About Ocean Beach Bonfire

Having a beach bonfire is one of the best free things you can do in San Diego. Fires on the beach are legal in San Diego County, but must be in a designated city fire pit. You can have a propane-fueled device, similar to the parks, but this does not really provide the atmosphere you want for a nighttime bonfire, so buy some wood from one of the local convenient stores (they all have it) and pit it up. There are fire pits all over San Diego County, but we recommend you do a bonfire on Ocean Beach – it has a very quintessential California feel to it.

Ocean Beach bonfire pits sit just south of Lifeguard Tower 5. You can park in the Dog Beach parking lot and the pits are straight out by the water, past the volleyball courts. Once the sun begins to set, start the fire and watch the twinkling lights of La Jolla brighten the hillside just up the coast to the north. Think about all those rich people snug in their linen sheets and then realize you have all you need right here on the sand.

If you are lucky, you will see a bioluminescence event in the waves that night.

Fires are allowed until midnight.

Best Parts

• Free things to do
• Quintessential Californian things
• Burning your eyebrows off

Behind The Counter

Having a bonfire on the beach has been a quintessential part of the free and fun California culture for decades. It is more regulated now (must be in pits, etc), but the city maintains the fire pits and the rules for them and we thank them for keeping this tradition alive and legal. In 2025, budget cuts have put fire pits on the chopping block… so stay tuned.