Crown Point Jewell, Happiness at the Beach Book

What's nearby

The best thing about Crown Point is how much you can reach without getting in the car. Here is what our guests actually use, roughly in order of how far you have to go.

On foot, a few blocks

Grab the wagon and go.

Crown Point Beach

Calm bay water and gentle sand a couple of minutes down the street, with fire rings for a bonfire after sunset. More in parks and playgrounds.

Directions

The bayside path

A paved walking and cycling path that runs right along the water from the end of the block. Flat, car-free and stroller-friendly.

PB Express Market & Liquor

The corner store, two blocks away, for milk, ice cream and the thing you forgot. 3503 Ingraham St.

They do not mind if you bring the bike inside.

Directions

Crown Point Coffee

The neighborhood cup, a few blocks away. More about it here.

Directions

The Grounds Bean Bar

The other local coffee option, a short walk at 1571 La Playa Ave.

Directions

Coffee & smoothies

3510 Ingraham St #101. Worth checking the hours before you walk over, they keep a short day.

Directions

The playground has its own entry in parks and playgrounds, and Rocky's, the burger bar on Ingraham, is walkable too, in eating out.

Parks, playgrounds and the beach

Two you can walk to, one worth the drive. Ages two to fifteen all get something.

  • The playground at Fanuel Street Park, blue slides and a climbing frame on the sand beside the calm water of Mission Bay The Fanuel Street Park play structure on the sand, with a lifeguard tower and the bay behind The Fanuel Street Park playground from the path, with the soft blue play surface, swings and sailboats out on the bay

    Fanuel Street Park

    • Short walk
    • Toddlers
    • Big kids
    • Calm bay water
    • Free

    A small park on the Mission Bay side with a playground right on the sand, grass, picnic tables and a gentle bay beach. The water here is flat, not surf.

    Fanuel Street Park, San Diego, CA 92109

    Why we like it. The one to head for with small children. Bay water instead of waves, and a playground three steps away for when they have had enough of the water. The two-year-old and the eight-year-old can both be happy here at the same time, which is not true of most places.

    Directions
  • The grass and sand at Crown Point Shores where the lawn meets the bay The sandy bay shoreline at Crown Point with umbrellas and families on the sand The calm shallow water and wide sand of the Mission Bay shoreline near the house

    Crown Point Beach & Shores

    • Couple of minutes
    • Bonfire
    • Calm water
    • Big lawn
    • Free

    The bay beach at the end of the street, with a wide lawn behind it, shallow water and fire rings along the sand.

    Why we like it. This is the default. It is close enough that you can go down for an hour before dinner without it being an outing, and the fire rings turn the evening into the thing the teenager remembers. Get one early on a weekend, they go fast.

    Directions

  • Kate Sessions Memorial Park

    • Short drive
    • Picnic
    • Big lawn
    • City view
    • Free

    A wide sloping lawn on the hillside above Pacific Beach, named for the horticulturist who planted much of Balboa Park. Grass, eucalyptus, picnic tables and a view straight down over Mission Bay to downtown. Street parking along Soledad Road.

    5115 Soledad Rd, San Diego, CA 92109

    Why we like it. This is the picnic. Pick up food on the way, get there an hour before sunset and let them run down the hill while the light goes over the bay. Enough open grass for a ball, and the view does the work for everyone old enough to care about it.

    Directions
Paved walking and cycling path running between the grass and the water at Mission Bay

On the bikes

There are adult bikes and kids scooters in the garage, and the bayside path starts practically at the door. It is flat the whole way, which matters when you are towing a six-year-old.

Two rides worth doing:

  • The short one. Up the bay to Fanuel Park and back, with a stop at the playground.
  • The full loop. All the way around Mission Bay. Give it a couple of hours and pack water.

Pacific Beach is a straightforward ride up the path if you want Garnet Avenue, the pier, or breakfast out.

Eating out

The places we send guests to.

  • A cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, red onion and a pickle on top, with fries and a beer, on the bar at Rocky’s

    Rocky’s

    • Walk
    • Burgers
    • 21 and over
    • Takeout, great for kids

    The best burger close by. It is a bar, so 21 and over inside, which makes takeout the move with kids.

    3786 Ingraham St · (858) 273-9140

    Menu Directions

  • The Kono’s Cafe corner building on Ocean Front Walk, palm trees above and a line of people waiting at the door

    Kono’s Cafe

    • Bike or drive
    • Breakfast
    • Ocean-front tables
    • Casual

    Breakfast by the Pacific Beach pier. Big portions, a long queue, and worth the wait. Order at the counter, then take it across the boardwalk to the ocean-front tables: plastic chairs, but you are sitting right above the beach looking at the Pacific. Casual enough that nobody minds a messy toddler.

