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Our annual spa spectacular rounds up the city's top spots to work out all the knots
It’s only when I’m wrapped in foil that I really start to feel like a baked potato. It’s not a leap—I’ve been buttered (slathered with lotion) and salted (exfoliating scrub) and am now roasting gently in a cocoon of crinkly, metallic paper and hot towels.
While I broil, a woman with very strong hands obliterates all the tension in my body by pushing her thumbs into a previously unremarkable section of my temples. In about 40 minutes, I’ll emerge into the world soft, almost melty, and glistening with a light coating of oil—not unlike a perfect steakhouse spud.
A spa day is a beautiful thing. The right treatment can shove away anxiety, unknot uptight muscles, soothe stressed-out skin—and even help you see yourself and the world from a new perspective. San Diego is chock-full of spots to indulge in a little self-care, whether you’re seeking a quick mid-day facial or an unplugged week-long escape.
We rounded up the county’s finest spots (and a few further afield) for mood-boosting treatments and post-massage lounging. Go find your baked-potato bliss.
–Amelia Rodriguez, Associate Editor
Hotels & Resorts | Boutiques | Retreats

It’d be easy to assume that the “rainfall” in The Fairmont Spa’s Rainfall Massage is like the “golden sand” in a Yankee candle name—metaphorical. But no. After a zen-inducing, full-body rubdown with coastal sage-infused oil, your service provider switches on a half-dozen shower heads for some hydrotherapy right there on the table. After drying off with warm towels, lounge in the whirlpool, relax in wet and dry saunas, nibble free snacks (the oat bars rule), and post up by the hotel’s spectacular, adults-only Relaxation Pool, open only to resort guests and spa-goers. Tip: If you want to order a lounge-chair lunch, tuck your credit card into your robe pocket—servers can’t add food to your spa tab.
Serenity awaits at this newly renovated spa—a chic, coastal-inspired oasis. The San Diego spa’s got you covered with tailored massages and custom facials that incorporate marine-based botanicals. Consider the 80-minute Sunset Treatment after a day’s worth of play in the sun, featuring a full-body reef sugar scrub, a warm towel treatment, and either a foot exfoliant or hydrating seaweed scalp treatment. Scope out the eucalyptus steam room, showers, lounge, fitness center, heated pool, and hot tub before checking out.
The Lodge at Torrey Pines is a local legend for good reason. After steam and sauna time, head outside to the pool and hot tub to stare at the Pacific as golfers wander one of the most sought-after courses on the planet, all under the careful watch of the incredible namesake’s native trees. After a couples massage, share tea by the fire in the co-ed relaxation room, and bask in your good fortune.
In the subterranean trenches of a casino resort, the sleek Spa Ritual offers a jetted hot tub in gendered changing rooms, plus a steam room and sauna, while the co-ed outdoor pool and lazy river bring the fun on warm, summery days. Splurge on the “Spoil Me” package, an 80-minute Royal Milk & Honey Wrap with a 75-minute Oxygen Facial. You’ll be painted with coconut milk and honey sugar, coated with warm coconut oil, and cocooned in warm blankets while receiving a scalp massage. The Oxygen Facial will plump up your skin while you get your hands and neck rubbed. Tack on the Reduce hot stone massage for a decadence upgrade.

A Miraval-branded San Diego spa has taken up residence at Park Hyatt Aviara—the only one of its kind operating outside Miraval wellness resorts. Nature’s beauty is on display here: There’s an indoor solarium with hanging plants and a wall of crystal geodes. Guests are encouraged to turn off devices before settling in for treatments like the Warrior’s Recovery deep-tissue massage, which incorporates a warm herbal poultice of turmeric, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and prai. A sauna, steam room, whirlpool tub, and adults-only pool await.
Catch us playing hooky from work and disappearing at The Hideaway, the Marriott Marquis’ cozy day spa. It’s quiet, which we love. You’ll find all the standard massage and facial services here, featuring Yon-Ka skin products and Doterra organic essential oils. The hidden oasis is sandwiched between the city and the bay, the ideal getaway for busy downtown folks.
An expansive resort complex featuring a golf course, ballrooms, and dining options, Omni’s pristine white-stucco property encompasses all your needs for an extended stay. The spa, though, offers enough services and features to make it worth a stop in its own right. Generous amenities include men’s and women’s hot tubs, a sauna, and a steam room, with an all-gender pool and café in the sunny courtyard.
Treat yourself to a Deluxe Hydrafacial that combines lymphatic drainage, deep moisture, peptide boosts, nourishing seaweed, and LED light therapy for radiant skin that glows from the inside out. Or, let your whole body experience the benefits of LED with a LightStim bed session. Omni is also set to undergo an extensive facelift starting in January and finishing in spring 2024, just in time for your summer refresh. Look forward to new amenities, with airy, coastal design sensibilities.
Relaxing with a cup of tea on the ocean-view terrace at Seabird’s spa is worth the visit alone. Guests don’t have to choose between a massage and body treatment at this beachy paradise—the seasonal Green Smoothie Scrub has both. The full-body massage includes a hair and scalp treatment, while the CBD-infused body scrub helps with inflammation. Carve out time for the dry sauna, cool mint misting showers, and heated benches. Hair and nail salons are onsite for more pampering.

