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Grunion Runs 2026 — La Jolla Shores, San Diego
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On specific nights throughout summer, small silver fish ride the waves onto San Diego beaches to spawn. California announces the dates months in advance. Standing on a dark beach at 10pm while it hap…
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Thu, Jul 23 – Fri, Jul 24, 2026
Thu 9:30 PM PDT – Fri 12:00 AM PDT
Free
“On specific nights throughout summer, small silver fish ride the…”
— @falkorcommunity
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What it was like
Every summer, on the nights following a full or new moon, Pacific grunion ride the waves onto San Diego beaches to spawn. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announces the dates months in advance. It sounds like a fact from a science textbook. Then you are standing on a dark beach at 10pm while hundreds of small silver fish wash up at your feet, and the dozen strangers around you all have the same expression.
The permitted season runs from June through August. La Jolla Shores is the most accessible location — clean sand, good visibility, easy parking by beach standards. The crowd is mixed: families with children in headlamps, marine biology students with clipboards, people who heard about grunion decades ago and finally made the drive.
During permitted months, you can pick up the fish by hand — no nets, no equipment, no fishing license required. The grunion stay on the beach for about two to three minutes per wave cycle. Then they're gone.
2200 Avenida de la Playa, La Jolla, CA 92037. Free. Check cdfw.ca.gov for the 2026 permitted run schedule. Summer evenings, after dark.
The permitted season runs from June through August. La Jolla Shores is the most accessible location — clean sand, good visibility, easy parking by beach standards. The crowd is mixed: families with children in headlamps, marine biology students with clipboards, people who heard about grunion decades ago and finally made the drive.
During permitted months, you can pick up the fish by hand — no nets, no equipment, no fishing license required. The grunion stay on the beach for about two to three minutes per wave cycle. Then they're gone.
2200 Avenida de la Playa, La Jolla, CA 92037. Free. Check cdfw.ca.gov for the 2026 permitted run schedule. Summer evenings, after dark.
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