Black's Beach on 4th of July Weekend

Are you looking for one of California’s most quiet beaches this holiday weekend? Do you want to avoid the beach crowds? If your answer is yes, head to Black’s Beach in San Diego.

Cool ocean breezes attract lots of visitors from the desert cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas to the beaches in San Diego, particularly on holiday weekends. As a result, up until recently, I tended to avoid the San Diego beaches on weekends from Independence Day through Labor Day. Not only were the beaches crowded, but sitting in traffic heading to the beaches wasn’t my cup of tea.

Then, the light bulb finally turned on for me. After a year of giving Sightseeing Tours to La Jolla, which includes a stop at the Torrey Pines Gliderportand a mention that the adjoining Black’s Beach is one of the most secluded beaches in sunny Southern California, it finally hit me over the last 4th of July weekend that’s where I should go for some rest and relaxation on the beach.

See lifeguard stand on cliff

My wife, who also prefers quiet beaches, thought I was crazy when I suggested we head to the beach, especially considering this past Independence Day weekend was particularly warm for San Diego with beach temperatures getting into the 80s. I wasn’t sure what to expect but being the curious person I am, I had to check it out.

Well, it met all my expectations and then some. There was no traffic heading to the Torrey Pines Gliderport parking lot. From there, we headed to the beach, which was even emptier than I was expecting. Check out the picture I took of a desolate stretch of beach I took on a 4th of July weekend!

The other surprise was the lack of nude bathers. Considering the online travel review web site TripAdvisor rates Black’s Beach as the #1 Nude Beach in America, it was a relief to only see a few (3 or 4) exhibitionists on the beach. They were (surprise, surprise) strategically positioned near the main entrance to the beach but once you got past them, it was a nice, quiet beach all to ourselves.

So, you may wonder, why is Black’s Beach so quiet, even on a summer holiday weekend? Or more importantly, why is TourGuideTim revealing this little known secret of a quiet place to spend a San Diego beach weekend?

Stairway to Black’s Beach

Well, to enjoy this quiet beach, people have to be willing to descend 300 feet down the side of the Torrey Pines Cliffs to access the beach…which means you have to climb those 300 feet back up to your car after an afternoon of soaking up the sun, running sand through your toes, and listening to the ocean waves crash on the beach.

There is an old stairway built into the cliffs that take you to the beach. Despite the fact signs encourage you to stay away because of the eroding sandstone, it’s not too difficult to use for those in decent shape and it’s much better than following some surfers who have their own, more direct path down the side of the cliffs. Don’t follow these surfers who shun the stairwell unless you want to be featured on the local news because you were rescued by helicopter off a precarious perch half way down the cliff.

For most, including my wife, it’s not worth the climb to enjoy the secluded beach. But, for me, it’s the beach beach in San Diego.

Can you believe the San Diego weather for August has never reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) in recorded history? Add to that the fact it’s only reached 100 degrees once in the month of July, way back in 1930. This reflects the records kept at Lindbergh Field, the official San Diego weather station just a mile from Downtown San Diego.

Having moved from the Mid-Atlantic, this is just unbelievable. When I lived back East, you could always count on at least a week of 100 degree weather.

For example, in Philadelpia, just over 50% of the dates in July and August have recorded a 100 degree temperature at least once in recorded history.

If you look at the Dallas – Fort Worth area, they had a streak of 40 consecutive days of 100 degree weather in 2011!

Over the past 30 years, Phoenix has 100 degree weather an AVERAGE 110 days per year!

The highest temperature ever recorded in San Diego for the month of August was 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.7 degrees Celsius) back in 1955.

Another interesting fact for San Diego weather during the month of August is that 60% of our Augusts have not recorded any measurable rainfall…for the whole month! Just incredible. Another reason we are so lucky to live in San Diego.

Stay tuned each month as I’ll share more interesting facts about San Diego weather history. For those planning a vacation in San Diego and looking for average San Diego temperatures and what to expect, visit my San Diego Travel Guide.

