Fanuel Street Park

It’s a pretty nice park considering it’s maintained by the City. The park is small, but I’ve never seen it overcrowded. Aside from being adjacent to the sandy beach and the water of the bay, the park also has a huge grassy area as well as bathrooms. There are a few swings and a tot play structure. The only downside is that you’ll have to battle for parking along the streets of PB.

Lovely place to take your young children to play. Great place to go for a run, bike ride, or just relax. You may see the odd homeless person lurking about or asleep under a tree, but they don’t bother anybody. Showers/​bathrooms available. Overall it’s nice and peaceful.

Beautiful beach, nice calm water and relaxed atmosphere. One minor annoying thing was a constant construction noise from the Pacific beach direction. I hope it ends soon… Must visit daytime and dusk. Dogs are allowed from 4 pm to 9 am right now, I guess for the winter months.

This is a great spot along the bay for the kids.
Playground around was nice and clean as well.

Love this place, because the water is really calm and easy for me while watching 3 little ones. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone. There is a parking area near the beach has a decent amount of parking spaces.

Very well taken care of! Perfect spot for a BBQ or relaxing on the bay!
The playground was packed but tons of parents watching out for the safety of all the kids!
Great public restroom with running water and hand soap! They also have a shower area with benches.
Hoping to make this an open weekend routine!

This is the perfect fun in the sun type of place. There are volleyball nets and always plenty of room to set up for a «bay day.» The water is relatively clear and warmer than the ocean!
You can always find parking within a few streets. The streets that lead to the bay have unloading areas making drop off and pickup easy.
This is a much better place to post up for the day than the crowded beaches of PB. And you can bring floaties to lounge in right off shore without having to deal with waves. It’s also an ideal spot for paddle boarding and kayaking :)

Wow this park is great! I almost didn’t want to write a review so I could keep this hidden gem to myself.
So you drive down the end of Fanuel and BOOM all of a sudden the street ends and the awesomeness that is this park in front of the bay begins.
The parking lot is small, so you may have a hard time finding parking. There is street parking too.
Things I love about this park are:
1) There is a small playground for kids (and big kids like me) and swings.
2) Individual private restrooms. A community sink area. Showers to wash off sand and the «cooties» from the bay water.
3) Benches to sit on and a grassy area where you can BBQ or have a picnic.
4) The bay is right there if you have the urge to get in the water. I saw people paddle boarding which is cool. Not only that, but there’s a lifeguard station really close by.
5) It wasn’t crowded at all. There was plenty of room in the grassy area and on the beach.
I will definitely return here. It’s a cool little spot.

LOVE this park. 2 mile bike ride from our front door. love to ride the bayside walk and have lunch and a playground play date for a nice mommy break! also a decent sized parking lot if you are driving in.

Love this little gem of a park with its cute playground and plenty of safe swimming area and grass… it really does have a little of everything good. I also like that there’s plenty of parking around as well as bathrooms with a hand washing area and shower area to de-​sand.

Best kept secret! At least I have never heard of it until this past weekend.
When I first stepped foot on it, I was so mesmerized by the beauty and serenity of this spot that I had to stop and take pictures very slowly before meeting my friend.
It’s like your own private, quiet beach. It’s tucked away on a quiet side of PB right next to the «Sail Bay» portion of Mission Bay.
There’s quiet boating options like paddle boats and stand-​up paddle boarding and canoeing. You can also just wade in the water waist deep and enjoy the tiny waves.
There’s a playground for the kiddies right next to the water and plenty of space for picnics and lounging. Despite being family friendly, there are no screaming kids running around.
You can also just sprawl out on the sand and enjoy the shoreline which has no crowds. The view is of Ingraham bridge and the Catamaran across the water.
There are also a handful of volleyball nets too for «beach» volleyball and the adjacent boardwalk for biking or jogging.
The park has its own (little) parking lot that fills up fast, but you can search for parking on the nearby streets.
I would love to live in one of the apartments or little homes right on the water here. Prime real estate.