The third-floor San Diego spa at Pendry is a world away from the hubbub of J Street. Arrive early to enjoy tea service and the eucalyptus steam room before a signature service, like the immersive 120-minute Pendry Rose Ritual. (We recommend bringing your own bathing suit, but one can be provided if needed.) After full-body exfoliation, the steaming milk and rose petal bath, and a neck and scalp massage, will release tension from places you didn’t even know existed. Once you manage to emerge from the tub—at this point, you’ll feel gloriously languid—the treatment finishes with a floral and citrus body soufflé massage. Blissed out is an understatement.
Need a break from blackjack? Grab your winnings and head over to the Spa at Harrah’s to celebrate with fabulous facials, relaxing massages, and maybe even a new look at the salon. No pool, but you can enjoy a dry sauna, steam room, and salt bath whirlpool before a fun night back on the casino floor, all for a relatively low cost.
Rancho Valencia’s spa—at Southern California’s only Relais & Châteaux property—is considered one of the best in town by locals and travelers. The spa’s grounds sit in lush gardens around Spanish-style cottages connected by outdoor breezeways, generously dotted with a hydrotherapy circuit, salon, pool, plush seating, wood-burning fireplaces, and plenty of refreshments. Of special note is the Biologique Recherche Firming + Lifting facial, which combines exfoliation, hydration, and a face massage to have you resembling whatever Jane Fonda looked like at your respective age. It’s that good.
We dare you to have a better experience in San Diego than heading to the iconic Hotel Del on a perfect sunny and 70-degree day, getting a deep-tissue massage and marine peptide facial with all sorts of algaes, then washing it down with a glass of Champagne while sitting oceanside. Add in a fresh Neapolitan pizza from the grounds, for good measure. It’s a peak San Diego experience, and it’s owed in large part to the hotel’s beauty and its ideal Coronado beachfront location. But the Del’s spa is a destination in its own right, with top quality treatments and world-class bodywork pros and estheticians on staff.

It makes sense that Rancho Bernardo Inn is tucked deep inside a suburban community in North County—it’s very much a resort for the fam. Dad can practice his swing on its championship golf course and pop pop can play cornhole with the kids, all while you enjoy a Holistic Wellness massage. Targeting muscle and tension relief, this gentle treatment may have you falling asleep (especially if you add CBD foot balm). Before heading back to your crew, jump in the steam room and hot tub located in both the men’s and women’s locker rooms.
Say hi to glistening skin with a subtle fragrance of lavender and rosemary. Gentle and aromatic, the VOYA Organic Lavender Seaweed Sugar Scrub exfoliates and refreshes the skin without the harshness of a heavier, salt-based scrub. After getting rubbed down from head to toe, you’ll have time to rinse off inside the dimly lit suite before your skin is moisturized and massaged to silky perfection. Pro tip: Arrive early at Spa Brezza to kick back in the sauna, gym, or lounge.
Escape the heat at this desert oasis at Viejas Casino & Resort. The chic space is adorned with marble interiors and glass chandeliers. Treat yourself to massages, facials, waxing, or other signature treatments like the Fire & Ice body wrap, featuring a stonecrop exfoliating scrub, followed by a thermal wrap, foot and scalp massages, and a skin-rejuvenating gel massage. Afterward, immerse yourself in the salt sauna or their saltwater pool for an extra dose of fire-and-ice indulgence.
The Catamaran Resort may be storied—the Mission Bay institution opened in the ’50s—but its Polynesian-inspired spa is decidedly modern. The Catamaran Spa boasts both traditional treatments (aromatherapy, massage, body wraps) and buzzy, techy options. Try the Anti-Gravity Facial, an 80-minute indulgence that utilizes a microcurrent device designed to lift, tighten, and coax out your cheekbones. Make time afterwards to sink into the bayfront whirlpool and people-watch PBcians and tourists alike.
Booking a treatment at The Westgate’s AquaVie Wellness Club gets you access to a gym, sauna, steam room, and cool plunge. (The rooftop pool and hot tub recently closed for maintenance, but they are scheduled to reopen early this year.) Inside, everything—from the chair to the tiles—is a soothing blue. The gym is industrial-chic and spacious, hosting downtown biz folks sweating out their stress and hotel guests getting in a quick Peloton sesh. The club’s lobby looks out over downtown and features do-it-yourself Stash teas. The signature massage presses all the right buttons to take your blues away.
Spa L’Auberge is an upscale sanctuary offering panoramic ocean views, wood accents, and citrus aromas with amenities like eucalyptus saunas, a serene courtyard, and a hot tub, perfect for sipping mimosas or herbal tea. The Ocean Quench treatment includes a head-to-toe scrub, lavender mask, cocoon wrap, scalp massage, and full-body massage—a must-try for lovers of lemongrass and oceanfront luxury.
Kona Kai San Diego sits on the tip of Shelter Island, and its spa is just steps away from docks full of swaying sailboats. Descend a staircase to reach SpaTerre, a secluded, candlelit retreat. (Should you want to stay beachside, though, you can book a treatment in a private cabana.) This full-service spa offers custom massages, facials, and body indulgences; try the signature Noble Massage to target tight or tired areas, from toes to temples. Bonus: Kona Kai San Diego is pet-friendly to an unparalleled degree, and while the spa’s cloud-like robes don’t come in dog sizes, the treatments do. To pamper your four-legged companion as much as you’ve pampered yourself, a Pawroma Therapy massage should do the trick.

Perched on the cliffside of north Leucadia overlooking the ocean, the Alila Marea hotel is quietly grand in earth tones inspired by the local terrain. Take the opportunity to recharge with Spa Alila’s signature Talisman Massage. This unique massage style employs warm, oil-drenched herbal poultices said to combat inflammation, relieve tension, and aid blood flow. They will customize their blend and level of pressure to fit your personal needs, leaving you deeply relaxed, as if dropped into a lower rhythm. The sauna offers Himalayan salt stones intended to further draw out impurities through your feet. Let any remaining muscle tension melt on a warmed amethyst-infused biomat in the spa lounge. With your body at ease, dive deeper with a personalized astrology reading. Or take lounging to a new level with a Daycation package to enjoy the pool before or after your treatments.

