A short series on the specific details of the North County coast that most people walk straight past.
Most visitors to Fletcher Cove Park in Solana Beach come for the beach. They walk through the park, down the curved path toward the water, and keep moving. The murals are right there on the low walls and benches along that path and even in the beach shower and bathroom area — an octopus, a dolphin, halibut, surfperch, a Garibaldi — rendered in hand-sculpted ceramic with real river stones, shells, and found objects pressed into the clay. I’ve walked past these murals dozens of times before finally stopping to appreciate them. Most people don’t stop.
They should.
Ceramic octopus mural by Betsy Schulz at
Fletcher Cove Beach Park, Solana Beach,
California
The work
The City of Solana Beach chose local artist Betsy Schulz through a nationwide competition to design a sea-themed mosaic installation for the new Fletcher Cove Park. The design was inspired by the marine life of the waters just offshore — each species sculpted with the kind of precision that rewards close attention. The names of the creatures are pressed directly into the tiles: Barred Surfperch, Cabezon, Garibaldi. The octopus wraps around a low wall at the base of the path, tentacles curling into the surrounding stonework, a single glazed eye looking up. The dolphin panel carries a simple inscription arched above its head: Please respect our beach park.
Ceramic dolphin mural
The installation runs along the curved walkway from the park entrance down to the beach, with additional ceramic tile artwork on the four tables at Overlook Park above the cove. Fletcher Cove Park was dedicated June 16, 2007 — the date is pressed into the ceramic plaque at the entrance, exactly the kind of detail worth finding.
Schulz’s public art is woven through the fabric of this stretch of coast — her work also appears at the Harbaugh Seaside Trails Donor Plaza at the Cardiff and Solana Beach border, at the Coastal Rail Trail entries, and at the Fire Station on Lomas Santa Fe, where her Fire Wall sculpture stands flanked by a native garden. The Fletcher Cove installation is the most immersive of these — the one that rewards the longest look.
The place
Fletcher Cove takes its name from Colonel Ed Fletcher, who developed Solana Beach in the early 1920s — purchasing 201 acres at $200 per acre to build what he hoped would be the commercial center of the North County coast. The park and beach were man-made in 1924, a fact that surprises most visitors. Locals call it Pillbox, a nickname from its history as the site of a gunnery position during World War II. The small protected cove below the park is one of the calmer swimming spots on the coast — the bluffs shelter it from the full force of the northwest swell.
The park sits a short walk from the Solana Beach Coaster station — two blocks west on Lomas Santa Fe Drive, then down to the 101. If you’re coming from Encinitas, it’s a ten minute drive south. Park on Sierra Avenue and walk through the park slowly. The murals are at knee height along the path. You have to be looking.
How to find it
Fletcher Cove Beach Park is at 111 S Sierra Avenue, Solana Beach. Free street parking on Sierra Avenue. The ceramic murals begin at the park entrance and run the length of the curved path down to the beach. Take twenty minutes to walk the path slowly and look at the work properly. The Overlook Park tables above the cove have additional tile installations — worth the short climb back up.
While you’re in the area: the Cedros Design District is two blocks east on Cedros Avenue — independent design shops, galleries, and the Belly Up Tavern. And the Seaside Market in Cardiff is five minutes north on the 101 if you need provisions for the drive back.
More from the Leucadia Mercantile Journal · Coastal walks in North County · A weekend in Encinitas
