06/19/2026
First time at the San Diego County Fair, we went on a Thursday 06/18/2026. We reached the fair around 3 pm. It took longer than expected due to the heavy inbound freeway traffic. We parked on the backside of the racetracks.
The fair had great energy, especially the closer you got to the carnival rides. The quiet areas were the exhibition halls and display areas. Shopping areas were good. I bought some candy from the “Candy Maze” booth. Picked up as you walked, priced by the pound. Sour airhead snack sized for my brother and candy apple caramel lollipops. Got myself handfuls of frooties in my favorite flavors, grape airheads, and sour patch snack sized packs. Bought a Spanish ceramic dish grater for garlic or hard breads or cheese. I got this beautiful tri-colored blue, green, beige glazed dish. And 2 Eevee Pokémon iron-on patches for Joe and I in memory of our daughter Evee.
I walked through the Farm 2 U exhibit where I learned that California is a leading producer of broccoli, oranges, strawberries, bell peppers, and lettuce. CA’s unique environment and weather also makes it a prime location for wine making/grape growing. Very cool stuff, my kind of exhibit. I wondered around seeing flowers from the competitions, as well as cookies, collections displays, woodworking, fine arts, and photography. The geo & jewelry exhibit was interesting. UV reactive stones, and more stones and gems from around the world on display. So shiny, so pretty. I picked up a business card of one of the tables in hopes that the club would be able to point me in the right direction of having my green stone bangles identified. I’m wondering what kind of stone they were created and where the stone is originally from.
In terms of food, we had samosuas from an Ethiopian booth, in lentil, spinach, and beef. Shrimp and chip, fish and chips from SD’s Original Fish & Chips booth. A rootbeer float from an artisan float booth to wash down our dinner.
The weather was nice and sunny with a nice breeze from the ocean, the racetrack is next to the beach. Bring your hat and sunnies, put some sunblock on. I missed the farm animal exhibit but without the chicken competition I felt I wasn’t missing out. Joe rode a ton of rides while I shopped and roamed the exhibits. You can read up on his thoughts and reviews of the rides here.
Info: June 10-July 15, 2026
- Time: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 11am-11pm, doors closed 10pm and you could stay til closing.
- Tickets: Special ride wristbands for Wed &/or Thurs only, can use only on those days between 11am-8pm. $50 online prior to selected dates. Fair entrance tickets are $17 per adult
- Parking: $20 per vehicle, normal automobile
- Located: Del Mar Fairground and Racetrack in San Diego
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