Ocean Beach Dog Beach

Big space! Great time, but like most dog beaches of course keep shoes on… There’s always the few owners who look the other way then its time to scoop, but that’s the case for most free dog parks/​beaches.
Easy to get to

If you don’t like dogs, this is not the beach for you.
Pups are allowed off leash, and there is plenty of room to play. If your dog doesn’t like other dogs, doesn’t play well with others, or is a jerk in general– you should stay home.
We spent a week visting Ocean Beach, and went to Dog Beach a couple times a day. Our pups had a blast every time, and we never had any encounters with any dogs (or humans) who were anything but pleasant.
Bring waste bags. Clean up after your pup. It’s the responsible thing to do. No one wants to step in that. Bring water and a bowl for your dog, we didn’t see anywhere to get water and the ocean’s not for drinking :)
There is a parking lot as well as lots of street parking. We never had an issue finding a place to park, even when it was really busy.
The beach is great– soft sand, spots where there are waves, or where the water is calmer, and lots of space to run and have fun. The beach is full of shells, so if you have little ones there is something fun for them too.

I love this place. My dogs are always so excited to come here! I just wish people wouldn’t bring their food for obvious reasons. I always have a great experience here and most importantly, my dogs love it!

First time at Dog Beach. Very crowded and hard to find parking. Otherwise a great place to bring your dog if they like the water.

I’M IN LOVE!
As an avid dog lover, I’m a sucker for places like this haha
It’s bittersweet though, I don’t have my own doggy at the moment so I feel like one of those older people that never had kids, who see parents at the park with their children and wish they had their own lol
As far as this section of ob goes, I think it’s a perfect spot to bring your pooch.
It’s sectioned off with a small sand hill on one side, and rocks on the other.
It also extends out into the water so it would be hard for your dog to swim away (if he wanted to) and very easy access for life guards to jump in if they happen to get pulled in by the current.
As a reminder to the owner, PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET.
The beach wasn’t dirty by any means but I did spot one doggy doo-​doo on my way out.
It takes about 3 seconds to scoop that poop! Bags are even provided! So you have no excuse.
All the dogs were so friendly as well, and you can tell they’re used to being social and coming out and having fun. Big, little, shy, playful. Every type of dog got along. It made me so happy :)
I hope to come here with my own doggy one day!

We go to Dog Beach almost every weekend. We love that place. Never had trouble to find parking. Dogs are usually friendly and well trained, I never had a problem with other dogs or dog owners. My dog is a Beagle and he is very vocal but other dogs seem to deal with him peacefully.
This is a very cool place to enjoy good time off leash for your furry friend.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I love this place ! Its clean, its pretty, theres a lot of space and everybody there is extremely nice.
If you have dogs this is the perfect place to bring them.

This dog beach is absolutely amazing! The water is quite shallow here because of a cove created by the jetties here both to the south and north of the beach at south mission state beach. The water however is very rocky but only with small pebbles. There also is a private parking lot here and well stocked doggie bag dispensers. Seeing my two 12 year old golden retrievers running around with other dogs and mostly just saying hi to people who sometimes give treats and of course scratches behind the ears. There were many beautiful dogs here but also families and people just throwing frisbees to their dogs. I came here on a Sunday evening right before the sun came down and it was beautiful there and also pretty crowded. I was amazed by how well my dogs behaved and how happy everyone there looked just to be there. Four legged friends included.

This is the dog beach I take my corgi to and she had a lot of fun! Its kept pretty clean, but obviously smells a little. There’s quite a bit of parking here, and finding a spot is pretty easy. We went here early in the morning on a cloudy day, so it wasn’t too packed here. There’s the ocean, and then there’s an estuary on the right hand side of the beach. I thought I would have to take my dog to the calmer estuary because she was scared of the water at first, but she quickly decided she was having fun and started jumping over the ocean waves!

Love this beach!
My friend took me here after we took her dogs to get shots ha ha we had to reward him with some fun!
For all you dog lovers/​owners this is the place to go! So many happy and free dogs running around and having fun!
Obvi it’s a dog beach so don’t think this is a place where you can go swimming ha ha go elsewhere. From all the people at the beach no one was having a picnic or anything like that. Exclusively a dog beach.
Good place if your future husband checklist includes: must love dogs and long walks on the beach. Guaranteed you will find your type here…

This is not a very large beach, but it’s a great beach if you are a dog owner or lover. The sand is soft so it’s paw friendly and the weather, as you know in San Diego, is quite agreeable most of the year. Consequently, the beach usually has a number of dogs and owners strutting their stuff in and outside the water. Not that, that is a bad thing, because I’ve learned it’s a great place to meet some lovely ladies.
The beach provided a good stretch of shallow water for ease of dog and human play. There’s a life guard on duty, surfing is allowed and so is swimming, and their are showers but not for the animals. Also, if you bring your dog, it is important that they are up to date on all their vaccinations.
If you want to picnic hear, you have to venture to the other side of the parking lot that is situated nearby. Oh yes, and don’t forget your dog!

