Un Mar de Colores · Encinitas, CA
Family engagement opportunities — parents from Encinitas join field days and overnight orientation sessions.
Un Mar de Colores's Watershed Explorers program brings Encinitas youth into the full watershed-to-ocean story of San Diego County. Day trips and overnight summer cohorts trace mountain streams from Cuyamaca State Park to the coast, including your own Encinitas beaches. We partner with Encinitas Union School District and community organizations including Encinitas Library and Boys & Girls Club of Encinitas to recruit from Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary. Every program integrates the Tijuana River watershed case study — the only cross-border river in Southern California.
Summer cohorts + year-round school field trips · Completely free
Encinitas holds five distinct breaks — Moonlight Beach, Swami's, Beacon's, D Street, and Stone Steps — across Encinitas Union and San Dieguito Union High School District. Our lessons run at Moonlight Beach (with its sheltered lifeguard cove) and Swami's on calmer mornings, with Park Dale Lane and Capri Elementary as our primary Title I partnerships for inland-neighborhood recruitment.
Tijuana River watershed education for Encinitas families explains why Imperial Beach and South County beaches close after storms — cross-border pollution traced from mountains through estuary to Moonlight Beach, Swami's, with environmental justice framing for communities where 28% of residents are BIPOC.
Hydrology field education near Moonlight Beach, Swami's connects classroom water cycle lessons to standing in streams and measuring flow — Encinitas students learn by tracing, not memorizing.
When we say free for Encinitas youth, we mean wetsuits, soft-tops, rashguards, sunscreen, transportation, and instruction — the full stack commercial programs charge $50–$150 per session for.
Encinitas families deserve instructors who look like their kids and speak their language. With 28% BIPOC residents, bilingual coaching isn't a nice-to-have — it's how we earn trust on day one.
Un Mar's primary Encinitas beginner location. Sheltered cove, year-round lifeguards, and direct access from Encinitas Library classroom programming.
Moonlight Beach is named for its former all-night beach parties in the late 1800s. Today it's Encinitas's primary family beach with a large sand area and protected swim zone.
Used only for intermediate/advanced Surf Athletic Scholarship students. Never a beginner break due to reef bottom.
Swami's is named for the Self-Realization Fellowship gardens on the cliff above. One of the most photographed surf spots in California, featured in the Beach Boys' 'Surfin' USA.'
In partnership with Encinitas Union School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 3+ Title I schools.
The Watershed Explorers program is Un Mar de Colores's flagship environmental education offering. Summer overnight cohorts trace the journey from Cuyamaca Rancho State Park's mountain streams to the San Diego coast, with special focus on the Tijuana River watershed — California's most cross-border and pollution-impacted river system. Curriculum integrates hydrology fundamentals, Indigenous Kumeyaay perspectives on water, and California coastal policy. Year-round day trips serve school field-trip groups across our 15+ Title I partner schools, and all programming is free with transportation included.
Since 2018, Un Mar de Colores has served thousands of youth across San Diego County and the Cali-Baja region — with funding from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors keeping every program 100% free.
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Transportation from partner Title I schools is included for classroom field trips. Inland Encinitas classrooms (on the coast from mountain or coastal sites) reach field locations because Un Mar solves buses — not teachers fundraising.
Yes — 100% free. Year-round day-trip field trips for Encinitas Union School District classrooms include bilingual materials, certified naturalist educators, and transportation. Overnight Watershed Explorers summer cohorts are also free for Encinitas youth — no tuition or material fees.
Aquarium trips show marine life in tanks. Watershed education traces the full pipeline — students stand in mountain streams, visit estuaries, and connect runoff from Encinitas to conditions at Moonlight Beach, Swami's. Field science with advocacy depth.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Encinitas are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Encinitas family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at Moonlight Beach. We also use Swami's for skill progression. Classroom components happen at Encinitas Library and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages All ages. In Encinitas specifically, our recruitment runs through Encinitas Union School District — with priority enrollment for students from Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary. Cohorts are age-appropriate (One Ocean for 6–12, Ocean Stewards for 13–17).
No. We begin every cohort with ocean-safety fundamentals in chest-deep whitewater at Moonlight Beach, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Encinitas, we also run pre-cohort pool-familiarization sessions at local community pools for students who request extra comfort-building.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs are bilingual — and in Encinitas, where 12% of households are Spanish-speaking, we intentionally pair at least one bilingual coach to every session. Cultural programming is delivered in both languages, and parent communications are always sent in Spanish and English.
Three ways: (1) everything is free, while most Encinitas surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 28%-BIPOC Encinitas community we serve; (3) our curriculum includes environmental justice, Kumeyaay coastal history, and cultural arts — not just surf skills. We exist because the ocean should belong to everyone in Encinitas, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary and referrals from Encinitas Library and Boys & Girls Club of Encinitas. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Join hundreds of Encinitas families who trust Un Mar de Colores for free ocean programming. Enroll today.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Encinitas youth. Reach out to enroll, volunteer, or support the movement.
Un Mar de Colores is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oceanside, California. We provide free surf, ocean, and environmental programming for youth across San Diego and Tijuana — bridging cultures, coasts, and communities since 2018.
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