North County, San Diego
United States · Americas
About North County, San Diego
North San Diego County is a largely suburban region of seaside towns and beaches.
North County, San Diego travel guide
Getting there
Interstate 5 passes along the coast, connecting San Diego with Los Angeles. Interstate 15 travels north-south further inland, connecting San Diego with the Inland Empire. State Route 76 and State Route 78 serve as the main east–west routes through the region. State Route 76 begins in Oceanside and travels northeast through Pala to Lake Henshaw. State Route 78 is a freeway through Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista, before continuing as a two-lane highway to Ramona and Julian. Amtrak's frequent Pacific Surfliner San Luis Obispo-Los Angeles-San Diego route runs along the coast of North County, stopping in Oceanside and Solana Beach. Additionally, a commuter rail line called the COASTER overlaps with the Pacific Surfliner between Oceanside and San Diego, linking together most of the coastal cities and towns of North County with San Diego to the south. San Diego International Airport (SAN IATA) has flights from Canada, Hawaii, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the continental United States.
Getting around
Driving is the main way of getting around; everything in this region is pretty spread out. The North County Transit District (NCTD) is the main operator of public transit in the region, providing bus service, the aforementioned COASTER rail service, and the SPRINTER rail service between Oceanside and Escondido.
Go next
San Diego lies to the south with its myriad of attractions, including the upscale seaside community of La Jolla, the popular beach neighborhoods of Mission and Pacific Beach, lush Balboa Park with its gardens, museums, and famed zoo, and California's oldest mission in Mission Valley, among other attractions. Taking Interstate 5 or Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner north leads to Orange County, which is separated from North County by the large Camp Pendleton marine corps base. The next town up from Oceanside is charming San Clemente, with its beach and pier, with historic San Juan Capistrano just a little further beyond. Interstate 15 north of here leads into the wine country of Temecula before continuing on into the Inland Empire.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.