Fiesta Island

Fiesta Island is my 100^th San Diego review!!! I thought it would be fitting that one of the very first places I ever visited in San Diego be my 100^th (yes, it makes perfect sense!!! :D).
My first visit here was for a wedding reception for my two friends that just got married. This place is doggy friendly, has fire pits, and is close to Sea World (side note: it’s awesome seeing fireworks, lights and bon fires at night on the Island).
It’s nice to go walk around the area and the water is a bit on the cool side, but it’s still nice to go here and enjoy a day.
I’ve been here for a few bon fires ever since. We’ve had BBQs as well. It’s nice to bring the puppies and have them run around and enjoy swimming.
I would recommend coming here with your furry friends, but just a heads up, it can get really busy so fire pits can be scares. Parking and areas to set up can be a bit of a battle as well if you’re one of the later parties to arrive, but drive around, you’ll find something!

I ride my bike around the island a few times as part of my morning work out. I love Fiesta Island itself, but I am very frustrated with the halfwits who drive their cars on the island.
These have been my experiences:
Self absorbed pathetic women idle their cars while in the middle of the single lane road in some desperate attempt to engage conversation with the guys standing on the road. There is a whole beach they all could stand and park on!!! Instead they clog up the road so the biker has to try to get by them while other cars are also trying to pass.
Drunk drivers purposely swerve their daddy’s BMW towards bicyclists as a form of entertainment for their jackanapes-​caravan who follow behind in their cars– which of course inspires more of the same careless and sadistic behavior.
Simpleton young girls who wait till they are right beside the biker and screech like crazed nasty-​beasts in order to scare bicyclists as they pass by them. When one rightfully screams, «IDIOT» (as a public service announcement) back at them, they stop the car as if a threat to the bicyclist that they will turn around… I always carry protection. All bikers should.
So often I see the mooncalf partiers mishandling their cars while driving this road. I won’t even go on Saturday mornings because it’s multiple incidents nearly extending for my whole ride!
I get there at about 4:00 am in the morning. I need to get my ride in before work, so I have to brave the hour. Yet far more difficult is braving the irresponsible loser who’s stupidity is still peaking from the night before.
I really believe there should be no motorized vehicles permitted on Fiesta Island from sundown to sunrise. Campers should park in the parking lot just off the island.
There are no cops, street lights or bike lanes — thus making it a dangerous situation even if there were no inebriated twits. I’ve had to swerve way off the road to avoid cars and huge RV’s and then I find myself quickly trying to avoid hitting the big garbage cans on the side of the road — while maneuvering on sand — because there is really no shoulder or lane for bikes. It’s a quick segue from smooth motion friendly asphalt of the road to the peanut butter like quick sand of the beach. It’s likely that you fall — which I am sure is the goal of the immature & blockheaded drivers.
Bikes are supposed to have the right away over drivers on Fiesta Island, but instead the drivers are an extreme hazard to bikers on this road. Bikers have been harmed in the past by drunk drivers on Fiesta Island and I am sure it will happen again if something isn’t done.
Why not give the joggers, walkers and bikers a safe place to work out for a period of time each day? I would like to explore the interest for the possible submission for a bill to the city.

