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It is worth noting that while other safe beaches exist across the county, these six proved to be the safest in our analysis.
Out of the five popular beaches we analyzed, we would recommend planning a visit to Windansea Beach, Mission Beach, or Ocean Beach.
Located in San Diego's La Jolla neighborhood, Windansea Beach provides a perfect atmosphere for both sunbathing and surfing.1
Over a mile in length in the middle of the Golden Strand, Mission Beach is a great destination for volleyball, bonfires, and picnics.2
Ocean Beach is perfect for dogs and their owners, owing to its connection with Dog Beach, San Diego's only 24-hour dog-run beach.3
For those that would prefer a less-crowded location, we recommend going to South Carlsbad State Beach, Oceanside City Beach, or Silver Strand State Beach.
As a part of California's State Park system, South Carlsbad has locations for skin diving, fishing, and camping.4
Known locally as "The Strand", Oceanside City Beach is exceptionally family-friendly and has amenities for barbecues and playgrounds.5
Also a part of the State Park system, Silver Strand is often host to many on-the-water activities, like boating and water-skiing.6
Make Sure to Check Bacteria Levels
Make Sure to Check Bacteria Levels
Prior to swimming in any coastal waters or visiting any beach, we recommend checking bacteria levels after heavy rainfall as this is when the beaches are more likely to have high bacteria levels. It is always important to make sure that there are no health advisories in place for the beaches you would like to visit.
Predicting the Future
Predicting the Future
Our analysis provided us with information and trends that we can use to predict whether or not a given beach would have swimmable waters in a given month. Using data from San Diego Coastkeeper, an organization that provides real-time updates on beach closures in San Diego county, we can test any predictions made using the historical data against current information.
Take for example, La Jolla Cove, a location popular with scuba divers and snorkelers. Based on the trends found in our historical data, La Jolla Cove typically experiences high average levels of E. Coli, Enterococcus, and Total Coliforms during mid-fall to early-winter (see left). We would predict that on average, in October, the bacteria levels for La Jolla Cove would be unsuitable for swimming. On October 11, 2024, San Diego Coastkeeper reported that the beach was either closed or under an advisory warning due to unmet clean water requirements.7
Although these types of predictions do not provide any context as to why these historical trends exist the way they do, they can often provide insight into the trends themselves and give a reliable, baseline understanding of how the bacteria levels change based on time and location.
Future Direction and Steps
Future Direction and Steps
It is our hope that this study can help contribute to understanding how spatiotemporal variables can influence water quality. While we did not explicitly provide solutions to beach pollution ourselves, we believe that our study can help guide researchers to which areas and times of the year require the most attention, as well as help keep the public informed of the dangers of a lack of caution regarding bacterial infections.
References
References
- Windansea Beach
https://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/windan - Mission Beach
https://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/mb - Ocean Beach
https://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/ob - South Carlsbad State Beach
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=660 - Oceanside City Beach
https://www.sandiego.org/explore/things-to-do/beaches-bays/oceanside.aspx - Silver Strand State Beach
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=654 - Beach Advisories
https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/beach-advisories/
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