There were a lot of friendly dogs here :)
I noticed a strong dog urine smell when I was walking in the parking lot… There were lots of trash too… Some people are just not educated or doesn’t care about keeping the place clean.
Theres some broken seashells, so try to make sure your puppies don’t step on them. Other than that its a rly good place for your dogs to come out & play with other dogs on the beach.

This place is heaven on earth for dogs! There is plenty of parking and available bags for poop scooping. The best part is alllll of the beach dedicated to dogs having fun off leash! There is calm water along the edge and also ocean for them to play in as well. Great for long walks, swimming and socializing. So thankful to live so close to this place, it makes life easy having a spot to let your dog run as fast and as far as they can.

Came down from Los Angeles for the day with two dog friends I know, Bob & King. Fun! Fun! Fun! They were so happy to play at this beach. Dogs and people alike are incredibly kind. Beach is clean, as all respect the space and pick up after themselves. I wish Los Angeles had a beach like this one.

We’ve brought our puppy boy here a couple of times now and it’s one of our favorite places to take him. He’s a little shy at dog parks, but for some reason, the ocean makes him brave enough to meet and greet all four legged friends.
Ample parking lot is available for the Dog Beach. We’ve never had any issues parking even on the weekends. Street parking is available within walking distance as well.
The dog beach has tons of space for pups of all ages and sizes to run free. We usually keep the pup on his leash until were a little bit more away from the parking lot just in case. He’s still a young pup testing his boundaries.
I like that there is a lifeguard that is attentive and let’s the patrons of the dog beach know when it’s safe to be in or out of the water due to the tide or as the sunsets because it can change at the drop of a hat.
There’s only a few things that aren’t top notch with the dog beach. The water over by the jetty smells a big stinky. And sometimes dog owner’s aren’t always keen on picking up their dogs poo. I guess you can’t really do too much if your dog decides to take a dump in the ocean but I guess there are worse things lurking in the deep.

I mean it’s a free for all for all pups, and off lease too! How good could it get for a dog and their humans. I’m assuming it’s been less crowded as of late due to the chillier weather, but in the spring/​summer it can get pretty busy. Still a great place to let your four legged pal run off some excess energy and enjoy the water (if that’s their jam), get socialized and make new friends (you and your pup).
Just keep an eye on ‘em and make sure you know where they are, they aren’t being fussy, clean up their poop.etc.all of the things decent pet owners and humans should do!

Coming from the East Coast, this place is amazing! We came in December and there were at least 50 dogs here running around either chasing other dogs, playing fetch, or trying to catch a seagull!
Most (if not all) dogs were off leash and the water is pretty calm at certain spots so that most dogs can play in the water. I probably would be hesitant to walk on the beach barefoot (cautious of all the pee that might be in the sand — hopefully only dog pee).
My only regret is that we could’ve brought our dog to the beach :(

Yay! What an awesome section of ocean beach dedicated to just dogs!
— Most of the dog owners are responsible in watching their dogs and cleaning up after them
— Off Leash (when I went in September)
— The water where we stayed was shallow enough for our little shitzu to walk out into the water quite far
— Our dog Alfie had a great time!

My lab loves this place! He starts getting excited when we pull off the freeway because he already knows where we are going! It’s awesome seeing all the dogs run free having a good time. My dog loves to play fetch but there are a lot of other dogs who like to play fetch and their owners don’t bring them a ball! So watch out for the ball stealers. My dogs kind of a wimp and will give up his ball to anyone!
If you go around the bend where the river runs out it is a lot quieter and less people and dogs for anyone who is just introducing their dogs to this dog beach. There can be some bullies out on the main part, but that comes natural with dog packs.

Things I miss dearly about living in San Diego:
The weather, the food, the beer and of course — DOG BEACH! San Diegans are so incredibly lucky to have an area like this to take their pups to.
I was in town visiting recently and took my dog along for his first ever road trip. San Diego is a great place for people with dogs — so many places are dog friendly! I knew that I just had to take my little guy to the beach.
The only downside is the parking. If you are there on a weekend, forget about it. You’ll spend a long time circling the area looking for a spot… but it’s so worth it!
We walked over the «hump» and what a glorious sight (this was not my first time there)! It was a perfect day and there were tons of dogs, running free and having a blast! My friends just adopted a lab mix and they weren’t sure about letting her off the leash. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about letting my guy off the leash either, but where was he going to go? The place is set up in a way that there really isn’t anywhere for them to run away to. Plus, there are lots of people and other dogs, so it’s a pretty safe place.
I knew I had to let Scout off the leash as soon as I saw how excited he became when he saw the sand and water. Pretty sure he had a smile on his face! He started pulling me towards the ocean, and once I let him off his leash he went running right towards the water. He’s never seen the ocean (or even a lake), so I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. But he loved every minute of it. If I could know what he was thinking, I would say that he felt liberated. We had such a blast and the dogs were exhausted afterwards — mission accomplished!
If you live in San Diego, have a dog and haven’t been to dog beach — shame on you! This is doggie heaven! If you are visiting from out of town — take your dog with you and make sure dog beach is on your itinerary! Trust me…