Del Mar, CA

Del Mar is a small coastal city in San Diego County, under two square miles set between Los Peñasquitos Lagoon on the south and the San Dieguito River on the north. Interstate 5 passes along its inland edge, Solana Beach continues up the shore, and Torrey Pines, one of only two places where that rare pine grows wild, frames the southern end. The town began as a resort idea in the 1880s, and the Tudor-style Stratford Inn brought silent film stars to 15th Street after 1910. Voters incorporated in 1959 largely to keep high-rises off the beach, and the skyline still stays low. Houseberry covers the whole city as one neighborhood, from the bluff-top streets of the old town to the hillside lanes above the village. People come from all over the county for two things. The first is the Del Mar Fairgrounds by the river mouth, home to the San Diego County Fair since 1936 and to horse racing since 1937, when Bing Crosby greeted the first crowd at the track. The second is the shoreline itself. South of 15th Street the bluffs drop lower, and when the tide cooperates the sand continues south into Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Scripps Bluff Preserve, up a steep wooden staircase, looks out from about 80 feet above the water. Trains are part of the scenery. The Surf Line runs along the bluffs for about 1.7 miles, roughly 40 feet above the beach, and the regional transportation agency is studying how to move it inland as the cliffs erode. Del Mar lost its own station in 1995, so riders use the Coaster and Pacific Surfliner from Solana Beach, about two miles north. NCTD's BREEZE buses cover local trips. Del Mar Plaza anchors the north end of the village with shops and terraces above Camino del Mar, and Pacifica Del Mar there is the seafood dinner spot. The rest of the main street mixes cafes, bakeries, wine bars and sushi into a stretch easy to cover on foot. The village is small, so groceries, big errands and most offices mean a drive inland or up the coast. What residents get in return is a coastline they can reach on foot, under a skyline the town chose to keep low.