    704 Garnet Ave

    Directions

  • A taco piled with shrimp, carne asada, guacamole, cabbage and pico de gallo from Oscar’s Mexican Seafood

    Oscar’s Mexican Seafood

    • Short drive
    • Fish tacos
    • Very casual
    • Great for kids

    The classic San Diego fish taco. Nothing fancy, a counter and a few tables, and the shrimp tacos and ceviche are the reason to go. Quick enough that nobody has to sit still for long.

    746 Emerald St

    Menu Directions

  • A margherita pizza with fresh basil and a cheese pizza on trays from Theo’s Hot Pizza

    Theo’s Hot Pizza

    • Short drive
    • Takeout only
    • Cheese special
    • Great for kids

    There is no dining room at Theo’s, it is a takeout and delivery counter, so plan on carrying it back to the house or having it brought over. The cheese special is the one, and it travels well enough to still be good when you get home. Order ahead on (858) 263-4169.

    4634 Mission Blvd

    Menu Directions

  • Steak, lamb chops and a bowl of mussels laid out on a wooden table at JRDN

    JRDN at Tower 23

    • Bike or drive
    • Oceanfront
    • Sunset
    • Book ahead

    Right on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach, and the one to book for sunset. Surf and turf done properly, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch. Worth a reservation for a proper evening.

    Menu Directions

  • Tables set on the Catamaran’s bayfront patio at dusk, palm trees lit and Mission Bay behind

    Catamaran Resort

    • Short ride
    • On the bay
    • Two restaurants

    Dining on the bay without leaving the neighborhood. There are two: Oceana Coastal Kitchen for seafood on the heated patio looking over the water, and Moray’s for drinks and a lighter menu. Wander the resort grounds and the waterfront afterwards.

    Oceana Moray’s Directions

  • The painted Barefoot Bar & Grill sign beside the open-air bar, palm trees and Mission Bay behind it

    The Barefoot Bar & Grill

    • Short drive
    • On the water
    • Family friendly

    On Vacation Isle at Paradise Point, out on the water in the middle of Mission Bay. Open-air, feet-in-the-sand drinking and eating, and the boats going past do a lot of the entertaining.

    Menu Directions

  • The tidal craft & catch sign outside the restaurant at Paradise Point, palms and succulent planting around it

    Tidal

    • Short drive
    • On the water
    • Sit-down dinner

    The sit-down restaurant next door to the Barefoot, on the same strip of Vacation Isle. This is the one for a proper dinner on the bay rather than a drink by the water, in what used to be a private beach house. Worth booking at sunset.

    Menu Directions

  • Plates and drinks on the ocean terrace at George’s at the Cove, the Pacific behind

    George’s at the Cove

    • Drive
    • La Jolla
    • Special occasion
    • Kids’ menu

    The one for a proper night out. Upstairs on Prospect Street above La Jolla Cove, with the ocean terrace for the view. There is a kids’ menu, though it is a section near the bottom of the dinner menu rather than a separate one, so it works as a family dinner as well as a date. Book ahead.

    Dinner menu Directions

The grocery run

For a proper shop, rather than the thing you forgot.

Ralphs

The default big shop, 1.8 miles from the house.

Directions

Trader Joe's

The usual Trader Joe's, on Garnet with the rest of the shopping. Parking is the tight bit. 1640 Garnet Ave.

Directions

Sprouts

Produce, bulk bins and a decent butcher counter. Handy if you are cooking properly rather than just restocking. 1260 Garnet Ave.

Directions

Gelson's

The upmarket one: organic and gourmet alongside the standard shop, plus a bakery and prepared food if you would rather not cook. On-site parking. 730 Turquoise St.

Directions

Vons

The full supermarket, and the one open latest. Also the easiest parking of the Garnet Avenue three. 1702 Garnet Ave.

Directions

Or just the corner store. PB Express two blocks away covers milk, ice cream and the thing you forgot, and there is a second fridge in the garage if you buy for the week.

Getting it delivered

You do not have to move the car at all. Everything below was checked in September 2026, but coverage and partners change, so the app is the final word.

DoorDash and Uber Eats

Restaurant food, and increasingly the corner-shop run as well: convenience, drinks and a decent slice of the grocery aisles. Vons on Garnet is on Uber Eats and Sprouts is on DoorDash, so a forgotten breakfast is twenty minutes away rather than a trip.