I was shocked to read in this morning’s Union Tribune that Jerry Schad is terminally ill with stage 4 kidney cancer.

For those who don’t know, Schad wrote the bible on San Diego hiking. San Diego is arguable one of the best places for hiking in the world and his book Afoot & Afield in San Diego County is the best guide to explore those trails. It is 456 pages of work taking us from the beach bluffs above our ocean during the summer months through the tree covered mountains during the fall and into the desert caves during the winter. He has covered it all.

Afoot and Afield is one of the first books I bought when I arrived in San Diego thirteen years ago and it’s rarely more than an arms length away. I have seen so much of our beautiful natural environment because of him.

I’ve seen Jerry on KPBS as he’s taken viewers on some of his favorite trails. I always figured I’d meet him one day. But, it appears that expectation will not come to fruition. I’m sure many others will feel the same when I say it always felt like he was right there with you as he took you around each turn and told you where to look for hidden treasures along each trail.

I wish Jerry and his wife strength to enjoy these final days together. You can be rest assured your fans will carry on your legacy of getting people out of their homes and into the beautiful nature surrounding us in San Diego County. Thank You.

Here’s a link to today’s article about Jerry Schad in the Union Tribune.

Ahh. Football season is almost here. The Chargers seem to be in good position to make another run for the playoffs. The first pre-season game is on Thursday night. So, I’ll share some trivia about the history of San Diego Chargers football.

Did you know that the Chargers made it to the Championship game in their inaugural season? They were based in Los Angeles that first year.

Before the season began, the team held a contest asking the public to come up with a team name. A resident of Hollywood won the contest by suggesting ‘Chargers’ as the team’s nickname.

Despite the first year success in Los Angeles, civic leaders in San Diego, and in particular San Diego sports writer Jack Murphy, convinced the owner Barron Hilton to move the team to America’s Finest City the following season. (San Diego 1 – Los Angeles 0!)

I was curious why the team was moved to San Diego after a season that saw them reach AFL Championship Game in the first season. Well, it turns out it’s because of the same reason Los Angeles does not have an NFL team today…lack of interest among Angelenos. Ironically, that first season saw 27,778 show up at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first pre-season game but only 9,928 came out to watch the team win the Western Division Title later in the year.

The new ‘San Diego’ Chargers played at Balboa Stadium, where seating capacity was increased from 23,000 to 34,000 to hold the throng of fans Jack Murphy predicted would come out to support the team. Sure enough, when San Diego once again made it to the AFL Championship Game, 29,566 fans showed up at Balboa Stadium and showed the nation that this town loves its football team.

The stadium was beautiful with it’s Roman inspired columns, which you can see in this picture of Balboa Stadium. Unfortunately, Balboa Stadium has since been demolished and replaced with a much smaller stadium for use by local soccer teams and schools.

Over the next few years, the Chargers held training camps in a variety of locations from the nearby campus at the University of San Diego to way out in East County in Boulevard.

Almost year after year, the Chargers continued to make it to the AFL Championship Game with notable players like Jack Kemp and Lance Alworth. Their prowess is probably what led Chrysler officials to introduce their new muscle car, the Dodge Charger, during halftime at a game in 1965.

That same year, the city sought to build a new stadium for the Chargers. Before they finalized the deal on what would eventually become known as Jack Murphy Stadium and today’s Qualcomm Stadium, one of the leading proposals had been to build a floating stadium in Mission Bay. (I wonder if it was the same people who were suggesting a ‘floating airport’ a few years ago when the Airport Authority was seeking a new home for Lindbergh Field.)

Well, I just wanted to give you a taste of what I found to be some of the interesting trivia in Chargers history as we get ready for another highly anticipated season. You can read more about the Chargers history on the team’s website.

If you are going to a game, check out my travel web site for information on attending San Diego Chargers games at Qualcomm Stadium. It includes links to a variety of resources to make the most of your experience. You’ll even learn some tidbits. For example, did you know Qualcomm Stadium is rated the most Vegetarian Friendly Stadium in the NFL!

Let’s get ready for some football!