Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach is a throwback community from the 1960's. The very laid back hippie like atmosphere makes the Ocean Beach San Diego scene very popular for locals. Great location for surfing, and those wanting to watch the surfers can do so from beach or from the longest pier on the United States west coast. The OB Pier is a popular destination for fishermen, but can also be a great place to enjoy a meal at the Cafe which operates at the end of the pier. Ocean Beach is especially a dog friendly community, and you can often see many dogs being walked up and down Newport Avenue, the main street in OB. A large dog beach attracts hundreds of dogs on weekend. The dogs are allowed to be off leash and have plenty of opportunity to socialize with other breeds. A few of these pictures show a Border Collie catching frisbees on the beach and in the the dog-friendly parks that have made San Diego the number one dog-friendly city.
Directly South of Ocean Beach is Sunset Cliffs, less than a mile away. Sunset Cliffs is one of the best places in San Diego to watch the sunset and watch surfers. Benches on top of the cliffs offer an extraordinary relaxing place to view the Pacific Ocean. One of the most highly coveted photography spots in San Diego, the Sunset Cliffs bring breathtaking romantic views within easy reach of San Diego tourists and locals.
Ocean Beach Events
In Ocean Beach every Wednesday from 4-8pm on Newport Avenue between Cable and Bacon Streets there is the OB Farmers Market.
The OB Farmers Market is a great chance to buy fresh and delicious locally grown produce, art, flowers, and international food from the many vendors who line the street.
The OB Shopping District located on the three blocks of Newport Avenue has a wide variety of stores. Newport Avenue is lined with tall palm trees and diagonal parking is available free of charge along the entire length of the street. With over 200 antique dealers including the antique stores on Newport Avenue make Ocean Beach the largest antique district.
San Diego Ocean Beach Insider Secrets
Ocean Beach is just plain chill. Very laid back and friendly. The beaches might not be as great as mission beach or pacific beach, but the easy going feel to OB more then makes up for that. Newport Avenue has some of the most unique shopping anywhere in San Diego from surf shops, to smoke shops, to clothing shops, to niche hobby shops, and the very famous Paper, Rock, Scissors shop which sells internationally imported stuff by dozens of different sellers all in one location.
Parking is easy along Newport or adjoining streets or at the free parking lot at the end of Newport on the beach in front of the pier. 
Walk the pier for a great view of the dozens of year round surfers from a different vantage point. You do not need a license to fish off the Ocean Beach pier, and you can find a bait shop and fishing pole rental location on the Ocean Beach pier.
The real secret of OB lies in the marine life that flourish in the tidepools. Starting South of the pier, a very long stretch of flat rocks with small craters runs for a long distance along the coast. Hundreds of people each day walk along the rocks to enjoy a unique experience and to see the marine life inside the tidepools, which are little pools of water that get trapped in the craters in the rocks.