Oh Glory’s arresting, arched wooden door in the heart of North Park resembles the entrance to a house of worship—fitting, considering that the spa’s namesake facial is as soothing for the spirit as it is the skin. The estheticians here take a more holistic approach than most, massaging your shoulders, arms, hands, feet, and scalp while botanical-forward products work their magic on your face. Whether you’ve booked a skin treatment, a massage, or acupuncture, your attentive provider will offer thoughtful advice for continued self-care, long after you emerge from their softly lit, impeccably decorated space.
Saffron and Sage is a holistic health club and wellness center featuring a mix of therapies including acupuncture, breathwork, energy therapy, cupping, and traditional spa services such as massages and facials. Using both Eastern and Western treatments, fans of the spa suggest booking a combination of services to encourage total body relaxation and rejuvenation. Plus, if you really want a complete ahhhh experience, the center hosts wellness retreats for men and women in places like Oaxaca, Mexico that include daily group classes, meditation, individual therapies, and curated nourishing meals.
This decompression hideout nails that quirky Leucadia desert surf vibe. With onsite naturopathic docs for acupuncture, IVs, empathic healing, and tarot; a Balinese hut in a thriving koi pond; a meditation and reading perch; a yoga room; a Hammam room; an outdoor soaking tub; and a sauna—all places to gracefully relax and just kind of exist—Four Moons Spa is becoming a sought-after events space for SoCal culture brands, weddings, art shows, and on socials.
Some say the key to beating bloating, fatigue, and stomach issues lies in lymphatic drainage treatments. At Miss Lymph, you’ll melt under the heat of a red-light infrared sauna before settling in for a depuffing massage. For a full-body detox, try The Ultimate, a two-hour experience that includes a sweat sesh in a body wrap, lymphatic facial drainage, and wood and vibration therapy. Pack your swimsuit, sweat-proof undies, or go commando. Small but mighty, the business is located inside ICE Recovery + Wellness.
Angelica B Beauty is a staple of South Park—the natural beauty urban spa is in the building that once was the Burlingame Garage. We recommend trying the holistic massage facial with organic Laurel cosmetic products. Expect eye bags to disappear—seriously—right before your eyes. As if that weren’t enough, there are three add-on options to the facial that are worth trying: lymphatic drainage, gua sha (gentle combing with a rose quartz stone intended to get rid of unhealthy cells), and Buccal massage (Pilates for the face, said to increase collagen production). There are also services for lashes, brow lamination, makeup, sugaring, and waxing. The front-of-house boutique sells cosmetics, lash care, natural skin care, and sexual wellness products for take-away bliss.
Boho, intimate, and minimalist, this crisp Pacific Beach outpost echoes the clean canvas your skin will become after a 50- or 80-minute customizable facial. Recover from winter dryness with the Hydrate + Calm facial, which quenches your skin’s thirst with activated hyaluronic acid, a gooey jelly mask, and other dewy substances. Book the 80-minute option for an added neck and shoulder massage and hand mask.
Shop Good knows that facials are not one-size-fits-all, so they offer a range of specialty treatments, diving into the history of your skin and nurturing your needs with various masks, gua sha approaches, and everything else under the sun (or at least everything under therapeutic LED lights). Their holistic estheticians offer a complementary “Clean Swap” consultation, assessing your current products to provide a more natural alternative.
There’s nothing quite like a Korean body scrub to leave you feeling fresh like a baby. This beloved Convoy District spa offers the revitalizing experience of lying on a table, getting intensively exfoliated from tip to tail by a woman in skivvies and hand mitts. Yu Spa guests can opt for a wet massage in the body scrub room or a dry massage in a private treatment room. The day spa pass option is popular, too, seeing as it gets you hours in the dry and steam saunas, whirlpool, cold plunge, and three Korean sauna rooms: the ice room, Himalayan salt sauna, and medicinal red clay room. It’s like a fun house for your body.

Wake up in sateen linens, listen to the perfect water pressure bounce off your shower’s travertine tiles, and frolic across the 200 acres of vineyards and hiking trails at the renowned Cal-a-Vie. This French countryside–esque establishment doesn’t offer day passes—it’s impossible to immerse yourself in the opulence in 24 hours—so you’ll need to book a three-, four- or seven-night stay in a serene Vista Villa. Choose whether to spend your days caked in the greens of a Sea Wrap or on the greens of their golf course. This retreat is your oyster.
It’s said that lucrative deals have been made behind these doors—likely due to the resort’s nearly $12,000-a-week price tag. Founded in 1958, the Golden Door is one of SD’s most exclusive wellness retreats. Limited to three-, four- or seven-day stays, guests experience daily spa perks like massages, facials, calorie-specific meal plans, and fitness activities. You can also book à la carte services like the womb-cradling Watsu massage, which takes place in a warm pool followed by tugs and stretches to your limbs, focusing on gentle mobilization of the joints. Come for the mental break; stay for pickleball with the president of Sony.
This is true rejuvenation. Services at this Waldorf Astoria resort will set you back more than most other places in this guide, but they allow you access to a spa pool, lap pool, sauna, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, and relaxation lounges. After your session, get cozy in their newly renovated suites with private firepits and spa-inspired bathrooms complete with complimentary workout gear. No need to worry about your dietary restrictions, either, since this getaway offers seven culinary concepts to meet your needs. With killer ocean views while you golf or exercise, and various boutiques to shop from, you’ll be set.

Escape the mundane and explore this nature-filled retreat where your only dilemma will be deciding between heading out on a scenic hike or basking poolside in the sun. Set at the base of Mt. Kuchumaa in Tecate, Mexico, this 1940s-era wellness hacienda offers a program called Saturdays at the Ranch, which includes a day trip to the property, fitness classes, breakfast and lunch, a cooking demonstration, and more. Seeking complete relaxation? Add a 50-minute Ranch Classic massage.
Glen Ivy is an oasis. A welcoming mimosa and luxurious robe greet you upon your arrival to this curated retreat featuring 19 mineral pools and therapeutic baths amid luscious, tropical gardens. Pack a swimsuit you don’t mind getting stained and coat yourself at “Club Mud”—the infamous outdoor mud therapy pool—then relax in the Wafa cave, where the sauna heat is intended to draw impurities from your skin. A massage won’t hurt, either (unless you want it to).

