What's on in San Diego, United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Gray whale migration (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Gray whale migration (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring break in United States

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Gray whale migration (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Gray whale migration (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  May gray and June gloom

  1 May – 30 JunFog season

  The marine layer sits over the coast most mornings in late spring and often does not burn off at all. It is the one thing that catches out visitors who booked San Diego for the sunshine.

Peak crowds — San Diego County Fair, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  San Diego County Fair

  5 Jun – 6 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A month at the Del Mar fairgrounds from early June to the Fourth of July, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Coast Highway through Del Mar is unusable on fair evenings. Source ↗

Still on: May gray and June gloom (1 May – 30 Jun)

Peak crowds — San Diego County Fair, San Diego Pride

• Festival

  San Diego Pride

  10–22 Jul · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  One of the larger Pride weekends on the west coast, centred on Hillcrest and Balboa Park in mid-July. The parade route closes University Avenue for the morning. Source ↗

• Festival

  Comic-Con International

  15–28 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  A hundred and thirty thousand people downtown for four days in late July, with badges won by lottery and hotel blocks gone a year ahead. The Gaslamp is closed off and the rates are absurd. Source ↗

• Festival

  Del Mar summer racing

  17 Jul – 7 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Thoroughbred racing by the sea from mid-July to Labor Day, opening day being as much a hat competition as a race meeting. Concerts follow the last race on Fridays. Source ↗

Still on: San Diego County Fair (5 Jun – 6 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Del Mar summer racing, Summer break in United States

• Season

  Sea at its warmest

  1 Aug – 30 Sep · usuallySea warm enough

  The Pacific here takes all summer to warm up and only gets comfortable without a wetsuit in August and September, which is also when the marine layer has finally gone.

Still on: Del Mar summer racing (17 Jul – 7 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Del Mar summer racing, Summer break in United States

• Hazard

  Santa Ana wind and fire season

  15 Sep – 15 Dec · usuallySmoke season

  Offshore winds off the desert bring the hottest days of the San Diego year in autumn and the county's worst fire risk with them. The coast gets the heat; the backcountry gets the fires. Source ↗

Still on: Del Mar summer racing (17 Jul – 7 Sep (usually)), Sea at its warmest (1 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Santa Ana wind and fire season (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Santa Ana wind and fire season (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — December Nights, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Festival

  December Nights

  1–8 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Two free evenings in Balboa Park in the first week of December with every museum open late and no admission. Park somewhere else entirely and take the shuttle. Source ↗

• Nature

  Gray whale migration

  15 Dec – 15 Apr · usuallyWhale season

  Twenty thousand gray whales pass the coast between Alaska and the Baja lagoons, close enough to watch from the cliffs at Cabrillo. Mid-January is the southbound peak.

Still on: Santa Ana wind and fire season (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))