No. 4 beach pick: Carlsbad, Calif.

Regardless of where you’re from, Carlsbad will make you feel at home. A self-described “village by the sea” in north San Diego County, it’s a place to hit the brakes and relax. One of the few southern California communities without obvious Spanish influences, Carlsbad derives its identity from its Old World-style spas and architecture. There are seven miles of inviting beaches, and gorgeous fields of cultivated flowers surround this civilized community. Carlsbad’s appealing antiquarian personality offers abundant opportunities for beachgoing and sightseeing.

AGE APPROPRIATE

If you’re going to Legoland, then all ages apply. Carlsbad is a hotbed of golf equipment manufacturers, with plentiful golf courses, so it’s great for families who want to tee it up with golfing teens (and take home outlet-priced gear). Spas make Carlsbad equally amenable as a couple's getaway. 

TOO MUCH FUN

Several archetypal beaches lie within and adjacent to Carlsbad, including South Carlsbad State Park (featuring one of California’s most popular beachside campgrounds) and Carlsbad State Beach. A section of the latter, Tamarack Surf Beach (where Tamarack Avenue intersects Carlsbad Boulevard), is a particularly hopping spot. You’ll find fit, well-tanned southern California specimens recreating in all sorts of ways: bodysurfing, boogie boarding, swimming, diving, tossing balls and jogging. It’s a veritable nonstop aerobics class out there.

BEST ATTRACTION

In a word, Legoland. The first new theme park built in California in 25 years, Legoland opened in 1999. Be forewarned: it’s pricey but if you’ve got young children, you simply cannot avoid it.

KEEP 'EM HAPPY

Once you’ve exhausted Legoland, take the kids for a ride on The Coaster, a scenic “beach train” that services the coastal communities of San Diego County and can even deposit you in downtown San Diego. Speaking of trains, the restored Santa Fe Railway Station is one of Carlsbad’s architectural highlights.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

For 10 weeks every spring, a riot of flowers is on display at the Flower Fields, a kind of floral theme park on a coastal hillside north of Carlsbad. A 50-acre spread of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus is the main attraction, but there are also rose gardens, strawberry patches, a sweet-pea maze and special events.

AVOID THE CROWDS

Twenty miles north of Carlsbad, butting up against the Orange County line (the famed “OC” of TV lore), is San Onofre State Beach, a gloriously undeveloped and wave-lapped strand beloved by generations of southern California surfers.

CAN'T MISS

Stroll the invigorating Carlsbad Seawall toward the end of the day and you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular ocean sunset. The milelong walkway from town center to Tamarack Avenue affords endlessly entertaining glimpses of the human parade.

BARGAIN LODGING/DINING

A couple of Best Western motels on and near the beach offer true price breaks in a town where you can really dish out the long green at four-star places like La Costa Resort and Spa. For a good, quick bite at the beach, hit Harbor Fish South (2790 Loker Ave., 760-729-5561).

INSIDE TRACK

The climate is close to perfect year-round in Carlsbad -- low humidity, pleasant temperatures, scant rainfall -- with the exception of the first month of summer, when San Diego County is subject to periods of gray, drizzly skies known as “June gloom.”

-- Parke Puterbaugh, beach guidebook author