Perched on a quiet, sprawling property, the hotel’s Spa Rosa features the works (steam room, dedicated pool, lounge-chair snack deliveries), including a magical hot tub made of tiny waterfalls. The branded resort offers a wealth of treatments inspired by the Tommy Bahama lifestyle and the hotel’s desert locale, like a body mask made with mud from the Santa Rosa Mountains and a Marlin Man massage and facial aimed at golfers.
This beachfront sanctuary relies on the ocean’s natural bounty to restore your skin. Tranquil water features and aqua-and-beige treatment rooms lull you to surrender before you’re slathered in hydrating ingredients like marine collagen, sea salt, and seaweed. Book the 90-minute Laguna Wellness Experience to be cocooned in seaweed and kneaded like dough. If you’re staying the night, catch daily, complimentary morning yoga and Pilates classes overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The two-story, 14,000-square-foot Spa VEA is Orange County’s new favorite spa retreat. Locals love getting day passes for the adults-only playground, complete with outdoor saltwater pool, steam and dry saunas, and cold-water foot revival. Some even post up in private cabanas with laptops to work while wearing bathrobes. OSEA Malibu’s ocean-inspired skincare line is used throughout the facial and body treatments, including the 100-minute luminous Luxury Oxygen facial, which leaves you with a red carpet–ready angelic radiance.
This detox spa retreat in Desert Hot Springs is famous for its liquid fasting program, with celebrity fans including Ben Affleck, Reese Witherspoon, and Gwen Stefani. There are just 28 accommodations (all with oversized soaking tubs), and the daily regimen includes yoga, breathwork, sound healing, and meditation along with colon hydrotherapy (said to flush toxins) and more than 40 spa treatments. The date sugar body polish uses locally grown Coachella Valley dates for a head-to-toe glow.
The county that helped push skating into the mainstream is now nurturing the competitors, communities, and culture shaping its future
It was the summer of 1999. MTV, The Matrix, and first-generation PlayStation glowed on tube TV sets all over America. What a time to be alive. Smartphones weren’t yet stealing people from the moment. Cultural was a shared reality. During the last few minutes of the monoculture, Tony Hawk executed the first-ever 900 at X Games V in San Francisco. That’s two and a half aerial rotations with a side of the dizzies.
The time had run out on the Vert Best Trick competition long before the 11th attempt when he pulled off the fateful feat. Nobody cared. Not the judges, not the competition, and certainly not the crowd. “Let that bird fly,” they said. Once the trick was landed, they partied like it was 1999 … because it was.
That was the tipping point when the skateboarding world exploded, going from counterculture to a national phenomenon. Shortly after that, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” video game came out, introducing millions of kids to what skate culture looked like. Oh, the game had a killer punk soundtrack, too.
We can all thank Hawk for the globalization of skateboarding. But we can also recognize his local influence and how San Diego County continues to be a hub for skateboarders young and old, for competitors and street skaters. To see it all, go to Park De La Cruz in City Heights—or, heck, any other skatepark in the county—which, at 19,000 square feet, is about twice the size of the average skatepark and has signature features like an M-shaped transition ramp. The amount of talent that continues to evolve in this county is a testament to deep-rooted skate culture and world-class athletes supporting the next generation.

I’m a little early for a skate lesson with pro skater Mike Owen when I get to Linda Vista Skatepark. In the 2010s, Owen ranked as one of the world’s top bowl riders. He’s the founder of San Diego Skateboarding and has “helped thousands of kids, teens, and adults learn to skate safely, confidently, and with style,” the company’s site says. And now it’s my turn. We start the lesson on the nearby tennis courts, getting my basic foot mechanics down. Safety before style.
In terms of street plaza features, the massive Linda Vista Skatepark is loaded with rails, stairs, manuals, and ledges. There are more bowls than you can get from Cava: a flow bowl, backyard-style pool, and vert bowl. The main feature is a full pipe for advanced line riders. It’s a hell of a park, even if somebody just wants to watch the action from the 100-foot-long pedestrian skybridge overhead.
Right now, San Diego has over 50 public skateparks scattered throughout the county. “There are now more [skateparks], more resources for them, and more terrain,” Owen tells me. “Now, they’re offering different competitive style skateparks that help for competitions. The best parks have a variety of different terrain where you have things for beginners and bigger transitions. Not every town has that.”
San Diego, luckily, does. But despite the bounty, Owen believes there should still be more—public skateparks are safe spaces for all to learn and develop on-board skills. Without them, a huge portion of San Diego’s culture withers. Encinitas could be the next city to add a skatepark to the county’s roster: In early July, the Encinitas City Council appointed 12 local skaters and community members for the newly established Skate Feature Committee. In partnership with two councilmembers, the committee’s purpose is to design a working skatepark or feature for the city.
But like any big project, Owen says, it’s a long process to add another skatepark to the community.
“I wish it were easier,” he says. “When there are different contractors for different things, [there’s only] a certain amount of time to build. It gets tricky.”
Then there’s the matter of funding the actual construction and development of the skatepark. That usually comes from grants, fundraisers, and donations. For reference, Linda Vista Skatepark was built on a $4.46 million grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development in 2014. With an additional $40,000 donated by the Tony Hawk Foundation, the park opened in 2018 and is the largest in San Diego’s Parks and Recreation system. The best way to get a skatepark in your neighborhood, Owen says, is to start a petition and reach out to your city.

Jordan Thrower’s first street skate sesh at San Diego City College in 2003 ended with a police chase. The campus was swarming with skaters riding rails, jumping stairs, and grinding tricks on benches, curbs, and ledges. When the cops got on their loudspeaker telling them not to run, everyone obviously ran. Back then, cops would give tickets and confiscate boards. The vibe has loosened since. “Now, the police don’t really care,” Thrower says. “They just make you leave. It’s not anything crazy.”
Street skating is when riders use real-world urban obstacles, rather than pristinely designed bowls or ramps—such as in college campuses, downtown areas, corporate buildings, and malls. Abandoned mini-golf courses and construction sites do the trick, too.
Thrower says the street skating hub here isn’t as huge as it once was. Thanks to modern technology and social media, skaters aren’t tied to any certain place to create skate videos. You know, those videos that could have been taken this year but have the low-fi vibe of 2004, where skaters carve down stairwells into parking lots, over mailboxes, or across park benches. The silver lining: Even though there are fewer street skaters than there once was, those who stayed in San Diego are still tight.
“Everyone skates with each other and knows each other here,” Thrower says. “In LA, it’s not really like that. It’s small there, but not everybody knows each other, and they don’t really skate with each other too much. They just have a lot of little crews.”
Back in 2015, Thrower started his own street team and brand that sells boards and shirts called Tantrum. The Tantrum team is split between San Diego and San Francisco. It doesn’t take much to be a part of a skate team. You just have to be a good hang.
“The way I pick people [for the team] is if I can get along with them,” he says. “It doesn’t even really matter if they’re that good. If you’re likable and funny, you can pretty much be on the team.”

