Torrey Pines State Beach

Torrey Pines State Beach is a long sand beach at the foot of the 300-foot sandstone cliffs of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, running between Del Mar to the north and La Jolla to the south. The cliffs above are unstable and have been the site of multiple rescues, and only two maintained routes drop from the bluff to the sand: the Beach Trail inside the State Reserve, and the Glider Port Trail at the south end. Black's Beach lies about 2 miles south along the base of the cliffs, reached by walking south from the Beach Trail or by descending the Glider Port Trail. The Torrey Pines Gliderport occupies the bluff above Black's and stages paragliders and hang gliders on the updrafts running the cliff face, while Torrey Pines Golf Course sits on the bluff above the south end of the named beach.

The bottom is sand from one end of the beach to the other, with breaking surf and no offshore reef or kelp along the named stretch, which puts Torrey Pines State Beach in the surf zone biome. Swimming and surfing draw the most use, and hook-and-line surf fishing shares the shore with both. With nothing rocky to hold fish in close, spearfishing, snorkeling, and scuba are all uncommon.

Fishing and spearfishing at Torrey Pines State Beach are legal under standard California regulations. The San Diego-Scripps Coastal State Marine Conservation Area begins about half a mile south of the Gliderport and runs 1.1 miles from there down to Scripps Pier, covering the southern half of Black's Beach, where the only take allowed is recreational hook-and-line for coastal pelagic species other than market squid. Torrey Pines State Beach lies well north of that boundary.

The paid lot at the base of the State Reserve trail is priced by demand, running from about $10 to $25 for the day, and fills by 10 a.m. on summer weekends; free roadside parking runs along North Torrey Pines Road just north of it.