Encinitas, California, United States

🇺🇸 Encinitas is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and about 95 miles (153 km) south of Los Angeles. Since 1982, the Encinitas 101 Main Street Association has helped keep downtown Encinitas economically viable yet historic and beachy. Downtown Encinitas is vibrant and full of thriving local salons, restaurants, shops, bars, and art galleries.

History The first people to settle in Encinitas were the Kumeyaay. Gaspar de Portolá, governor of Baja California, visited the area in 1769 during the Portolá expedition and met residents from the nearby Kumeyaay village of Jeyal (or Heyal), near the San Elijo Lagoon. Portolá named the valley Los Encinos for the oak forest along El Camino Real, where there was also a village that was likely known as Hakutl in New Encinitas.

After Mexican Independence, land was granted to Andrés Ybarra in 1842 to build Rancho Las Encinitas in what is now Olivenhain and New Encinitas, from which Encinitas got its namesake. Encinitas is a Spanish name meaning "little oaks".

The town of Old Encinitas was formed in 1881 by Jabez Pitcher.

The city was incorporated by 69.3% of the voters in 1986 from the communities of historic Encinitas, New Encinitas (Village Park, etc.), Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, and Olivenhain. The communities retain their identities and distinctive flavors.

Geography Encinitas lies on a rugged coastal terrace. The city is bisected by a low-lying coastal ridge that separates New and Old Encinitas. In the north of the city, the coast rises in elevation and the land is raised up in the form of many coastal bluffs, which are subject to collapsing on the narrow beach. The city is bounded by Batiquitos Lagoon to the north and San Elijo Lagoon to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.0 square miles (52 km²), 18.8 square miles (49 km²) of which is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of which (5.89%) is water. The city's elevation ranges between sea level and 402 feet (123 m) above sea level.

Communities Encinitas can be divided into five areas: • Old Encinitas: a small beachside area featuring a mix of businesses and housing styles. Sitting along Coast Highway 101 (Historic US 101), the Encinitas welcome arch, the famous surf break Swamis, and the early 20th-century La Paloma Theatre are located here. Old Encinitas is divided from New Encinitas by a low coastal ridge. • New Encinitas: a newer region that features a golf course and many shopping centres and which is composed of larger tract homes. • Olivenhain: a semi-rural region in eastern Encinitas, composed of mostly single-family homes, a 4-H Club, and several private equestrian facilities. German immigrants established the Olivenhain Colony in the late 19th century under the Homestead Act of 1862. Olivenhain connects to Rancho Santa Fe via Encinitas Boulevard. • Leucadia: a coastal community of the city, featuring tree-lined streets and boulevards, art galleries, unusual stores, and restaurants, along with single-family homes and beaches such as Beacons and Grandview. • Cardiff-by-the-Sea: Encinitas' southernmost oceanfront community, which features streets named after British cities and classical composers, the Lux Art Institute, and the San Elijo Campus of Mira Costa College.

Arts and culture Encinitas Ballet. Encinitas Ballet is a classical ballet studio in Encinitas. It was established in 2008 by Sayat Asatryan, former principal dancer of the Kremlin Ballet Theatre, and Olga Tchekachova, former soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet II.