Running it up to North County, a Vista-based nonprofit organization called Exposure Skate has been shaping up the youth since 2012. Its mission is to give more opportunities to otherwise underrepresented women, girls, and non-binary individuals by offering classes and camps. This, to build up confidence and community. We could all use a little bit of that, eh?
Thanks to Exposure Skate, 13-year-old Joey Yarbrough has found herself competing in the LA Olympic trials. (Her first time on a skateboard came at just 18 months old at an Exposure Skate Rising event.)
While competing for Team USA in Rome in June of this year, she finished 13th at the first Olympic qualifier for LA28. Currently ranked 21st in the world and 5th among American women, the young prodigy is blooming. And she’s in good company and mentorship from her biggest influence, Bryce Wettstein.
“She taught me at the first Exposure Skate Rising when I was little,” Yarbrough recalls. “I compete and skate with her all the time now, and it’s super fun. [At Exposure,] it feels so good to have someone there to help me whenever I need it. They’re like my family, always encouraging me and always there for me.”
Yarbrough will be just 15 years old when the Olympics go down in LA. She’s following the Olympic torch carried by other locals such as Wettstein, Ruby Lilley, Jordyn Barratt, and Exposure Skate’s Amelia Brodka.
“I’m working my hardest to get there,” she says. “I’ll also work my hardest to go higher in the Olympics, maybe on podium. That’s just my dream. So, hopefully it’ll come true.”
Jake Peterson is a San Diego-based journalist and culture writer. His work explores the city’s music scene, sports, local characters, and the offbeat corners of San Diego’s subcultures.
No gatekeepers, no creative rules, no perfect definition—the city’s DIY publishing scene makes room for anyone with something to say.
If magazines are like the adultier eldest daughters who know exactly how much anarchy they can get away with, zines are the far less predictable younger siblings going on whim and instinct. Those who draw on the walls around the house, DIY their own piercings, and experiment with different emo/straight-edge/back to emo phases (or not-phases). Boundaries and routines are what zines were created to rail against.
Walk into Verbatim Books’ zine corner, and this rebellion is immediately clear. Zines have no singular form, no clean category or definition. Vintage magazine scraps are collaged into new meaning alongside mini fandom zines. Single sheets of plain white printer paper are covered in nothing but black ballpoint pen. Repurposed hardback book covers are folded into something entirely new. Some are duct-taped together, others stapled. Some glossy, others matte. There are guides to anything and everything, comic panels, photography, hand-drawn cartoons, poetry, recipes, diaries, and ramblings that only make sense to the person who made them—and that’s on purpose.
Zines are creative magic. And with no rules, they’re incredibly accessible. Anyone can zine and have a voice, regardless of artistic training or work life experience.
You are your own Anna Wintour, Graydon Carter, Ruth Whitney.
San Diego–based zine creator Lyssette Williams specializes in mini zines—often limited to eight pages, they’re meditations in abbreviation. Outlining, thumbnailing, and revision all move quickly from idea to page. Larger projects, including Williams’ long-form graphic novel thesis, move at a slower pace. For those, she often returns to pen and ink, a choice that resists the over-editability of digital work.
Raised by a single mother and navigating mixed-race identity in a predominantly white town, she finds a home for processing it all in zines. Her work deals in identity, belonging, self-definition, and punk-rock childhood. But it isn’t always heavy; Williams creates a mini duck-themed zine called Backyard Duck Propaganda that’s hard not to love. “When I create, I think about what would have helped me find the words back then, what my younger self would’ve needed,” Williams says. “[Zines] put the tools in your hands and democratize art. They’re translations of memories and identities.”

For Williams, a big reason she keeps creating is being surrounded by other creatives—a scene that extends across the border. She points to Verbatim and Comicbook Artists of San Diego, plus events like Zine Fest (October 17–18 this year at Woo in Barrio Logan) and Black Comix Day at the WorldBeat Cultural Center.
Zines have always been a road for subcultures. During the Harlem Renaissance, Black creatives like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston self-published one issue of Fire!!, which inspired other Black authors. In the 1930s, zines (then called fanzines) were hubs for sci-fi nerds to write fanfiction, address the fandom, and create new characters. Superman actually made his public debut in a fanzine called Science Fiction (he was originally cast as a villain with a fully receded hairline). A couple decades later, zines about feminism and riot grrrl became subculture de rigueur.
The internet nearly killed zines, of course. But now, people tired of the algorithm’s firehose are finding comfort and renewed inspiration in analog. Zines, a salve for digital fatigue.

A giant figure in San Diego zine culture is Burn All Books. Founded by Amanda and Nick Bernal, BAB started as a risograph (digital screen printing) studio and turned into one of those places that keeps expanding the whole scene around it, even forming its own archive group, SCANNNERS. Since opening in January 2023, it has published over 35 works and collaborated with more than 100 artists, writers, and zinesters.
For Duophobia, the pseudonym for local twin sisters Alora and Kiani Dotson (affectionately known as the “possum twins”), zines make room for experimentation and play that doesn’t fit anywhere else. Room for eclectic cartoons and dirty jokes. For sticker-covered sketchbooks.
It’s that same brand of nostalgia you might feel when, say, you walk past the carcass of an abandoned mall and see a faded cartoon mural. Their work lives somewhere between childhood and adulthood, where being unserious is taken very, very seriously.
“We’re born and raised in San Diego, and the community of artists here is a main reason we started publishing,” Kiani Dotson says. “There are people here like Trixxie Land who run open art gatherings. Show up, and you’re part of it.”
Land, a zinester herself (she made 250 single-page zines during 2020’s lockdown), is all about storytelling over hierarchy. Art shouldn’t be about gatekeeping or intimidation, she says. So she holds open-invite arts shows at Subterranean Coffee.

