At San Diego Magazine, we strive to be the definitive guide to our region, in all its diversity, drama, and deliciousness. To that note, 2024 was a big year for our reporting. We covered this region with sensitivity, flair, and a love of all things SD. We explored big issues, famous houses, and great food and introduced our readers to some of their most interesting neighbors. We went inside classic restaurants, a very special Tijuana orphanage, and famous nuclear boobs—and we did it all with some of the best writing you’ll find in the state. Below are 25 of our favorite stories from a very big year.
These reader-submitted vignettes are full of heart and SD flavor: bagels in North Park, love notes at Gossip Grill, karaoke in PB. The city itself feels like a romantic lead, nudging each relationship toward destiny—kindergarten photos found after a fire, dates aligning with parents’ anniversaries, and even a chance airport seatmate who becomes a soulmate. San Diego is an iconic rom com setting waiting to happen.
A spinning story of grace, grit, and gorgeous tradition, escaramuza is pure poetry on horseback, with twirling mares, cobalt skirts, and a side of danger that keeps it thrilling. SDM Associate Editor Amelia Rodriguez’s story of Las Reynas del Sol is an intimate look at identity, community, and chasing something bigger than yourself, all wrapped up in one wild, beautiful ride.
A damn good burger and the nostalgic rebellion of a cash-only, sticky-note system. Hell, yes; sign us up. Rocky’s is more than a burger joint—it’s a time capsule of authenticity in a world obsessed with reinvention. Troy Johnson takes us inside the cloud of meaty aroma and reminds us that great food is sometimes about resisting the noise of modern life and savoring something unchanging, messy, and gloriously real.
With a blend of science, creativity, and hilarity, writer Mara Altman gives us the skinny on SoCal’s most famous bulbous nuclear landmarks, while proving that these domes aren’t just punchlines—they’re engineering marvels, blending form, function, and funny.
Photo Credit: Cole Novak
What Your Favorite San Diego Surf Spot Says About You
Well? Is Coronado part of South Bay? Or a bougie island—ahem, peninsula—all its own? Coronado joins South Bay in certain official capacities, but is it really South Bay proud? We talk to experts, including Coronado’s mayor, to answer the question once and for all. Sort of.
Writer and Maui local Danielle Allaire traveled back to her hometown neighborhood of Lahaina one year after fires devastated the area. The result is an intimate, tender, and honest look at the complexity of rebuilding a beloved place after tragedy.
It isn’t easy out there for SD’s artists. Rising rents and a stagnating collector market spell trouble for small San Diego galleries and the art artists they support—but SDM Associate Editor Amelia Rodriguez’s reporting offers glimpses of hope. This story is a window into what goes into keeping SD’s arts scenes alive. Gallerist Melody Jean Moulton flipping pandemic lemons into creative lemonade, leaning on community, and refusing to let skyrocketing rents snuff out her spark? That’s art.
We love a story that punches through stereotypes. SDM’s own Nicolle Monico goes inside the ring with SD local Ann “Mitt Queen” Najjar to better understand how grit, talent, and a dash of sibling rivalry can rewrite the rules. Najjar is carving out space for women in a male-dominated sport and inspiring a new generation.
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Meet the Fairmont Grand Del Mar’s Only Permanent Guest
We loved introducing our readers to Claude Rosinsky, and our readers loved learning about her. Her story did number on our social channels. Mrs. Rosinsky is a true character in SD. The 82-year-old has lived all over the world, but when she found herself needing specialized medical care, she found home in a very unique place. Simply a great, punchy magazine story.
Dating is hard out there. Not just for you—for everyone. In 2024, Managing Digital Editor Nicolle Monico explored SD’s dating scene in-depth through her column Unhinged. Week after week, Monico gave readers an inside look at her own dating journey, as well as context for why it’s so strange trying to find love in a digital, app-based world. Dating can be lonely, but Monico’s column provided solace, humor, vulnerability, and information for thousands of readers. And she found love through her writing—what a journey.
Writer Mara Altman takes us to the top of SoCal’s iconic palms to investigate what’s eating them and introduces readers to the beetle-killers fighting to keep them alive. Her narrative takes a serious subject and makes it fun and interesting, while not forgetting that this is an economics story as much as it’s environmental.