This is an area of Mission Bay right off of the 5 (Sea World/​Tecolote exit). There is parking to the right off the entrance road, and then parking in various areas in the island area (few to none are paved.)
From what I hear from people who lived here a long time ago (late 50’s/early 60’s), Fiesta Island used to be a landfill. A quick web search seems provide many interesting articles about what was dumped there. The dump was then covered with material dredged up when Mission Bay was being created between 1960 and 1962. The first laws regulating toxic-​waste disposal were not enacted until the 1970s. Based on what I read, I wouldn’t swim or fish near here.
The island signs say the whole island is an off-​leash dog and horse area. It is also a great place to just walk, run or bike. There are no designated lanes except for cars.
As you enter you will take the one way road to the right and cruise along the beach area around the whole island. There is one option to go right or left (the right which takes you to a water rental section and then onto more of the beach areas.) If you chose to go left, you will eventually end up joining the road that had gone right, but this way is a short cut to the «fenced» dog area. There seems to be a lot of dirt/​sand area to park on the north part of the island, but you can apparently park anywhere on the island on the beach.
There are firepits in various locations around the island. During the king tides (super high tides) these are in or right up on the water.
The «fenced» dog area is called fenced because there is a fence, it just doesn’t extend into the water. It goes to maybe 100 ft short of the water. So if a dog gets to the beach part at either side of this fenced area, it can go anywhere.
The dog area is huge. Lots of dogs are here, so it is great for dogs to get their needed social time. Usually the dogs are pretty cool, there might be a rare one that might start an unfriendly interaction for whatever reason.
The walk can be short or long, along the beach or in the dirt/​grass. This area does get hot from the sun even in the fall/​winter. Bring water. There are bags throughout for picking up after the dog. There are trash cans throughout. There is a lot of open space and maybe a few trees in the middle for shade (in the middle of a vast amount of land.) It is a great place to just walk and walk and tire out your dog, or let them run.
At the far end of the dog area (on the side where you are just over the water from Sea World), there is a bird sanctuary with it’s own fencing. This area is off-​limits to dogs during the nesting season.
In November, there are fuzzy caterpillars wandering all over the entire island. There are also shells all over the place.
The rest of the island on the way out is the same as the beginning– beach area.
The center of the island (inside the paved road area) appears to be very large and is used for Over-​the-​line, boy scouts toy rocket launching, dog training, etc…
It is a huge area that is way too big to get too crowded (except during special events).

A doggy owners dream! It boasts open sand with calm waters and is definitely not overcrowded or overrun with dogs. You can just park on the sand and set up shop. I think there is an area specifically ok for dogs because the other side is more water activities. The dogs loved it here as our pictures show. I could totally see us bringing a picnic and spending a few hours here. Even better, bringing paddle boards and coasting around with the dogs. You should check it out! The water does not have waves so if you are looking for a typical beach with waves, this won’t have it. It is great for dogs just getting used to the water and ones that are more scared of the big waves at the typical dog beaches.
Also there is a one way road around the island so once you start you will have to go all the way around.

This place is huge! Located about a stone’s throw away from SeaWorld, Fiesta Island has tons of trails, shoreline, and other roaming space for you and your doggie. It may be one of my most favorite places to take the terrier-​mix.
There’s a one-​way road around the island that’s used by cars, bikes, and pedestrians. A good majority of the island is not fenced, so keep a close eye on your dog at all times. Also, watch out for the occasional horse apple.

Fiesta Island is every pet owners little haven and favorite get-​away all year round in San Diego. I feel you only wander out to this location if you have a pet therefore making it the best goto spot on a hot summer day when people are crowding the nearby beaches in Mission Bay and Ocean Beach. Follow the signs to the entrance and make your way around the island in a counter-​clockwise fashion. You have the freedom of simply pulling off to the side anywhere where there is room and staking out a spot right at that location if you wish. My girl loves this place the most because it doesn’t experience such a heavy current and waves aren’t rolling in nearly as hard as it is at the beaches. She’s a lab, loves the water, but isn’t the strongest swimmer, so these are ideal conditions for her!
Fiesta Island is also great for SUP, bonfires, jet skiing, and let’s not forget the awesome sunsets at the end of a long summer’s day. It’s also in close proximity to SeaWorld so you can catch one of their nightly fire work shows if you wish. Such a nice place for relaxing and catching the rays in a not-​so-​crowded area! I’ll go crazy if the City of San Diego chooses one day to develop this paradise. Please don’t do it!

Great place to go for a bike ride or walk. The road loops around the island in one direction so everyone is going the same way and there is plenty of room for everyone.
I did not know you can take your horses here. Learn something new everyday.
A lot of open space and plenty of parking.

from my house it took me an hour and a half pulling my horse trailer. What a great day trip get a way. Me and my horse playing in the water. THE BEST!
We brought picnic stuff there is no easy place to get food while on the island. They keep the bay really nice and it was a wonderful Sunday day. My only complain is their port a potty’s, what seems like every 100 ft. which was great but they however were not so clean and I would hope that the park starts trying to do a week end touch up on some of them, I will be back but I will be bringing my own port a potty in my horse trailer.

Both my dog and I love this place! We usually run back & forth on the beach. She loves wading here (she hates waves at other dog beaches). The water temp is always nice. It can get windy/​cold on the beach though. I like how it’s pretty empty most of the time. We never really venture to the actually gated dog section though.
I do get nervous bc the street isn’t blocked off and if something out of the norm happened my dog could run across the street. She also could run into the lines from the kiteboarders bc I don’t think she notices them. Most people also don’t like that the beach isn’t always the cleanest, but who cares bc both the pup and I get baths afterwards.