Regular events • April Street Fair: annual two-day street fair, held every April in downtown Encinitas • Encinitas Bazaar Marketplace: a colorful, outdoor shopping experience • Deep Pit BBQ: held the end of May at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum • Encinitas Environment Day: held on the 2nd Sunday of June, with environmentally themed games and entertainment for families. • Lima Bean Faire and Battle of the Beans Cook-off: held each September at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum, 450 Quail Gardens Drive • Fall Festival: annual one-day street fair, held each November in downtown Encinitas • OktoberFest: held on the last Sunday in September to coincide with the Oktoberfest celebrations in Germany. • Classic Car Cruise Nights: classic cars line Coast Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas on the third Thursday of each month, May–September • The Wavecrest Woodie Meet: takes place once a year on the third Saturday of September at Moonlight State Beach. It is the largest rally of wooden-bodied vehicles in the world and it is free to the public and to participants. • Wellness Week: annual week-long program of events and special offers designed to help people learn about and experience ways to improve their well-being • Salute to Education: Encinitas Chamber of Commerce Salute to Education event that is held each year in June, honoring local teachers and students for their outstanding efforts during the current school year. This event is hosted each year by Rancho Santa Fe Security Systems. • Switchfoot Bro-Am: annual free surf competition and outdoor music festival usually held in early July at Moonlight State Beach, home of the world's only surf jousting competition, along with several other competitive surfing events. All proceeds from the event go to local charities.

Surfing Madonna In 2011, Mark Patterson and Robert Nichols illegally installed a 10 by 10 feet (3 m × 3 m) mosaic of a surfing Virgin de Guadalupe on the north concrete support wall of the train bridge on Encinitas Boulevard, leading to a battle over whether it should be removed or preserved. It was named "the Surfing Madonna" by the media and public.

Museums and other points of interest The Lux Art Institute, San Dieguito Heritage Museum, and Encinitas Historical Society are located in Encinitas. Other points of interest include the San Diego Botanic Garden, Self-Realization Fellowship temple and Hermitage, the historic La Paloma Theatre, Moonlight Beach, and one of California's classic downtown areas along historic Coast Highway 101. Surfing is a popular activity in Encinitas, particularly at Swami's, which is rated in the top five surf locations in the world and is mentioned in a verse of The Beach Boys' song "Surfin' U.S.A". The bronze statue Humanity by Maidy Morhous was installed at J Street Overview in 2018 as a donation from Sue and Jay Vicory. Manchester Reserve is great for nature walk and light hiking.

Cardiff Kook - Magic Carpet Ride Magic Carpet Ride, affectionately known by Encinitas locals as the Cardiff Kook, is a 16-foot (4.9 m) bronze statue located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The San Diego Architectural Foundation, in its annual Orchids & Onions awards for the best and worst architecture of the year, awarded the Kook an Onion in 2007. The nickname comes from a derogatory surfer slang term for a "wannabe" surfer, as surfers in the area realized that the statue's form whilst "surfing" was far from correct. However, the Kook has become a local favorite in the city and has many wonderful traditions associated with it. At various times during the year, the Kook is "vandalized" and dressed up (wearing a lucha libre mask, being eaten by a papier-mâché shark, wearing a full Uncle Sam costume for Independence Day, used by local high school students to ask each other to school dances, etc.), bringing local flair and tourists constantly to the statue.

Economy Since 1982, the Encinitas 101 Main Street Association has helped keep downtown Encinitas economically viable yet historic and beachy. Downtown Encinitas is vibrant and full of thriving local salons, restaurants, shops, bars, and art galleries.

Transport Coaster trains stop at Encinitas station multiple times a day, seven days a week, with service from Oceanside to San Diego. Between 2013 and 2017, Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner also stopped here but discontinued the stop due to low ridership.

Local government The city is currently governed by a five-member city council, with a mayor and four council members. The mayor is elected citywide and the council members are elected by district to staggered four-year terms at two-year intervals. The deputy mayor is chosen by the city council members from among themselves.

In elections held in November 2012, Encinitas voted yes on ballot measures to allow them to directly elect its mayor, with term lengths of two years, rather than the mayor being chosen by members of the city council for one-year terms. The first such direct election for mayor took place in 2014.

The city has been repeatedly sued over policies that are allegedly aimed at undermining state affordable housing laws.

Education: School districts • Cardiff School District • Encinitas Union School District • San Dieguito Union High School District

Visual Art schools • Watts Atelier of the Arts

Colleges • California Institute for Human Science • Mira Costa College District ◦ Mira Costa College, San Elijo Campus • St. Katherine College.