Mission Beach and Belmont Park: Giant Dipper Coaster, Plunge Pool and Boardwalk

Built along a narrow two-mile sandbar separating the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean on the west from the glass-calm lagoons of Mission Bay Park on the east, Mission Beach is the quintessential Southern California boardwalk playground. In places along Mission Boulevard, the entire peninsula is barely two blocks wide, meaning you can watch morning surfers ride ocean swells on one side of the street and walk ninety seconds east to launch a paddleboard on calm bay water on the other. At the exact midpoint of this lively sand spit sits Belmont Park, San Diego's historic beachfront amusement park.

Belmont Park and the 1925 Giant Dipper Roller Coaster

Opened in July 1925 by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels to promote electric streetcar ridership and residential real estate along the Mission Beach sandbar, Belmont Park has anchored the boardwalk for a full century. Unlike fenced theme parks that charge a hefty gate admission just to walk inside, entry into Belmont Park is completely free; you simply stroll in off the boardwalk and pay per ride or purchase an all-day wristband if you want to hop on the attractions.

The undisputed star of the park is the Giant Dipper, an original 1925 wooden roller coaster designated as a National Historic Landmark. Clacking up its seventy-three-foot wooden lift hill gives you a split-second view straight out over the Pacific surf before plunging into banking turns just yards from the sidewalk. Next to the coaster stands the historic Spanish Revival Plunge building, housing one of the largest indoor heated swimming pools in Southern California behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls, alongside an old-school arcade, mini-golf, zip lines, beachfront ice cream counters, and ocean-view taco decks.

Cycling and Walking the Ocean Front Walk Boardwalk

Running right along the seawall in front of Belmont Park is Ocean Front Walk, a paved three-mile pedestrian and bicycle promenade that links South Mission Beach continuously north into Pacific Beach all the way to Crystal Pier. Renting a single-speed beach cruiser bicycle, tandem bike, or rollerblades from one of the shops around Mission Boulevard and Ventura Place is a classic afternoon activity. Notice that painted lane dividers along the concrete path separate walkers from wheels, and an 8 mph speed limit is enforced on busy afternoons.

If you walk south from Belmont Park along the boardwalk for fifteen minutes, you reach South Mission Beach Point at the stone jetty entrance to the Mission Bay channel. Here, dozens of beach volleyball nets line the wide deep sand while fishing boats and sailboats pass right beside the rocks.

Crossing Over to Bayside Walk and Bonita Cove

Whenever the afternoon ocean wind picks up along the western beachfront, simply cross Mission Boulevard to the east side of the peninsula. Here, the quieter Bayside Walk path curves around Bonita Cove and Mariner's Point, offering grassy picnic lawns, calm knee-deep water for young children, and rental stands for kayaks, pedal boats, and small catamarans. Large free municipal parking lots sit right between Belmont Park and Bonita Cove along West Mission Bay Drive, and MTS Bus Route 8 connects Mission Beach directly with the Old Town Transit Center and Balboa Avenue Blue Line Trolley station.