Love summer nights on fiesta island!
I do wish that it was a bit cleaner but I really wish people were less disgusting! There are far too many nails, broken glass, and trash on the ground. They have so many empty trash cans!!! Clean up after yourselves people!
Looking past that, this is the best spot to wind down, enjoy the summer sky, the calm bay, and the company of your friends or a good book!
In the summer you can see the fire works from just about anywhere on the island but I recommend heading toward the end if your just there for that! Traffic leaving after the fire works can cause a bit of a jam.
Please remember to clean up after yourselves and do not burn crap in the fire pits that is harmful or not meant to be burned (cans, bottles, plastic, styrofoam etc!)
But most of all, have fun and smart about it!

Fiesta Island is a place my wife and I enjoy taking our dogs for walks. Usually avoiding holidays or big events (OMBAC OTL) because the island can get pretty crowded and the traffic is rough getting in and out. But on off days the place is pretty empty so you can have a large area to roam with your pet uninterrupted.
The island almost surrounded with water is a very popular place for water skiing, paddle boarding, jogging, biking and some fishing. One side of the island has a fenced in dog trail. Which we don’t use ourselves. My wife and I prefer the other side where there is more water for the dogs to splash in and less people. Another side of the island also has square fire pits so you can stay later and have a bonfire.
Another nice feature of the island is that they have trash cans throughout. Something I wish other visitors would take advantage of. I hate seeing other people’s trash when there are trash cans readily available. The worst is people not cleaning up after their dogs. Come on, man!
Fiesta Island is a nice feature of San Diego that locals and tourists can enjoy. I feel fortunate to have a place to take my dogs like Fiesta. It gives my wife and I a lot of joy seeing our dogs have fun. Tails wagging, barking at birds and diving in the water (well at least Bruno, Bella hates the water). After, the dogs sleeping in the car. What a life.

Whenever I want a casual 4 mile run, fiesta island is my go to. It’s flat, paved, and relatively safe. Don’t forget to run against traffic so you can see what’s coming towards you. A couple turns are a little blind so it’s better to be on the defense.
Great spot to bring pups to run around and swim. I like to take mine paddleboarding since the water is so calm. I’ll usually go towards the beginning since the end of the loop always has jet skiers.
The only thing I don’t like is that the water is a bit dirty and I personally would never swim in it though many people do. Just makes me feel dirty lol. But great for paddleboarding and the dogs have no issue.
And who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon on «party» island!?! Can’t not have a good time.

This review is for the fenced dog park. (Although all the triathlons we’ve done at Fiesta Island deserves a five star rating too!)
I have major mama anxiety issues. Although our two little pups are well behaved, I fear that they would run off and never came back to us when we call them. My hubby soothe my worries and after reading reviews after reviews on hear, we decided to check the dog park out.
Yes, the entire lot is pretty much fenced off! And our dogs never even went near the edge of the fence. The park was HUGE! Unlike dog parks, the dogs aren’t forced to mingle with each other in one cramped area. I love the trails and the openness. Our dogs ran ahead, came back, chased, and had the time of their lives exploring the area. We even made it down to the beach area and both puppies got a little wet! That’s a start! I was just surprised how well behaved and good listeners Lilo and Max were… Yes, I guess I shelter hem a bit too much.
So, for anyone who has doubt’s about taking their little one here… Don’t. Unless your dog isn’t friendly. Also, if needed, you can keep your dog’s leash on. No one will look at your funny.

This place is a little loop. You drive in a loop to park. There are families, dogs, jet skis, etc. Everyone clearly appreciates this place.
I went to the dog park section. It was so fun to let my friends dog run around and socialize.
You walk along the beach for a bit. Then you are across the water from Seaworld and turn around.
The only thing I didn’t like about the place is all the broken shells on the beach. :(other than that it’s a great place for SoCal activities :)

