Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA

Cedros Avenue is the street that gives Solana Beach, the small coastal city between Del Mar and Cardiff in San Diego County, its personality. The low buildings along it hold galleries, furniture shops and cafes, and on Sundays the farmers market brings about sixty vendors and live music. Housing changes as you move away from the water. West of Interstate 5, condo buildings line the sandstone bluffs and custom coastal houses fill the quiet streets behind them. East of the freeway, the Lomas Santa Fe area mixes single-family homes, condos and houses along the country club fairways, while the hills of Solana Hills hold established homes with mature yards. La Colonia de Eden Gardens, around Valley Avenue, is one of the oldest parts of Solana Beach and dates to the 1920s. Fletcher Cove Beach Park, known to locals as Pillbox, is the town's front yard, with a playground, picnic tables and a small sandy beach below the bluff. Tide Beach Park is down a long staircase and has tide pools at low water. The Coastal Rail Trail runs beside Highway 101, and at the north end of town the San Elijo Lagoon trails start from North Rios Avenue. Seven Seas Roasting on South Cedros roasts in small batches and is known for its house-made flavored lattes. Over in Eden Gardens, Tony's Jacal traces its roots to 1946 and serves the Mexican classics, while Fidel's Little Mexico down the block fills several levels and runs a weekday lunch special. Pizza Port on Highway 101 pairs pies with its own craft beer. Errands are simple here. Vons and Sprouts both sit along Lomas Santa Fe Drive, and the library is on Stevens Avenue. The Solana Beach station on North Cedros, with its curved roof modeled on the Quonset huts that once stood nearby, puts the Coaster and the Pacific Surfliner within walking distance of much of the west side, and NCTD's BREEZE buses stop there too. Bluff erosion is a real issue on the oceanfront, where sections of cliff have collapsed onto the sand and owners above have few good fixes. A few streets inland that worry fades, and an evening walk can end at the cove with the surf right below.