Bonita Cove

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About

Directly across Mission Boulevard from the historic Belmont Park amusement center, Bonita Cove offers lifeguard-supervised bay swimming at 1100 W Mission Bay Dr in the 92109 zip code. The cove's sheltered inlet produces some of the calmest water on Mission Bay, and lifeguards staff the beach consistently from spring break through October—daily in summer and on weekends during shoulder months. A half-acre children's playground named the Maruta Gardner Playground honors a celebrated local community activist, and a separate tot lot provides equipment scaled for younger kids. The World Famous restaurant on Mission Boulevard is a neighborhood institution for ocean-view breakfast and makes a natural stop on the way to the cove. The city permits gatherings of up to 450 people with up to four inflatables, making Bonita Cove one of the largest reservable party sites in Mission Bay Park. Volleyball courts line the flat sandy areas, fire rings dot the shoreline, and a comfort station with rinse-off showers keeps families comfortable through a full beach day. Bayside Walk, a paved pedestrian path, begins at the Bonita Cove parking lots and follows the peninsula south to Mission Point Park, roughly a mile each way. Mariner's Basin, the larger waterway adjacent to the cove, connects paddleboarders and kayakers to the Mariner's Point bird-nesting habitat where California Least Terns breed seasonally. Evening crowds looking for live music and dancing head to 710 Beach Club a few blocks north on Garnet Avenue. Leashed dogs are allowed before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. from April through October.