Photo Credit: James Tran
Inside the SD Restaurant with a Year-Long Waitlist
Food critic Troy Johnson introduces us to the SD family who built themselves a must-visit backyard restaurant in a 100-year-old Indonesian hut, helping change state regulations in the process.
For years, Israel “Iz” Castillo has been shooting fun and funky medium-format portraits in the middle of the street in Little Italy. For our November issue, we spoke with some of his subjects to hear what makes them tick while offering our readers a look at Iz’s one-of-a-kind collection.
SD is full of iconic houses, but few rise to the level of the Yen house from legendary local architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg. With stunning photos and voices from those who grew up in the house, this story speaks to what makes this structure sing.
Joan Jacobs transformed SD’s cultural scene through philanthropy. Shortly after her death, we sat down with her husband of 70 years, Irwin Jacobs, at the table where they shared their coffee every morning. It’s an intimate look at an iconic local couple.
Punjabi Tandoor isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a community haven where homesick diners find comfort and the Saini family helps redefine what it means to belong. Writer Madhushree Ghosh’s story is about more than food—it’s a testament to resilience, faith, and the power of community.
Babs Fry is a real-life superhero armed with chicken broth, cameras, and a singular, relentless drive. Writer Sean Burch takes us inside her truck as she works to help San Diegans reconnect with their fluffy lost loved ones. The story shows that Fry’s work is about hope and purpose as much as it is about finding lost pets.
Our readers loved this story because it takes us inside a subtle dance between legacy and individuality. Jakob Nowell isn’t merely carrying the torch for Sublime—he’s bringing his own light. Nowell’s reflections on music, family, and finding his own rhythm in his father’s shadow resonate deeply while showing that San Diego’s vibe is as timeless as Sublime’s music.
Quite simply, we love this story. Juana Ortiz’s Eunime Por Tijuana orphanage is a sanctuary where children with HIV find laughter, hope, and belonging. Lilly Corcoran’s story highlights resilience in the face of stigma and the immense capacity of one woman’s heart to ensure every child knows they’re cherished. Plus, sneaking 20 dogs into an orphanage? Pure, chaotic joy. This story radiates an unshakable belief in brighter tomorrows.
Tens of millions of people know Jordan Howlett (@jordan_the_stallion8) from his viral videos, but few knew he’s an Oceanside kid. This profile gives readers an inside look at how Howlett went from a shy kid to one of the internet’s biggest stars.
Photo Credit: Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters
CA Birth Center Closures Deepen an Existing Maternity Care Crisis
California’s maternity system is in peril, so, for our September California issue, we partnered with CalMatters to bring readers this story about protecting spaces where lives begin with care and intention. A heartbreaking, important story.
We love this story from writer Randy Dotinga because it captures the joyous and rebellious spirit of San Diego Pride while honoring hard-won progress for a community that has journeyed from hidden “fairy dives” to the mayor’s office. SD’s parade isn’t just a celebration—it’s a vibrant and unapologetic declaration that love and identity deserve to shine, and it’s been going for five decades. Iconic.
For our October STEM issue, writer Claire Trageser explored AI’s potential to revolutionize healthcare while wrestling with the balance between innovation and ethics. AI might predict diseases and fix errors, but it’s the story’s human heartbeat—cautioning against unchecked progress—that stuck with us.
One of the coolest things SDM did in 2024 was dedicate a full issue to South Bay, something that had never been done before in the 75-year history of this magazine. The project turned out to be our best-selling print issue in years, and it highlights that SD is so much more than North County beaches and North Park restaurants. Our South Bay issue featured a photo essay from the 619 Gurlz, a creative collective of women photographers using film to capture the essence of their community. The results are a beautiful and intimate look at one of SD’s most dynamic areas, told by some of the people who know it best.
San Diego is just out here minding its own business. It’s long been cast as Los Angeles’s less ambitious sibling—the chill one, the one who shows up late for dinner reservations in flip-flops with a few provocative opinions. Architecturally it’s often cast the same: secondary, derivative, a footnote to California modernism that seems to begin and end with the Stahl House (Case Study House #22). LA has Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, John Lautner. San Diego has the original fish taco.
But this version of the story is redacted, metaphorically speaking.
