Where the Turf Meets the Surf
The old clich 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. Once a secluded getaway resort for Hollywood celebrities, Del Mar's old beach bungalows have given way to multi-million-dollar mansions, but the fanciful flags and Hobie Cat sailboats beached out front reveal that "Del Martians" are on holiday year round - in spirit, if not in deed. Across the freeway, the wooded estates and farm plots of Rancho Santa Fe are reminiscent of San Diego's early agricultural roots, while the exploding residential developments around Del Mar Heights reflect the city's 21st century prosperity. Del Mar is the kind of neighborhood that locals can't imagine ever leaving, and visitors can't wait to come back to.
Cruising around
The Pacific Coast Highway (aka: Camino Del Mar in these parts) runs right through the middle of town, and the intersection of Camino Del Mar with 15th Street is the center for shopping and dining, the perfect place to start or end your tour of the neighborhood. On the southwest corner is the old Stratford Square building with its exotic array of books and baubles, and the luxurious L'Auberge Del Mar Resort & Spa is across the street to the northwest. On the northeast corner you can explore the Del Mar Plaza shopping center with three terraced levels of haute couture and ocean view dining. Heading south on Camino Del Mar, you'll find even more great restaurants and stores.
Just down the end of 15th Street, the turf literally does meet the surf at Sea Grove Park, a grassy playground on the bluff that's popular with families and picnickers, and at Powerhouse Park down by the beach, offering excellent bathroom and shower facilities and the exciting prospect of oceanfront dining at Jake's Del Mar or The Poseidon. From this point northward to 29th Street, private homes front the beach with public access corridors at every cross street and lifeguard towers (active in season) every few blocks. The beach south of 15th Street all the way to Carmel Valley is fronted by low cliffs, with precarious foot trails. There are patches of rock and reef offshore here that appeal to surfers, but make the place less than ideal for swimming.
Traveling inland up Via De La Valle from the north end of Del Mar, you'll find the world famous Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds just to your right on Jimmy Durante Boulevard. Beyond the fairgrounds, you'll find the Flower Hill shopping center with upscale shops and restaurants, as well as more practical fare like grocery stores and movie theaters. Leaving the freeway you'll pass Del Mar's invisible boundary dividing town and country. In the open river valley to your right-hand side are tomato farms and polo fields; in the tree-covered hills to the left are sprawling horse ranches and palatial residential estates.
