Parking in Pacific Beach, San Diego can get wild – can it not? Especially during summer, it can be a bit tricky. That’s why we are sharing tips on where to park in PB.

First, let’s establish the busiest times typically:

• Weekend Mornings – Afternoon (When everyone’s at the beach, then leaving – exhausted and covered in sand)
• Weekend Nights – There’s a gap, then at night, those coming for dinners or the bar scene. About 8 – 10 pm is when people hit up the Pacific Beach nightlife.
• Taco Tuesdays – In the evening, people come to places like Fat Fish, Taco Surf PB, Oscar’s and The Fish Shop. PB is definitely a popping spot for Taco Tuesday in San Diego.

Here are ideas of where to park:

Park Towards or In North Pacific Beach

The farther you drive down Garnet and Grand, the more wild parking is as they’re the main streets. The further West you go on them, the closer you get to both the beach and most of the bars.

Rather than drive around Garnet, we recommend heading North on Cass Street or streets before that, further East. Starting a few blocks North of Garnet, there’s usually more parking as you get into North PB. It may seem far, but, in reality, it’s a quite short walk.

Walk the Sand or Bay Path from Mission Beach Parking Lots

If you’re planning to walk the beach or boardwalk, we recommend heading to the big lots by the Mission Beach Boardwalk – “Belmont Park”. Just behind the roller coaster, there are an expanse of lots that have many spaces. Use the lovely path along the Bay, just behind Mission Boulevard, to enjoy a pleasant walk to Pacific Beach.

(Heads up: This is about 1.3 mile walk to the edge of Pacific Beach. So it’s ideal for those who want a nice beach walk anyhow – not those in a rush to make reservations!)

Paid Parking Lots in Pacific Beach ($5 – $10)

There are also some small, paid lots around PB.

Find paid parking around the west end of Garnet and/or Hornblend. A good point to GPS is the CVS in PB, which is near several small paid lots. That address is:

4445 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA 92109