Love it or loathe it, the SD County fair is back at the Del Mar Fair grounds this month. From June 8th to July 4th you can head up to Del Mar and see one of the biggest county fairs in America.
Hours and Openings
The SD County fair opens on Wednesday June 8th at 11am and ends on July 4th at 10pm. The hours are subject to change but their schedule states that the fair will be open from 11am to 10pm Wed-Sunday. That doesn’t mean all the vendors/exhibits will be open, so make sure you check out their website if you’re looking for something specific.
https://sdfair.com/plan-your-visit/dates-times/
Just remember parking is… well, usually pretty rough. Its $15 for a normal parking pass, but you can always park off site and take the shuttle in. For more info on parking, we suggest you check out the fair’s site, https://sdfair.com/plan-your-visit/parking/
Ordering Tickets
On top of the usual fair, there are concerts, beer/wine/cocktail festivals, and more. Some of these events require separate admission or tickets, so be sure to check online before going.
Fair admission for people aged 13-61 is $15 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, $20 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Seniors and kids get a $3 discount on their ticket, (and on Fridays kids get in free!).
In order to lessen surges and huge crowds, the fair will be offering limited-reserved admission. Which means you do need to buy tickets online and reserve your space. This is great because it means less people, but it also means you can’t just hop in for a funnel cake at a moments notice.
Here’s where you buy your tickets: https://sdfair.com/tickets/fair-admission/
For more information about concerts, check out these links:
Paid Concerts: https://sdfair.com/what-to-do/summer-concert-series/
Free Concerts: https://sdfair.com/what-to-do/paddock-concert-series/
Exhibits and Events
From goat milking to chair making, there are a lot of events and booths for you to check out. We recommend you head to the “calendar of events” section of the fairs website if you want to take a look at what’s going on and when.
https://sdfair.com/plan-your-visit/calendar
Some highlights we saw were the digging for treasure booth, the farm (complete with baby goats and the amazing bee exhibit!), the racing pigs, and of course, the SD County Probation office’s booth! They’re PEBA members after all!
The fair is also hosting three festivals, the wine festival on June 11th, the beer festival on June 18th and 19th, and the spirit/cocktail festival on July 2nd.
Check out this link to learn more: https://sdfair.com/what-to-do/festivals/
There are also, of course, competitive exhibits. These rotate and might not be available every day, so if you’re trying to see the flower show, the student showcase, or the Jr. Livestock Show, you should check out this link to know when things will be going down!
https://sdfair.com/participate/competitive-exhibits/
And of course… There are rides and PLENTY of carnival games. If you’re look to tilt and/or whirl, or maybe win some stuffed animals, you might want to consider a funpass. You can buy these day of, but if you’d like to read about them early, click here: https://sdfair.com/tickets/ride-funpass/