Shell Beach
San Diego County, California, United States
- Paid parking
Tomorrow at a glance
Best: 5 pm to sunset, sunset 6:06 pm4.8
12 km/h8 mph wind, Fair
5.1
3 km/h2 mph wind, Fair
5.8
16 km/h10 mph wind, Good
5.6
7 km/h4 mph wind, Good
5.4
9 km/h6 mph wind, Fair
5.3
9 km/h5 mph wind, Fair
5.0
13 km/h8 mph wind, Fair
5.8
10 km/h6 mph wind, Good
5.6
14 km/h9 mph wind, Good
6.3
9 km/h5 mph wind, Good
7.6
14 km/h8 mph wind, Great
8.1
13 km/h8 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 5 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 21°C69°F
- Water
- 23°C74°F
- Wind
- 1912 km/hmph W
- Gusts
- 1912 km/hmph
- Waves
- 1.1 m4 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- falling
- Rain
- 3%
- Sunset
- 6:06 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- Low 1 am, -0.2 m<1 ft
- High 7 am, 1.2 m4 ft
- Low 2 pm, -0.2 m<1 ft
- High 8 pm, 1.0 m3 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Shell Beach
Shell Beach is a beach in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA. OpenStreetMap lists a drinking water facility and a lifeguard station nearby. The nearest bus stop is 0.29 miles away, and there are 36 parking options within 0.31 miles.
Shell Beach is a small beach in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California, United States. It is accessed via a flight of concrete steps that start at the south end of Ellen Browning Scripps Park. The beach is located immediately north of Children's Pool Beach, south of Boomer Beach and La Jolla Cove.
During extreme low tides, the southern end of Shell Beach has an interesting tidepool-like area, with many marine creatures visible.
Source: Shell Beach, La Jolla on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; text may have been shortened. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- LifeguardStation listedOpenStreetMap lists a lifeguard station.
- Restrooms290 m940 ft away
- ShowersWithin 500 m0.3 mi
- Drinking waterWithin 500 m0.3 mi
- Parking36 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 180 m580 ft. Listed as paid
- Food and drink57 within 1 km0.6 mi
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 470 m0.3 mi
- Nearest airport
- 15 km9 miSan Diego International Airport (SAN)
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Boomer Beach0.2 km0.1 mi north-east away7.9 Great tomorrow
- Children's Pool Beach0.3 km0.2 mi south-west away7.9 Great tomorrow
- La Jolla Cove0.4 km0.2 mi north-east away7.9 Great tomorrow
- South Casa Beach0.4 km0.2 mi south-west away7.9 Great tomorrow
- Wipeout Beach0.5 km0.3 mi south-west away7.9 Great tomorrow
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Shell Beach.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.
Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Fri8.1 GreatBest 5 pm to 7 pmWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 32%
- Sat8.7 ExcellentBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 17 km/h10 mph, rain 1%
- Sun9.2 ExcellentBest 8 am to 12 pmWind up to 18 km/h11 mph, rain 0%
- Mon9.2 ExcellentBest 8 am to 3 pmWind up to 21 km/h13 mph, rain 0%
- Tue6.5 GoodBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 15 km/h9 mph, rain 0%
- Wed6.1 GoodBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 14 km/h9 mph, rain 0%