Leucadia is an eclectic little community on the Pacific Ocean. It once was a mecca for hippies and surfers – remnants of those 1960s days can be seen throughout this north San Diego community. Here you will find palm trees, wooden cigar store Indians, tie-dyed T-shirts and blue jeans, barefoot kids playing in the streets, funky lawn art and glowing beads.
Leucadia was settled by English spiritualists in 1870 and named islands in Greece. Many of its streets are named after Greek mythological figures. Once primarily agricultural (the Poinsettia Capitol Of The World) many of the former flower-growing businesses are now gone.
Leucadia is home to Italian restaurants, funky shops, yoga studios, palm readers and cool art galleries. Local hangouts include Pannikin Coffee & Tea, a former 1880s train station much favored by the arts crowd; world-famous Lou’s Records housing an enormous collection of new and used CDs and records; and Karina’s Taco Shop, home of the best Shrimp Burritos on earth.
Leucadia’s residents say that the best thing that ever happened to Leucadia was that nothing ever happened to it. Leucadia’s beaches are lost in the 1960s and are old neighborhood surf breaks where hundreds of Leucadian’s have been surfing for thirty or more years. There are four especially popular surf beaches – Moonlight, Grandview, Beacon’s and Stone Steps – all are hidden treasures.
If you want a great work out, try “running the stairs” with the locals at Stone Steps Beach. 99 stairs take you from the bluffs to the beach. All along your workout you have incredible views of the Pacific Ocean while you exercise.
You can learn to surf by taking a class at Beacon’s Beach from world-famous Kahuna Bob, a Leucadian celebrity. Dolphins and whales are regularly seen, especially from the “high-bluff” beach entrances at Stone Steps and Beacon’s. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the famous “green flash” as the sun takes its final dip into the vast Pacific Ocean.
Leucadia’s largest beach, Moonlight Beach, is often called “the beach with everything” because it has lifeguard towers, a big playground for children, roomy parking lots, safe play areas, fire-rings for use after sunset, clean restrooms and showers and a very wide, very sandy beach.
The author retired in 2008. He loves the ocean. His passion is photographing seabirds. He and his wife own a B&B in Encinitas. Visit: Encinitas Hotels or Bed and Breakfasts in Encinitas.