Fiesta Island is where I go when I want to run a solid 4 miles. Although some may find this run boring. I very much enjoy this. I like going the 4 miles loop oppose to the 2 mile because of more mileage and that there a good tailwind on that back side loop.
I will say… it’s obviously not the safest place to run because you have asshole drivers zooming by you at 50−60mph when it’s suppose to be 25mph. Also, it can get dangerous if you aren’t an experience runner. like it’s better to run on the left side of the road because the right side is taken up by the local cyclists. Everyone needs to share the road, so please know where to go.
Also… I hate the fact that there are disrespectful people who live in San Diego and would leave garbage on the island. It’s not difficult to walk a couple of feet to the garbage can. I ran this Sunday and I was so appalled by what I saw. I saw a bonfire that was unattended (this was already at 830am so you know this wasn’t burning all night), massive beer (?) cans and bottles with card board boxes all over the place. a bunch of idiots had a party and just fkn left the place a mess! So rude and disrespectful to the environment… JERKS!
ANYWAY… This is a great place to run. I’d recommend running in the morning as there are not a lot of asshole drivers cause assholes aren’t able to wake up early.

My baby boy loves this place!
Kuro (the pug) loves coming here & meeting other four legged friends! The moment we got here, he couldn’t keep calm. It’s his first time being off leash at the beach :)
Theres a wire fence door to keep all the pups safe inside the park so don’t worry if your pup is a run-​away type its a HUGE place here, open dirt area and the beach on the right side. I was here when the sun was down so I have no idea how clean the water is, but I’ll come back this weekend in the morning.
Its a really great place to come with your four legged friends :) HAVE FUN!

IF YOU HAVE DOGGIES IN YOUR FAMILY (woofer type) — this place is A1A fab
Relatively still a bit of a SD Newby, took a wrong turn, ‘came upon a discovery: ended up doing the Fiesta Island one way loop and once we saw the doggies, it was a quick stage right to the parking lot
I think this is akin to going to a wilderness spot in the city: where you can go hiking with the Pups, through green fields, along the lakefront, up and down the ‘doggy cliffs’ and smack dab in the middle of SD with a 360 view — I love the OB doggie beach and this place is as nice but different (beach vs outdoorsy)
SD is a dog lover’s paradise and this place is a dog jamboree /​/​take the pups there — they will love it and can run all over the multiple acres, leash-​free
Bravo SD for providing this gigantic playground for these most cherished family members — the Woofers in all sizes, shapes, colors, demeanour, tail wags and barks.

Cosmic views of the San Diego skyline from every single corner. Wonderful Fiesta Island is always in my heart. Haven’t been hanging around there for a long time and in my few days enjoying the new year’s in San Diego I had to stop by and actually show it to a current resident who did not even know about it. It is simply perfect: you can ride your bicycle, exhaust your dog running together, have a picnic on the grassy areas, just ride around for sightseeing, walk, watch the sunset… and you really feel you are in an island surrounded by beauty, yet so close to ‘city life’. Plenty of parking for the ones scared of those taking 2 spots for 1.

The dogs will come out at Fiesta
Betcha bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There will be dogs
Just think of a dog
Thats sad and lonely
Pack them into your car
And grin on the way to
the island
The dogs will be out tomorrow
At Fiesta Island there be dogs
Oh Fiesta
Fiesta
Fiesta
Fiesta Island near Mission Bay is a great place for your furry friend to explore and make new friends for free while getting excercise. Its off leash, so nobody will give you the evil eye if your dogs on the loose.
Lots of things to explore and smell and get into. Let me warn you, its more exciting for your dog than it will be for you. But your dog will love it.

This is my favorite place to take my dogs as it’s entirely off leash. The whole thing! There is also a fenced area if you don’t trust your dog, but it’s really not super secure, as the whole one side is open to the water.
There is a calm side of the island, where my dog likes to swim. Then around the other side (where the fenced area is) it’s a little more windy and the water is rough. That seems to be the side where the humans have fun in the water — lots of jet skis and whatever. There are also fire pits around that side. Too bad they shut it down so early — 10pm? Really?
There is a strip of mucky grossness when the water level is down, so watch out for that! Despite trash cans every so often, there is still plenty of litter. Also, this isn’t a fancy, «pretty» beach to hang out at, so if you are trying to impress your family with a trip to the beach, the island may not be the best spot.
I was here yesterday and my dogs were entertained by a lot of fishy activity — fish flying out of the water! There are also birds, but not much for other wildlife.
If you love Fiesta Island for your dogs, check out FIDO (Fiesta Island Dog Owners) — a group dedicated to keeping Fiesta Island for the dogs. They have volunteer opportunities (island clean up, pet friendly events to get the word out, etc).