While the jazz hands of Hollywood and its hills cast a spell on historians and architecture buffs, San Diego had, and has, its own quiet evolution: It invented and reinvented itself through homegrown modernism, beginning with The Allen House (1907) in Bonita by Irving J. Gill.
“The biggest misconception is that San Diego was following Los Angeles,” says Keith York of Modern San Diego, one of the city’s top guides to modernist architecture. “Those who consider Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra as the fathers of Southern California Modernism often fail to recognize the outsize influence Gill and his buildings had on their work.”
Courtesy of Keith York
A new book, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego—written by Mark Hargreaves and Hallie Swenson, published by York—focuses on eight architects who were born, raised, or built their careers in San Diego. It illustrates how the city wasn’t hosting weekend warrior architects on side quests. It was a staging ground for a less look-at-me modernism from luminaries like Gill, Lilian J. Rice, Richard Requa, Lloyd Ruocco, Frederick Liebhardt, Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, Sim Bruce Richards, and Cliff May.
“Absent the backstabbing competition for projects, a collegial group of architectural peers collaborated and maintained lasting friendships with one another as they designed in response to the temperate climate and slower economy,” York says.
Largely unknown until the mid-1960s, Gill is a marquee name today. He arrived here from the East Coast at a moment when San Diego was still defining itself, which gave him the freedom to invent something new, experiment, rebel.
Instead of imposing the flourishes and frills of the time, he considered San Diego’s climate, light, landscape, history—the joie de vivre—and designed for this place. “[Architects of the west] must have the courage to fling aside every device that distracts the eye from structural beauty, must break through convention and get down to fundamental truths,” he once said, a sentiment that nails the un-ornate, total lack of pretension that’s defined San Diego people and culture.
And, lo, did Gill fling: His flat roofs, clean lines, and almost no ornamentation—though not necessarily modernism in the Eames or Eichler sense—foreshadowed what would later be called minimalism. Gill eventually became synonymous with the Los Angeles narrative, but broader architectural histories overlook the fact that his most progressive designs happened here.
Courtesy of Keith York
Another key to San Diego’s architectural movement was Lilian J. Rice, who often worked behind the scenes with little credit. She was one of only about 10 women in America licensed as architects at the time. Even though she died from cancer at 43, she somehow managed to complete an estimated 170 projects in the region, many in Rancho Santa Fe.
Born and raised in National City, Rice also wasn’t importing ideas. She shaped her own based on her understanding of this region and her commitment to protect the natural environment. Her work has been categorized as Spanish Colonial Revival, but she wasn’t reviving as much as she was refining a style suited to our border region—serene, mirroring nature, beautiful.
Like Sim Bruce Richards, who was his own way of life. While Gill stripped away ornamentation and Rice focused on the peace of open spaces, Richards came along several decades later and went full emo. By then, modernism had grown deep roots; its steel-and-glass structures took themselves very seriously. Richards came to party.
Photo Credit: Ollie Patterson
An eccentric, unpredictable man with half a face (part of his jaw was removed following a bone infection when he was a child), his life was a jalopy of adventures. He was opinionated and passionate about design, music, texture—and he created what he called a “sensuous environment.” He wanted his clients and their guests to feel the spaces as much as to be in them, appealing to the visual, tactile, nasal (“a cedar house smells good”), auditory (“acoustically superior”), even taste. “Though, I‘ve never had a client lick my houses,” he once wrote.
Organic, woodsy, textured, aromatic—if you ever find yourself in a Sim Bruce Richards house, a licking impulse might not seem so outrageous.
Gill, Rice, Richards and the other architects in Distinct Modernism built a legacy in San Diego that resonates nationally. And the work of these heavy hitters isn’t stuck in an inaccessible collectors realm: This October, homes by Kellogg and Liebhardt will open to the public as part of the La Jolla Modernism Home Tour—an opportunity to experience it not as a museum relic or magazine image (ahem), but as something alive.
Modernism in San Diego was never about glamour or an intention to be iconic. What transpired here is more nuanced, more ingrained with a less shouty aesthetic. A very San Diego aesthetic.
At the top of a golf swing, the world settles into a hush. Anyone within 50 yards kindly shuts up in reverence. Steady heartbeats tuck inside the sound of the wind. Time stands still.
