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Ocean Beach

Part of San Diego Beaches, our guide to San Diego beaches, coast and safety rules.

Ocean Beach is a wide City beach about a mile long, broken up by rock jetties, with a permanent lifeguard station. The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is closed to the public and planned for replacement. Dog Beach at the north end is the City’s leash-free area for dogs.Checked October 23, 2026.

1 milebeach length, about
CLOSEDOcean Beach Pier
24 hoursDog Beach, per the City
Lifeguardspermanent station
An aerial view of the Ocean Beach neighborhood and its shoreline in San Diego
Ocean Beach from the air. Mertbiol, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Pier statusClosed to the public. The City lifeguard page says it is closed and planned for replacement. The City says it has been closed since high surf damaged it in October 2023.
LifeguardsPermanent station. Lifeguards are generally on duty from 9 a.m. to dusk (City).
DogsDog Beach at the north end: dogs are always permitted without a leash. Elsewhere the standard dog laws are enforced. See Beach Dog Rules.
RulesAlcohol and smoking are restricted. See Beach Rules.
Listed amenitiesFire pits, parking, restrooms, showers, beach wheelchairs and disabled accessibility are listed by the City, with no details.
AddressNot stated by the City.

The Pier Is Closed

The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is not open to the public. Do not plan a pier visit or a pier fishing trip here. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also lists it as a free pier marked temporarily closed. This page will say so until the City announces a reopening.

The Beach

The City describes a wide beach about one mile long, broken up by several rock jetties, in the community of Ocean Beach. Read Rip Currents and Cliffs before you swim, and check the County water quality page for closures.

Dog Beach

The north end of Ocean Beach is Dog Beach, which the City calls the only 24-hour beach for dogs. Dogs stay leashed until they are inside the posted boundary, and owners pick up after them.

Ocean Beach Open the map. © OpenStreetMap contributors.

What We Could Not Verify

  • Street address, parking details and any pier reopening date are not confirmed. The City or the Ocean Beach community pages can confirm them.
  • A pier length of 1,971 feet appears only in a search-result summary of City documents, so it is not used here. The City’s April 2024 release says only that a replacement would be about 2,000 feet long.
  • Dog Beach address, parking and restrooms are not confirmed.
  • The City page lists amenities such as parking and restrooms but gives no hours or locations for them.

More in San Diego Beaches

FAQ

Is the Ocean Beach Pier open?

No. The City of San Diego says the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is closed to the public and planned for replacement.

Is there a leash-free dog beach in Ocean Beach?

Yes. Dog Beach at the north end allows dogs without a leash, and the City calls it the only 24-hour beach for dogs.

Sources

  1. City of San Diego Lifeguards: Ocean Beach
  2. City of San Diego: Beaches and Bays
  3. City of San Diego: Ocean Beach Pier replacement design release
  4. CDFW: Beach and Pier Fishing

Checked October 23, 2026 by It’s San Diego. Cite this page: It’s San Diego (itssandiego.com), checked October 23, 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page; tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.