Welcome to the Official web site of the City of Imperial Beach, the most southwesterly city in the continental United States.  Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and South San Diego Bay, our town is nestled between miles of uncrowded beaches, big surf and unparalleled open space and wetlands teeming with wildlife. Because this town is one of the last untouched beach towns in Southern California, we are known as Classic Southern California®.  There is much to see and do in Imperial Beach from swimming or surfing at the beach, to a walking tour of public art, to a nature walk and bird watching experience at the world-renowned Tijuana Estuary or to simply relax and enjoy our beautiful sunsets.

 Pier Plaza And Public Art

 Over the past few years a true coastal renaissance has taken hold along Seacoast Drive and Old Palm Avenue.  The Port of San Diego and the City of Imperial Beach embarked on the  giant translucent “surfboard” arches, are acrylic surfboards stuck in the sand.  At 16-20 feet high, each weighs up to three quarters of a ton and set against a crimson arch emblazoned with the city’s name. Day or night, the glowing shapes cast colored light-shadows onto the plaza. Subtly surrounding the Plaza are low concrete seawalls with the exquisite glass tile work called Illuminations by artist Mary Lynn Dominguez. Click here to visit the Port of San Diego Public Art directory

A Tourist Destination For Nature Lovers

 Imperial Beach, rich with natural resources, is looking toward ecotourism as a way to attract a steady stream of visitors interested in wildlife, migratory birds, coastal dunes, and a world- renowned estuary. The National Wildlife Refuges, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Pacific Coast, is the last haven for more endangered species than anywhere of similar size in the continental United States. The San Diego/South Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the Otay Valley Regional Park, and the Tijuana River Regional Park are currently planning walking and bike trails, interpretive signage, and overlooks to take advantage of the region’s unique wildlife assets. The Tijuana River, as it enters the Pacific Ocean, is an intertidal coastal estuary. The estuary - what is now the 2,531 acres of tidal wetlands known as the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve - is the largest salt-water marsh in Southern California with a visitor’s center that conducts daily walking tours. Click here to visit the Tijuana Estuary web site

Surfers Paradise

 The City of Imperial Beach is a military town.  Many families who moved here after World War II, when Ream Field and the Imperial Beach Radio Station offered lots of military and civilian employment liked it so much, that they stayed. In 1952 Ream Field became home for the first helicopter anti-submarine units to deploy from aboard an aircraft carrier. In 1968, at its pinnacle, Ream Field was NAS Imperial Beach with 3,400 military personnel and home to all West Coast Navy helicopter squadrons.  It was the “Helicopter Capitol of the World”.  They rescued downed pilots, many under combat conditions in Vietnam; and pioneered techniques to recover astronauts from the Mercury, Skylab, and Apollo space missions.  Click here to order Imperial Beach; A Pictorial History