Or—panic sets in, a thousand warnings from coaches and YouTube tutorials prattle through your brainpan. You wonder if a good walk prepares to be ruined.
On descent, the club rearranges air particles as it slices on a perfect or unwise line toward an earth so green, it seems like AI. The iron face meets the ball, and the satisfying or unsettling thwack echoes across the fairway like a nonviolent gunshot or a cry for help. Breath catches, curse words load in the prefrontal cortex. Eyes squint to follow the hard-to-see projectile zip majestically through the air or bounce lamely along the ground like a failed hurdler.
Sometimes it goes a couple hundred yards in the right direction, other times a couple yards into uncaring swamps. Golf’s beautiful and hard as hell.
Mindfulness and stillness reign over speed and might—which goes against most basal American instincts regarding sport. Its quiet, serene mocking of our human abilities is what brings so many of us to the life-long process of sharpening the skill. Because who hasn’t stared at the most beautiful parks and lawns in the world and said, “How can I turn this into a game and win it?”
Luckily, San Diego has an abundance of courses to improve and curate self-doubt. The county is home to over 70 courses that attract the top golfers in the country. Some of the biggest names in the sport—Callaway, TaylorMade, Cobra, Titleist, Odyssey, Honma—are based here. Perfect weather never hurts. But San Diego golf courses also promise a smorgasbord of terrains: rocky canyons, hot deserts, and lush greens overlooking the expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
If you could take the 1,300-ish holes around San Diego and pick the very best ones to create your ultimate course, which would they be? We asked some of the top golf pros in the county to do just that. The result? San Diego’s Dream 18. Think fantasy football but for golf.
Just like any great course, our Dream 18 includes four par 3s, 10 par 4s, and four par 5s—everything from tricky dog legs and psychological tee shots to just pretty, pretty views. Once we had our list, we either asked the head golf pro what makes a hole so special, or other pros spoke on its behalf. Go ahead, tell us what we missed.
“One of the most iconic par 3s on the West Coast. The cliffside setting above the Pacific and the constant ocean breeze make it both beautiful and demanding.”
—Anthony Valverde, Director of Golf, The Crosby Club atRancho Santa Fe
“It’s a downhill par 3 over water with a great view from the tee down to the green. It’s surrounded by bunkers as well, so it almost feels like an island green even though it’s not. What’s really cool is once you drive to the next hole, if you look back on No. 14, it’s a great view as well. One of the signature holes [at Santaluz].”
“Hole 15 is widely considered one of the best and most memorable holes on the course. At about 250 yards, it’s a long downhill with multiple tiers and panoramic views into the valley. It looks intimidating at first, but there are lots of recovery contours and the green is fairly large.”
“While it’s beautiful with the backdrop of the Batiquitos Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, this finishing hole demands both precision and nerve. The water guarding the right side and fairway bunkers ahead create a visually striking, strategic tee shot, while the expansive green rewards a confident, well-placed approach. If you can make a par on this hole, you’ve played it very well.”
“The 18th hole at Del Mar CC is a demanding par 4 with an elevated tee box. Water guards the right side of the green, and a player must hit a precise shot into this green.”
“It’s a difficult 428-yard par 4 playing into the predominant west wind. The hole is post-renovation and the vegetation was trimmed back, so now it exposes a penalty on the right. It’s uncomfy at the tee but a good challenge. Plus, it’s the No. 1 handicap for [all players].”
—Chris Lungo, Head Golf Pro, Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club
Lili Kim is a content coordinator and writer for San Diego Magazine, with experience highlighting local businesses and communities. When not writing or shooting film, she is likely brewing her seventh cup of tea of the day or strolling along Sunset Cliffs.
As editors of a regional magazine, we often get asked: What are the best things to do in San Diego? While that answer often involves our favorite taco spot, a definitive ranking of each neighborhood with age-specific notes (head to PB if you’re under 25, grab drinks in Del Mar if you’re over 35), and which surf breaks are friendly to visitors, we figured it’s high time to memorialize our handpicked recs. Below are 101 very human, very local, non-AI, actually experienced, sometimes weird, oddly specific things to do in San Diego.
