Sunset Park

Tours & AttractionsVerified

About

At the northwest edge of Coronado Island where Ocean Boulevard meets Naval Air Station North Island, Sunset Park at 101 Ocean Boulevard in 92118 spreads an all-grass field across historically significant ground. Directly across Ocean Boulevard, the off-leash sand at Coronado Dog Beach makes the park a natural staging area where owners regroup on the grass and access beach-side restroom facilities before heading back to the Village core. A California Historical Landmark marker (No. 818) stands at the park's west end, commemorating the site where Glenn Curtiss founded the first military flying school in America on January 17, 1911 — the origin point for what became Naval Air Station North Island, designated the Birthplace of Naval Aviation. The park's flat terrain hosts organized youth sports for teams under age eight, including soccer and lacrosse practice rotations alongside informal pickup games. Youth recreation programming on the field complements island-wide children's athletics like the clinics run by Little Rascalz Soccer across Coronado's park system for ages two through eight. The park occupies filled land from the former Spanish Bight — the tidal channel that once separated Coronado from North Island — with an 1890s-era rock seawall along Ocean Boulevard still marking the approximate boundary where the original shoreline stood. Visitors from mainland San Diego cross the Coronado Bridge or ride the Coronado Ferry to reach this destination on Coronado Island's compact, walkable grid. Hotel Del Coronado and the Orange Avenue village corridor sit within the flat, walkable geography of Coronado Island, connecting every attraction on the island to the resort district and the 92118 commercial core. The Orange Avenue commercial corridor — Coronado Island's primary dining, shopping, and entertainment spine — connects this destination to the village's restaurants, boutiques, and galleries. Coronado Beach's 1.5-mile Pacific shoreline — ranked among the nation's top beaches — defines the island's western edge and draws the swimmers, surfers, and beachgoers who make this attraction part of a full-day coastal itinerary.