Duophobia regularly share their work at local galleries like Subterranean, filling that lowbrow space with pieces that answer: “What would’ve made us laugh as kids?” Children are often the first to pick up their zines, unfolding them in every direction while parents briefly panic at the impulsive destruction. The twins always step in. “No, no, it’s okay,” they say, before showing how one sheet of paper folds into an entire little book. “It’s like magic.” More often than not, the kids leave with a tiny zine tucked under a tiny arm, future San Diego zinesters in the making.
When asked what a zine really is, Alora Dotson’s response was simple: “It’s anything. Literally anything. The more genuine you are, the more people are going to hear what you have to say. Your voice matters, even if it’s just a silly joke or story. People want to hear about it.”
Not a perfect definition? Exactly. Zines inherently resist categories. Want to turn a single playing card into a storybook? Do it. What about your favorite graffiti artist’s signature tag at Prince Memorial Skatepark? Turn it into a zine.
Everything’s a zine.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
From celebrity pickleball tournaments to intimate dinner parties with your favorite Food Network chefs, here are all of the can’t-miss events going on Sept 30–Oct 4
Play is underrated. Somewhere along the way, someone decided it was something we should outgrow. That you A good song comes on, and they dance. A game appears, and they’re in. Someone hands them a melting ice cream cone, and somehow it’s the best part of the day.
Adults tend to need a reason. Or maybe just the right setting.
That’s part of what makes the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival feel different. Yes, the week revolves around food and wine, with celebrated chefs, winemakers, and restaurants drawing crowds from across the region. But what lingers afterward is the conversations that stretch a little longer than expected, the strangers who become dinner companions, the live music that pulls people out of their seats, and the rare chance to spend a few hours simply enjoying yourself without much of an agenda.
The Grand Tasting is the festival’s centerpiece, bringing thousands of guests together over two days for hundreds of bites and pours. But some of the week’s most memorable experiences happen on a smaller scale. In the days leading up to the main event, intimate dinners, chef collaborations, and guided tastings create opportunities for guests to interact more closely with the people behind the food and wine and with each other.
Here’s your guide to the 2026 Del Mar Wine & Food Festival happening September 30–October 4.

Start festival week the San Diego way: ocean views, Baja-inspired bites, and a drink in hand as the sun goes down. The Signature San Diego Opening Night Party at Monarch Ocean Pub sets the tone for the week ahead with a walk-around tasting experience celebrating the flavors that make this city impossible to replicate. It’s an evening of fresh coastal cuisine, bold Mexican flavors, Baja seafood, and plenty of local favorites—all served against one of Del Mar’s most iconic backdrops. Consider it your first official toast to the weekend ahead…

Wine and competition make an unexpectedly perfect pair. You can join Drew Brees and celebrity players at Barnes Tennis Center for a pickleball tournament benefiting Feeding San Diego, where the sidelines are just as exciting as the court. Grab a paddle, cheer from the sidelines, or simply enjoy a glass of wine while the action unfolds. The day blends friendly competition with an all-inclusive tasting experience.
Since year one, Del Mar Wine & Food Festival has partnered with Feeding San Diego to raise $100,000 in support of the organization’s mission to fight hunger across the region. Every serve, sip, and bite helps give back to the community that makes this festival possible.
Remember that pickleball paddle you swore you’d use? Time to put it to work.

This is essentially a passport to Spain with no airport required. Set among the lush grounds of Rancho Valencia, Rioja Uncorked celebrates one of Spain’s most iconic wine regions with an evening of exceptional pours and thoughtfully paired bites. Guests will sip their way through Rioja wines while enjoying a menu featuring everything from Hiramasa crudo and uni toast to duck rillette, birria mini tacos, Cardiff Crack tri-tip sandwiches, and a sweet finale from Karen Krasne of Extraordinary Desserts (date night plans, solved).

Justin Wine Dinner sounds simple: three chefs, one unforgettable table. But chefs Kaitlyn Weber (Estancia La Jolla), Buddha Lo (Top Chef), and Jackson Kalb (Top Chef) are taking you on a one-night-only culinary ride where three styles collide over a multi-course menu paired with exceptional pours from Justin Vineyards & Winery. Set in Estancia’s coastal estate, the evening unfolds course by course with pairings from Justin wines as each chef brings their own style to a menu focused on craft, connection, and a bit of friendly culinary overlap. It’s the kind of culinary conversation that only happens when very, very talented people cook together.

Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Behind every beautiful space is a thoughtful process, and ASID San Diego is helping homeowners understand the value of professional design.
A perfectly designed home rarely happens by accident. Those kitchens that feel effortless and rooms that seem to tell a story the second you walk in? They’re usually the work of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
It’s knowing which ideas will actually work, which materials will hold up over time, and how to turn a collection of choices into a space that feels intentional. That’s where a professional interior designer comes in.
For the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California San Diego Chapter, the goal is to help people see interior design as more than just the finished look. Behind every well-designed space is a process built on technical expertise. Designers are educated in everything from professional software and construction details to building codes, space planning, materials, and functionality.

