The Carlsbad Jetties at Carlsbad State Beach

The Carlsbad Jetties at Carlsbad State Beach

The Carlsbad Jetties are an iconic landmark, a short hop off the Coast Road/Route 101, on Carlsbad State Beach south of Carlsbad Village and Tamarack Avenue. There are actually 2 sets of jetties along the beach.

Two jetties serve as the mouth of the Agua Hedionda lagoon as it flows into and out of the ocean, an interesting place to watch the waves and the tide moving in and out.

The Carlsbad jetties are a great landmark – you’ll hear people telling others to meet us on the beach by the jetties. They are a terrific place for fishing, and for taking photos, especially of the waves crashing against the rocks. Seagulls love perching there, too.

You will also often see people standing on the jetties just looking at the ocean, and they are a great place to sit to watch the sun setting over the ocean.

The other set of jetties (at the bottom, known as the warm water jetties, are located a few hundred feet south, opposite the Encinitas Power Plant.

The plant uses ocean water to cool the machines to create energy, and the water is then forced out between the two jetties back into the ocean.

The water, because of this whole process, tends to be a few degrees warmer than the ocean, hence the name.