Stake Chophouse & Bar isn’t your average steakhouse. Blue Bridge Hospitality’s Coronado outpost is a modern interpretation of a big-city steakhouse nestled in the heart of the small coastal community. The team at Stake has reimagined the whole steakhouse experience. By prioritizing a seasonal farm-to-table sourcing philosophy, a personalized guest experience, and unique service touches, like a formal steak presentation and a bespoke knife selection process, Stake distinguishes itself in a sea of steakhouses.
Exceptional steaks, including Wagyu from Japan, Australia, and the U.S., and fresh seafood flown in daily form the core of Stake’s culinary identity. The menu features a five-course omakase-style steak experience highlighting house favorites, plus an array of cuts, and classic steakhouse staples—think a wedge salad, baked potato, or pasta carbonara—refined for a contemporary palate without losing their traditional appeal. Stake focuses on seasonal sourcing from the region’s best family farms and specialty purveyors, and incorporates intentionally unexpected touches to create something truly unique.
“I challenge our chefs and myself to take it a step further in sourcing,” says Chef Ronnie Schwandt. “It’s important to us to highlight different farms, unique one-off farms—whether it’s cattle, strawberries, a local fisherman or from anywhere in the United States, we’re always trying to find that niche.”
Beyond the menu, Stake emphasizes outstanding service, says Vinny Spatafore, Director of Hospitality Operations. Staff maintains detailed notes, allowing them to remember guests by name, recall previous orders such as a favorite martini (also memorable for the customer since it’s served in an extra tall, distinctly-shaped glass), and celebrate special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
“When you have those points of topic that you remember about a guest, they appreciate that,” he says. “Our servers are really good with that—we have a couple servers who have been here since the beginning and they’ll remember somebody from years ago, their name, their kids’ names, where they live. I’m really thankful to have a great front of house staff.”
Award-winning wines, rare whiskeys, special events, and a complementary black car service that provides transportation for guests throughout Coronado add to Stake’s appeal.
Schwandt stresses that Stake offers more than a meal; they aim to give patrons something unforgettable.
“It starts when you walk up the stairs and are greeted by the hostess—that sets the tone for the night. Then you’re greeted by a server, who may know you by name, and can guide you through the menu and curate as they get to know you,” says Schwandt. “Most people leave kind of blown away; they leave feeling like they just had an experience. That’s the goal, right? Whether you’re serving smash burgers or high-end steak, you want somebody to leave thinking, Wow, that was awesome.”
Craftsmans and Spanish Revivalists and mid-century modernists—why does San Diego have so many different architectural styles? What makes a home distinctly San Diego? What are the trends shaping the look of the city’s neighborhoods for years to come? We asked the experts: architects and designers honoring the past, crafting the present, and radically altering the future of San Diego living. They opened their portfolios, shared points of view, and treated us to snapshots of their latest work that speaks to the ideas they’re playing with. The result? Six trends, design choices, and a proposal to make local homes unique. Grab a lemonade and get a little inspo for your own place.
Outdoor comfort goes to 11 with climate-controlled architecture
“Clients are now reaching for comfortable outdoor spaces that can be controlled for subtle shifts in the environment—heated covered porches, or patios with controlled louvered ceilings with integrated fans, lighting, heaters, and adjustable light.” –Mark Morris, Oasis Architecture & Design
“I think outdoor spaces in San Diego can be as useful or even more useful than indoor spaces. Relating to the site, view, [and] neighborhood can bring so much value and richness to a home.” –Bill Bocken, Bill Bocken Architecture & Interior Design
Photo Credit: Lauren Taylor Creative
Trend 2: End of the Farmhouse Era, Finally
The death of Little House on the Coast and the rise of warmth and organic materials
“After years of modern farmhouses—black windows, white houses, and gray walls and floors—natural tones are coming back. We are seeing a return to organic textures and more saturated color. Homes feel layered rather than stark.” –Susan Wintersteen, Savvy Interiors
“There’s a move toward homes that feel like every element has a purpose. I see a strong desire for warmth and natural stone, wood, organic textures with softer transitions, and materials that age well.” –Jen Pinto, Jackson Design & Remodeling
Designers’ plea: Don’t ditch beautiful bones for trend whimsy