“People don’t always realize how much goes on behind the scenes,” Kirsten Recce , current president of the ASID California San Diego Chapter, says. “Our designers are not just doing furniture placement and color selection and picking out new fluffy pillows. That’s not what they’re trained for.”
ASID members bring formal education, continued learning, and industry knowledge to their projects, helping create spaces that are not only beautiful, but designed to work. A paint color that changes completely depending on the lighting. A material that looks beautiful in a showroom but doesn’t make sense for everyday life. A layout that photographs well but doesn’t function for the people living there. These are the details where professional guidance can make all the difference.
Still, one of the biggest misconceptions about hiring an interior designer is that it’s reserved for massive renovations, luxury homes, or people who already know exactly what they want. The process can feel intimidating. Where do you begin? Is a designer worth the investment? What if you only need help with one room?
ASID’s answer: start with one hour.
ASID’s Spruce Up events break down one of the biggest barriers between homeowners and professional design: knowing where to begin. Held twice a year, the community program gives homeowners the chance to work directly with an ASID designer through a one-hour, $125 consultation in their own home. Whether you’re looking for advice on furniture placement, window treatments, kitchen and bath updates, remodeling ideas, vacation rentals, color selections or something else entirely, the upcoming September 2026 event offers an approachable way to get expert guidance before committing to a full project. Signups are open through Sept. 7, with consultations taking place Sept. 21 through Oct. 31. Proceeds benefit ASID San Diego’s educational and community programs. Register here!

“It’s a great opportunity for people who are in that exploratory phase,” Recce says. “Maybe they’re not sure they want to hire an interior designer yet, or they think it sounds daunting or expensive. This gives them a chance to discover what working with a designer is actually like.”
Design is personal. A good designer isn’t just creating a beautiful room; they’re helping create a space that fits the way someone lives.
“We’re a resource to all of San Diego County,” Recce says. “It doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and call and ask. We’ll answer.”
Follow ASID San Diego on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for updates on upcoming events, or connect with the chapter directly at [email protected] or 619-548-8847.
From handmade goods to one-of-a-kind finds, these local shops prove the best souvenirs are the ones with a story
Almost everything in this Oceanside shop is made by local artists and independent weirdos, and almost none of it requires a gallerist’s budget. Goblin Shark Emporium rotates a new featured artist every month between the vinyl crates, blacklight posters, and hilariously specific stickers, so you can walk out with original work and a tarot reading to contemplate as you sip your Banana Dang Coffee from a couple storefronts down.
Tucked within the potting tables and ferns of Mission Hills Nursery, the oldest nursery in Southern California and a Kate Sessions original, sits Through the Fold, the sweet indie bookstore that mother-daughter team Gail Levine and Jennifer Medeiros hand-built and opened in late April. Two retired educators and lifelong bibliophiles run it like a neighborhood living room: three book clubs, toddler story time, and a summer camp for the 7-to-12 set. It’s the rare retail run that smells like soil and new paperbacks, which is to say, like a very specific kind of heaven.
Open since 1993 under the unbeatable tagline “Books of Martians, Murder, Magic, and Mayhem,” this Rosecrans Street institution is the city’s portal for anyone who would rather be on a different planet. Load up on sci-fi, horror, and fantasy, then stick around for the weekly Dungeons & Dragons campaign, because the only thing better than reading about another universe is rolling a d20 inside one.
On the ground floor of the downtown Central Library, tucked into the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Common, sits the Library Shop, a tightly curated gift store stocked with presents and trinkets you didn’t know you needed: wind-up kitchen timers, specialty pencils, felt coasters in colors cheerful enough to overcome the first half of the Padres’ season—you get it. Every dollar funds the San Diego Public Library system, which makes the shop’s official “Guilt-Free Shopping” motto the rare slogan that holds up. Come for a paperback, leave having formed a genuine emotional attachment to a $4 pencil.
The window at this North Park shop is alive: a front-of-house catio where adoptable rescue cats audition for your heart while you pretend to be just browsing. From there, a literal catwalk runs along the ceiling to a back resting room (because existing around inferior beings is exhausting for cats). Owner Vera Blatchley of Purrgatory stocks the full cat-lover arsenal, plus a wall of gifts for the feline who already has nine of everything. Fan favorite: a retro-style, bubblegum-pink Kit-Cat Clock.
Surf art’s everywhere, but it’s somehow always a little kooky. Painter Andy Davis’ style captured that elemental soul, making him one of the most successful surf artists of the last few decades (check his giant mural at Town and Country Resort). His tiny Encinitas storefront, Club Paradise, is a gallery-slash-gift shop that stocks his paintings and prints—and he’s using the space as a culture club for local and touring creatives.
Tulux is the Pacific Beach swimwear label out of Cass Street, where designer Yamhed Torres turns the whole Tulum fantasy into bold, limited-run bikinis. This year, Vogue México y Latinoamérica named her one of just 10 emerging designers to watch, so each suit comes with the kind of credentials that practically books its own sunset getaway. Everything is one and done: When a piece sells, it’s gone for good, which is either smart scarcity or the universe telling you to commit.
Free lotto tickets at crystal shops? Yes, please. Pacific Beads owner Shlomo Gruer greets you at the door of this Clairemont Mesa warehouse with 4,000 square feet of crystals, geodes, and beads by the bin. You come for wholesale amethyst and sterling findings; you leave holding a fistful of healing stones and a statistically remote shot at early retirement. Need another reason to visit? Owner Gruer has his own line of jewelry, and Pacific Beads also hosts jewelry-making classes.
El Cajon’s Parkway Plaza could look radically different in the near future, as city officials are hatching plans to reinvent the one-time community and commercial center. Inflection points of iconic structures are always compelling times to visit and tabulate your own urban-planning daydreams. As you do, hit the first NAMA-certified automatic cotton candy vending machine in the country. Push a button, and 123 Sweetsss spins you a fresh cloud of childhood in under a minute. No carnival, no county fair admission, no sweaty teenager in a paper hat required.
From getting your sweat on at hip-hop class to celebrating with a zero-proof cocktail, here are San Diego's top fitness and wellness spots
For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay who lived in this area called a mountain south of Julian Cush-pii, meaning “sharp peak.” Then, after the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers saw that same mountain and decided to rename it Stonewall Peak—after General Stonewall Jackson. The name stuck for nearly a century and a half, until Cuyamaca Rancho State Park announced earlier this year that the name will return to its original, Cush-pii. Hike to the summit for expansive views of the Coronado Islands to the west and Mexico to the south.

