San Diego in summer: beaches, night markets, and free events

From July through September, San Diego's coast fills up on weekends. Locals adapt by going early, going on weekdays, and knowing which parking lots empty out by 4 p.m.

Beach strategy

• Before 10 a.m.: parking is easy almost everywhere, including La Jolla.
• Weekday evenings: Pacific Beach and Mission Beach quiet down noticeably after 5 p.m.
• Bonfire rings at Mission Bay and Ocean Beach go fast — arrive by mid-afternoon.
• Check the tide chart before tide-pooling at Cabrillo or Sunset Cliffs.

Weekly markets

Farmers markets run somewhere in the county nearly every day. Little Italy's Saturday market is the largest; Hillcrest on Sunday is a close second. In East County, La Mesa and El Cajon both have solid neighborhood markets.

Free things that are actually good

• Sunset Cliffs at golden hour.
• Spreckels Organ Pavilion Sunday concerts in Balboa Park.
• The Embarcadero walk from Seaport Village to the USS Midway.
• Torrey Pines beach walk at low tide.