“I would like to see even more architectural integrity, fewer quick flips, and more thoughtful renovations that respect proportion, scale, and context. San Diego deserves homes that feel timeless, not transactional.” –Susan Wintersteen, Savvy Interiors
“We want to see people respecting the original character of their homes while re-imagining them for modern life, rather than erasing character in favor of quick transformations that look ‘cookie-cutter.’” –John Kavan, Jackson Design & Remodeling
Trend 4: We’re Designing to Stay Awhile
San Diego’s design market is maturing in place
“Homeowners are staying in their homes longer—some 15 or 20 years. That has shifted design away from trend-driven choices and toward architecturally driven spaces that are functional, cohesive, timeless, and designed to support daily life over decades.” –Jen Pinto, Jackson Design & Remodeling
Photo Credit: Brooke Brady
Trend 5: This Is Not Spicoli’s House
We probably don’t need a starfish next to our “Beach That Way” sign
“There’s a noticeable move away from literal ‘coastal themes’ and toward more layered, textural environments. San Diego homes today often feel cleaner, more architectural, and more personal.” –Julie Crosby, designer
“Today, the aesthetic is more refined but still rooted in ease. It is coastal without being cliché and modern without being cold. The throughline is light, air, and a relaxed sophistication that reflects how people actually live here.” –Susan Wintersteen, Savvy Interiors
Trend 6: The House Outside Your House
Outdoor square footage as equally valuable as interior space
“When you can live outdoors most of the year, architecture and interiors must support that. Large format doors, layered patios, durable materials, and seamless flooring transitions all stem from lifestyle.” –Susan Wintersteen, Savvy Interiors
“Nearly everyone wants to take advantage of the constant sunshine, so we see a huge desire for indoor-outdoor living, light and airy fabrics, organic materials that bring the feeling of nature into the home, and a desire to incorporate a relaxed, coastal lifestyle into everyday living.” –Lilli Fish, LS Design Studio
Lili Kim is a content coordinator and writer for San Diego Magazine, with experience highlighting local businesses and communities. When not writing or shooting film, she is likely brewing her seventh cup of tea of the day or strolling along Sunset Cliffs.
The woman who designed many of Balboa Park’s gardens was nine or 10 years old when the head of Bay Park Elementary decided the trajectory of her life. “I would draw little downtowns, and one day the principal came by and said, ‘Let me see that,’” recalls Vicki Estrada, founder of Estrada Land Planning. “I thought I was in trouble. But she said, ‘You’re going to be an architect.’”
A decade or so later, Estrada was at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo studying architecture. During a weekend trip to Cal Poly Pomona, she attended a lecture on landscape design. “‘Imagine the earth as a canvas,” she remembers the lecturer saying. “Architects put dots on the canvas. Engineers connect the dots. But you are the only ones who can paint the entire canvas.’”
Estrada continues, “Something clicked. I realized what makes a city great—it’s not that building or that building. It’s what happens in between: the public realm, parks, streetscapes.”
She graduated in 1975 and worked at various firms for a decade before founding her own. Eventually growing to a 25-employee company, Estrada Land Planning was tapped to handle the Balboa Park Master Plan and map out the 20,000 acres that would become Otay Ranch. She designed dozens of city parks and began volunteering for myriad arts and charitable committees.
She was one of San Diego’s most active and engaged civic leaders—but much of the city didn’t fully know her story. After decades of being publicly perceived as a man, Estrada came out as a trans woman during a 2005 interview with KPBS. No doubt, she’s visible now: Last month, she was named Woman of the Year by State Assemblymember Chris Ward’s office for her contributions to San Diego’s landscape.
“I have shifted lately toward more of a nature-based design,” she adds. “If you look at an aerial photograph of San Diego, you see all this green; we have canyons. We have opportunity to really interface with nature. It’s my top priority—that, and the community, how people live, what their needs are. I think my job as a landscape architect to make San Diego as good as it can be.”
Amelia Rodriguez is a writer and journalist and winner of the San Diego Press Club's 2023 Rising Star Award and 2024 Best of Show Award, she’s also covered music, food, arts and culture, fashion, and design for Rolling Stone, Palm Springs Life, and other national and regional publications. After work, you can find her hunting down San Diego’s best pastries and maintaining her five-year Duolingo streak.
SeaWorld dazzles with a drone show, big-name entertainers, new animal adventures and more
By Partner Content
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.