In 1993, Angie Bunch gathered a group of hip-hop dancers—called Culture Shock Dance Troupe—and gave them a space to practice and perform. As hip hop grew through the ’90s, so did Culture Shock. It has since become a nonprofit, a space for young and old, beginner and expert dancers. Culture Shock has also expanded to Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City, and Washington, D.C., as well as Ottawa and Toronto, Canada.
In 2019, Amanda Leach created the Yoga Box method, which takes high-energy flows and adds strength-building poses in heated, vibey, lava-lamp-lit studios. What started on Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach has spread to 15 locations across the county, with even more trickling into Denver, Chicago, and Brooklyn. The best part? Mindfulness newbies who can’t touch their toes and six-packed contortionists can hang in the same class. You can customize each session based on your ability and fitness level.

A gym taking over a historic beachfront pool sounds like the setup for a new season of Love Island, but Fit Mission Beach operating the nearly 100-year-old Plunge at Belmont Park is real. The independent fitness brand has spent the past several years building a loyal following through group fitness classes, community events, and a members’ social club overlooking the ocean. Upstairs, members can work remotely, meet friends, or hang out long after their workout ends. Between the Plunge, the coworking-style lounge, and a packed calendar of events, Fit has evolved into something bigger than a gym. It’s a clubhouse for San Diego’s fitness crowd.
The wellness world is finally transitioning away from HIIT workouts and cult-like spin classes, where your heart rate hits Zone 5 within minutes and stays there until cooldown. Good. At Breathe Degrees, wellness takes the form of zenned-out communal breathing sessions or vagus nerve–activating cold plunges. Breathwork is said to boost your mood in the short term and improve your heart health in the long term, and maybe that’s why everyone’s coming back for more. You can’t run into someone in Carlsbad who hasn’t dropped into at least one breathwork session, and now the studio has opened a second location in Liberty Station.

Pilates wasn’t just popular this year; it was practically a requirement for maintaining your San Diego residency. New studios seemed to appear weekly across San Diego, each promising stronger cores and better posture, but Soul Pilates and Care found a way to stand out by addressing a challenge many parents know well: finding time to exercise at all. Fitness doesn’t have to compete with parenting responsibilities. Parents can drop their kids off with trained caregivers while they head into reformer classes, eliminating one of the biggest barriers to working out. The studio has earned strong reviews for both its instruction and family-friendly approach.
The Hotel del Coronado’s sweeping $550 million restoration touched nearly every corner of the historic resort, but one of the most anticipated unveilils was the debut of its redesigned spa. The oceanfront wellness destination now features 21 treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge, a sauna, steam room, and a treatment menu inspired by the coastal environment just steps away. The redesign blends the Del’s Victorian legacy with a cleaner, more contemporary aesthetic, creating a space that feels distinctly SoCal rather than generic luxury hotel. For locals who don’t have time for a vacation, it’s the next best thing.
As non-alcoholic beverages continue their meteoric rise, Good News Bar has become one of San Diego’s most compelling arguments for a booze-free evening. The University Heights hotspot serves a menu of carefully crafted zero-proof cocktails that borrow techniques and ingredients from traditional cocktail programs (it’s not just fancy juices and soda water), minus the hangover. The space also hosts regular community events and has quickly become a gathering place for everyone from sober San Diegans to the merely sober-curious. In a nightlife industry built around alcohol sales, Good News proved there’s plenty of demand for connection without the buzz.
SeaWorld dazzles with a drone show, big-name entertainers, new animal adventures and more
Nights are heating up at SeaWorld San Diego. The quintessential summertime staple on Mission Bay is transforming into a destination for unforgettable day-to-night adventures, bringing back some of its most popular Summer Nights programming and introducing exciting new experiences sure to delight both kids and adults alike.

The 2026 Summer Day to Night at SeaWorld San Diego is the park’s most ambitious season yet. SeaWorld has planned a highly anticipated entertainment lineup that features nine weeks of throwback concerts featuring R&B and hip‑hop favorites from the ‘90s and early 2000s, including Jordin Sparks, Too $hort and Warren G, Ashanti, and an array of boy band heartthrobs performing together as part of the Pop 2000 Tour.
New this season is perhaps the park’s most visible update: a nightly drone show, Ocean of Dreams, which illuminates the sky with hundreds of synchronized sparklers. Drones form sea otters, sharks, dolphins, and a majestic orca that tell a breathtaking 12-minute story of marine life and underwater ecosystems. The show culminates with a spectacular electric neon finale celebrating hope, wonder, and ocean stewardship.
Nighttime visitors are also in store for animal adventures that fuse education with high-energy fun and the dreamy ambiance of nighttime. The park has launched two all-new animal presentations: Shamu’s Celebration: Light Up the Night and Dolphins: Touch the Sky. Shamu’s Celebration: Light Up the Night features vibrant lighting, music, and dynamic choreography that celebrates the power and beauty of killer whales. Dolphins: Touch the Sky showcases playful bottlenose dolphins and the special connection between humans and the natural world. And back by popular demand is fan-favorite Sea Lions Tonite. See the charming pinnipeds splash, play, and parody pop culture in this refreshed crowd-pleaser.

More must-sees: a newly reimagined Shark Encounter, one of the country’s more immersive exhibits highlighting 11 different species up close, SeaWorld’s beloved BMX Blast! stunt show, and high-seas escapade, Pirates Ahoy! The Battle for Mermaid Cove. And don’t miss the park’s all-new Deep Sea Disco, which encourages guests to dance the night away under the glow of the SkyTower, and vibrant closing time laser light display Laser Reef Summer Spectacular.
Amp up the nighttime vibe with local craft beers, curated cocktails, and nostalgic theme park treats with $1 beer all summer long. SeaWorld is the place for day to night summer fun. When the sun goes down, SeaWorld lights up, and inspires guests of all ages to embrace their inner whimsy and see why generations of San Diegans head to SeaWorld to make memories they’ll never forget.