DoorDash

Instacart, for the big shop

The one to use for a proper week’s groceries rather than a handful of things. Sprouts on Garnet runs both its delivery and its curbside pickup through Instacart, so you can fill a trolley the night before you fly and have it waiting.

Instacart

Vons delivers itself

The Garnet Avenue store does its own delivery through the Vons site and app, with delivery windows you pick at checkout, and DriveUp & Go curbside collection if you would rather grab it on the way past. 1702 Garnet Ave.

Vons delivery & pickup Directions

Smart & Final, great for drinks in bulk and other stuff

Club sizes and the best of the drinks runs if you are feeding a crowd. Worth knowing before you set off: the Pacific Beach branch on Mission Boulevard has closed. The nearest one now is Rosecrans Street in the Midway District, about ten minutes in the car, open 7am to 10pm.

Smart & Final Directions

Rent these

On the water

Mission Bay is the calm, sheltered side, which is what makes it good for kids and good for anything with a paddle or a motor.

Jet skis are at The Dana, the hotel on the water at Mission Bay, which is the easiest place to hire one. Adventure Water Sports rents wave runners too, and there is kayak, paddleboard and boat hire around the bay. The Mission Bay activities guide goes through the options.

A row of jet skis moored at a dock on Mission Bay, available to rent nearby

Where to watch the sunset

This whole coast faces west, so the sun goes down over water every night of the year. These are the spots worth walking or driving to, closest first.

  • The beach at sunset with Crystal Pier in silhouette against an orange sky

    Tourmaline Surfing Park

    • Closest sand
    • Car park at the bottom
    • Low effort

    The quickest way to get your feet on sand with an open horizon in front of you. Parking sits right at the bottom of the hill, so this is the one you can decide on at the last minute and still arrive before the light goes.

    Directions
  • Crystal Pier at sunset with the colours of the sky reflected in the wet sand

    Crystal Pier

    • The classic shot
    • Busy
    • Pacific Beach

    The pier in silhouette against the setting sun is the photograph everybody takes here, and it earns its reputation. The pier itself shuts at dusk but the sand on either side stays open. Time it for a falling tide and the whole sky comes back at you off the wet sand.

    Directions

  • Kate Sessions Park

    • High ground
    • Room for a blanket
    • Over the bay

    From the hillside lawn you get the sun dropping over Mission Bay with the ocean behind it and the city lights coming up to the south. Space to spread out and stay put, which makes it the one to bring dinner to. It cools off quickly once the sun is gone, so take a layer.

    Directions
  • The view west over La Jolla and the ocean from the top of Mount Soledad

    Photo by Z3lvs, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Mount Soledad

    • Highest point
    • Drive up
    • Views all round

    The highest ground anywhere near the house, and you can park at the top. Ocean on one side, mountains inland on the other, and the city switching its lights on below while the sun goes down. Clear evenings after rain are the best of it. Exposed and windy up there.

    Directions
  • Waves breaking over the sandstone reef at Windansea Beach at sunset

    Photo by RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Windansea Beach

    • Most photogenic
    • Sandstone reef
    • Street parking

    The sandstone reef breaks the water into something far more interesting than flat sea, and the old palm surf shack gives a photograph its foreground. Ten minutes in the car puts you somewhere that looks nothing like Pacific Beach. Parking is on the street, so come before the light starts going.

    Directions
  • The sun dropping towards the water beyond the sandstone cliffs at Sunset Cliffs

    Photo by dany13, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Sunset Cliffs

    • Worth the drive
    • Cliffs
    • No railings

    Sandstone cliffs running down the western edge of Point Loma, named for exactly this. A road along the top has pull-outs, and footpaths lead towards the edge. This is the sunset people mean when they talk about San Diego, and it is a proper drive rather than a walk, so make an evening of it. There are no railings and the sandstone crumbles, so stay well back from the edge and keep hold of children.

    Directions

A short drive

The big ones, all close enough to go back to the house for a nap.

5 minSeaWorld San Diego
10 minBelmont Park
15 minLa Jolla Cove
20 minBalboa Park
20 minSan Diego Zoo
35 minLegoland California

Twenty kid-friendly attractions near the house →

Map of the Crown Point and Mission Bay area of San Diego showing nearby beaches, parks, coffee shops and restaurants

Where you will be

Crown Point sits on the north-east corner of Mission Bay, tucked between the water and Pacific Beach. Quiet residential streets, the bay at the end of the block, and everything above within a short ride.

We send the exact address and your entry code once your stay is booked.

Check availability