DIEGO  
See black and white and all the colors in-between at SeaWorld San Diego. From the thrills of Journey To Atlantis to the playful fun of Shamu’s Happy Harbor, there’s no better place for you to visit than SeaWorld San Diego. Enjoy "Believe" an entirely new, visually stunning Shamu show that will take you on a sensational, breathtaking journey of curiosity and wonder. Come see Shamu in a way you never have … until now.

SUNSET CLIFFS 
As the name suggests, the 60-foot-high bluffs on the western side of Point Loma south of Ocean Beach are a perfect place to watch the sun descend over the sea. To view the tide pools along the shore, use the staircase off Sunset Cliffs Boulevard at the foot of Ladera Street.