Del Mar Fall Events 2026: From Surf Festivals to Racing

Del Mar has something scheduled every weekend from now until the end of November. Most of it costs nothing to get into. The free events run through the end of October, and the paid racing season starts Nov. 6, with grandstand admission at $8. In many cases, the costliest part of a Del Mar fall weekend is parking the car.

The season opened this week. The Del Mar Historical Society's first Surf Del Mar Festival began Oct. 8 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 11, at Del Mar Plaza, St. Peter's Parish Hall, L'Auberge and Powerhouse Park. The Union-Tribune reports that every event in the four-day program is free.

October costs little more than showing up

The festival's last two days sum up the month. On Saturday evening, around 6:30, The Endless Summer screens free on the lawn at Powerhouse Park, and people can bring a picnic. On Sunday at 11 a.m., surf photographer Jeff Divine signs his new book, "Divine Surf," at L'Auberge. The program also includes a Woody Wagon parade and display, an art walk and a surfwriters' book fair. The full schedule is at surfdelmarfestival.com.

From there, the October calendar stays local and inexpensive:

• Saturday, Oct. 10, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Del Mar Library at 1309 Camino Del Mar celebrates 30 years in its current building. The program includes a chamber gamelan ensemble, an mbira performance and an instrument petting zoo.
• Saturday, Oct. 10, 5 to 7 p.m.: Novocaine plays SoCal rock on the Ocean View Deck at Del Mar Plaza as part of the plaza's Seaside Sessions series.
• Sunday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Nature Collective holds its Fall Festival at San Dieguito County Park, 1628 Lomas Santa Fe Drive. There's a costume parade, nature crafts, live animal encounters, and discovery booths on native plants and tide pools.
• Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m.: The Del Mar Rose Society hosts horticulturist John Clements at the Del Mar Powerhouse Community Center, 1658 Coast Blvd. His talk is "Prepping your garden for the El Niño storms," and the public is welcome.
• Through Oct. 31: Pumpkin Station is running at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, 15555 Jimmy Durante Blvd.

The extras are where the money goes. The Fall Festival is free, but on-site parking is $5, and free street parking is also available. Pumpkin Station works the same way. Walking through the patch is free, while the giant slides, antique carousel, petting zoo and other rides cost $5 per ride or activity. The Seaside Sessions continue on the plaza deck from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 15, 17, 22, 24, 29 and 31. That fills the last two weekends of October, when there's little else on the calendar.

Powerhouse Park and the Fairgrounds host most of the season

Nearly everything on this fall's calendar happens at one of two places. The Fairgrounds is the busier one. Pumpkin Station runs there through Halloween, and the racetrack opens there on Nov. 6. Nearby, a new school started classes in late August.

Surf and Turf Art Club opened at 15555 Jimmy Durante Drive, on the Surf and Turf Tennis Club campus. It's a skills-based fine art school teaching drawing, painting, sculpting and classical art history, and classes for ages 3 through adult began Aug. 24. Founder Summer Wyman started the school in her Carmel Valley garden studio in 2020. Del Mar is its first brick-and-mortar location.

Powerhouse Park sits at the other end of town, by the water, and it frames the free part of the season. It hosts the Surf Del Mar screening of The Endless Summer on Oct. 10 and the Del Mar BodySurf Festival on Sunday, Nov. 1. This is the sixth year for the BodySurf Festival, which is hosted by the Del Mar BodySurfing Club. The Union-Tribune describes it as a local competition that has grown into a fall tradition, drawing experienced competitors, first-time racers and families. Registration is open through the STACT app. Every registered contestant and volunteer gets a festival shirt and a lunch from Jake's Del Mar. Details are at delmarbodysurf.com.

The BodySurf Festival is the last big event at the beach end of town. Five days later, the season moves to the track for the rest of November.

When the track opens, parking is the bigger expense

The 13th Bing Crosby Season runs Nov. 6 through Nov. 29. Racing is Friday through Sunday, with one added Thursday on Thanksgiving. First post is 12:30 p.m. Friday cards usually have eight races and weekend cards have nine.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's published prices put the bigger cost at the parking gate:

General parking costs nearly twice the admission ticket, and there is no re-entry once you leave. The track runs complimentary shuttles on race days from the Solana Beach station, where both Amtrak and Coaster trains stop. Children 17 and under can get discounted admission and grandstand seats, with restrictions. On Sunday, Nov. 22, anyone who brings a new unwrapped toy or a monetary donation for Toys for Tots gets in free.

November at the track, weekend by weekend

The official calendar puts a themed event on most race weekends:

1. Nov. 6 and 7: Opening Day is Friday. Saturday is College Day and also brings The Chosen Vron Stakes for Cal-breds, with the Betty Grable Stakes following on Sunday, Nov. 8.
2. Nov. 14: The Uncorked Derby Days Wine Festival offers more than 100 wines, plus gourmet food vendors and music.
3. Nov. 21 and 22: The Taco & Beer Festival is Saturday, and the Toys for Tots drive is Sunday.
4. Nov. 26 to 29: Thanksgiving week closes the meet. The FanDuel Racing Turf Festival runs all four days.

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club notes that meet dates are subject to change.

The Thanksgiving card is planned around the holiday. Racing starts at 11 a.m. with eight races and should wrap up around 2 p.m., which the track says leaves time to get home for dinner. The headline race is the $100,000 Red Carpet Stakes for fillies and mares, run on the turf. The track's one-mile Family Fun Run on the Seaside Oval kicks off that morning, and there's a Thanksgiving brunch in the Turf Club.

The biggest races come on the last weekend. The Grade II, $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup runs Friday, Nov. 27. Saturday has the Grade II, $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap and the $300,000 Grade I Hollywood Derby. Sunday, Nov. 29, closes the meet with the $300,000 Grade I Matriarch Stakes. Across the season, the stakes total $2.1 million over 15 races, and nine of those are on turf. In the track's August announcement, racing secretary David Jerkens called the fall turf lineup "the best in America during that period."

The village has one more event in the middle of the meet. On Friday, Nov. 13, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., the Del Mar Village Association sets up its cheering station downtown as the San Diego Susan G. Komen 3-Day begins in Del Mar. It welcomes more than 2,000 walkers with pink balloons and ribbons.

One dining room on Via de la Valle is dark until spring

There's one notable gap on this fall's dining scene. Market Restaurant and Sushi Lounge on Via de la Valle closed Sept. 21 for a remodel. Demolition is underway, and the Union-Tribune reports a reopening in spring 2027. The restaurant's website promises new interiors, expanded dining spaces and a new menu. The restaurant has been open in Del Mar for 20 years and has been recognized by the Michelin Guide. New owners Monica and Bernd Brust bought it from founding chef Carl Schroeder in 2025 and have said they plan to invest in long-needed upgrades to the building. The Bing Crosby Season will open and close while the remodel is still underway.

If you're curious how a remodel like Market's turns an older building into "beautiful new interiors," or if you're thinking about updating your own Del Mar home before spring, I'd be glad to walk through it with you. Design questions are some of my favorite conversations. Rachel Kiss · Let's Connect.