Fun Places to Go for Teenagers Near El Cajon, California

The city of El Cajon is just 15 miles from downtown San Diego, making it an ideal area for teenagers to find activities. According to the U.S. 2011 census estimate, the population is 100,928. With the southern California surf and beach culture, along with several local attractions, teens will have no trouble finding fun places to go in and around El Cajon.

  1. The Beaches

    • With the shores of the Pacific Ocean just 19 miles away, teens can easily go to the beach. The city of San Diego (sandiego.gov) provides lifeguard stations and several amenities at its beaches. Ocean Beach (no website; Newport Ave.; 619-221-8899) is a mile long and ideal for surfing, fire pits, swimming and beach volleyball. Pacific Beach (no website; Gamet Ave.; 619-221-8899) is one of the most popular beaches in the area, providing swimming, surfing and volleyball. Mission Bay Beaches (no website; Mission Blvd.; 619-221-8899) is a large recreational area with beaches, boating, rowing and extensive green space along the shore.

    Game Centers

    • Teens enjoy going to arcades and game centers where the atmosphere is lively. Dave and Busters (daveandbusters.com) is just 12 miles away in San Diego and offers a large game area. It has video arcades, billiards, shuffleboard, bowling and virtual games. Seven miles from El Cajon in Lemon Grove is Equinox Laser Tag (equinoxlasertag.com). It features indoor and outdoor courses with games such as call of duty and capture the flag. The Boardwalk Indoor Amusement Park (boardwalk-parkway.com) provides teens with dozens of arcade games, amusement rides, billiards, bowling and pizza.

    Amusement Parks

    • With the world-famous San Diego Zoo (sandiegozoo.org) just 18 miles away in San Diego, teens could enjoy visiting this place. No one is ever too old to see exciting and exotic animals up close, ride the sky tram to get a bird's eye view or even spend the night with the animals. Sea World (seaworldparks.com) is also 18 miles away in San Diego and features killer whale shows, dolphin shows, thrill rides, water rides and various sea creature exhibits. Many teens would be happy to go to the local skate park (socalskateparks.com). Ramps, rails and jumps await young skateboarders.

    Youth Centers

    • There are two Youth Venture Teen Centers (yvcenters.com) in El Cajon providing a place for teens to play ping-pong, billiards, video games, grab a snack or just hang out. Eight miles from El Cajon in San Diego is the Ray and Joan Kroc Center (kroccenter.org). Teens will find numerous activities including rock climbing, ice skating, swimming, skateboarding, sports leagues and performing arts.

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