Dear Unilocal,
This park is seriously a gem in Pacific Beach. There’s a playground for the kids, with swings facing the water! There’s also a grassy area where you will often find a yoga, Zumba, or boot camp class. It’s a perfect area to jog or bike along Sail Bay – a lot of people take advantage of this on weekends. And there are restrooms! Parking can be a challenge though. There’s a small lot that tends to be full. Street parking isn’t as bad though.
— Jonard

Great park for kids. Right by the water and peaceful with different swings, slides and even a grassy area. Kids can swung and watch the planes fly over or the boats in the bay along with the occasional swimmer. Street parking is available at the entrance.

Never knew this existed until a friend told me about it. Great park on the water. Lush green grass for kids to play, a trail to walk your dog or go for a run. Plus a convenient parking lot. A nice hidden PB gem!

Beautiful beach, Clean restrooms… Stunning

What can I say? It’s a park. Its on my run. start at Crown Point near my house and cruise by here.
It is typically full of children due to having the playground equipment and calm waters with a life guard during the warmer season and months that warrant it. The only thing that bugs is when people stand on the walking path and block the whole thing for bikers and runners to get by. If you’re going to stand around and talk be aware of people cruising by so they aren’t forced into the sand where they can injure children and others or even themselves. Jogging into the uneven sand (or biking into it) and trying to get onto the sidewalk again is almost an impossible task and pretty sketchy. I do not need a twisted ankle.
They have nice restrooms (for being a park) here and the view is pretty good to the south. Parking can be had in a lot to the north or the neighborhood/​side streets.

Great path for an evening walk along the bay. My friend and I walked down to the Catamaran and were able to see everyone’s beautiful Christmas decorations along the walk as we went.
Throughout the whole walk you can see the iconic Tree lit up at Sea World across the bay which makes for some great pictures if the water and sky are clear, not to mention it adds some ambiance!
Great trail to get out and get some exercise.

Best kids Park/​Playground in the world. Without question.
4 swings, 4 slides, a few climbing structures and more all on sand next to a green grassed park with showers, bathrooms and sinks oh and it is right on Sail Bay which is quiet (only locals) and absolutely stunningly beautiful.

If you are a parent and can take your kiddos to this park load up the trikes, bikes and scooters and go!
This park offers, water fountains, shade trees, sinks to wash off feet and sticky hands, bathrooms, a little bit of grass, sand, swings, dolphins to make believe riding, turtle, and a play structure with slide.
The best part is that you almost feel like you are hanging out at the beach, with the breeze, the bay, and sunshine. When the kiddos are done throwing sand and swinging. Collect your bikes and head out on this beautifully FLAT path with the kiddos.
Sunscreen required and a sense of childhood :) Enjoy!
A note about parking: It can be tough if you arrive while the joggers are still finishing up their run or some HUGE stroller stride gathering. There is usually parking to be found on close by streets without getting too far out. And if you find someone who has parked like crap in the lot taking up two spots … shoot them the evil-​eye for me too!

Fanuel Park is a fantastic little park for the area… BUT…be sure to do some community research prior to planning an innocent family day at the park. For details, please see my review for «Floatopia» a.k.a. «Floatapalooza», an event that’s, um… interesting and pops up on Saturdays (and perhaps Sundays as well) a few times each summer.
The park is located on the calm waters of Mission Bay and offers various amenities:
beach volleyball nets
sidewalk/​boardwalk
a sizable open grassy area
bathrooms
showers
sinks
a swing set and jungle gym
benches
There’s street parking as well as a small parking lot about a block away (with an entrance on Fanuel Street) from the water, but parking availability during warm months and peak times can certainly be an issue.
A nice, clean park. If you come here you’ll almost forget you’re in Pacific Beach… assuming that you don’t drop by on a Floatopia/​Floatapalooza day, that is!