San Diego, located in southern California near the Mexico border, is one of our favorite cities in the world for running. The combination of great weather, varied geography from harbor to beaches to inland canyons, make for fantastic running. Our guide to running in San Diego includes the city proper, and then extending north to La Jolla, with sections for the North County communities of Del Mar, Solana, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Oceanside.
What’s especially nice is that travelers staying near downtown/airport/convention center have access to some great routes. Some of the best places to run in San Diego include numerous options around the Mission Bay, Balboa Park, and Sunset Cliffs. There are many scenic, runnable beaches in San Diego. There are also some areas worth a special trip, such as La Jolla and Torrey Pines. There are also great opportunities for challenging trail running in the canyons mountains to the east. In the North County area, there’s wonderful coastal running in Solana, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. Note: If you’d like to have a guided running experience in San Diego, we highly recommend our affiliate partner Go! Running Tours.
