So if you are living in San Diego or possibly visiting San Diego, July fourth is a super fun holiday here. I’m going to cover some of the better things to do for the fourth in a minute but first I wanted to show you the absolute debacle that unfolded in 2012. Ready for this? Here it is…

2012 Big Bay Boom (Bust)

So I remember walking down towards the Bay for the Big Bay Boom in 2012 pretty vividly. After spending the day at the beach for a bit (which as absolute chaos I might add). If you are thinking about going to the beach for July 4^th, expect huge crowds, traffic, no parking, you get the idea. I’ll get more to that in a moment.

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Back to my story. I’m heading towards the bay, right around or just past Petco Park near the Harbor Drive Bridge when it happens. 18 minutes with or planned pyrotechnics and fireworks all igniting at once. One of the most epic fails I have ever witnessed.

It was strange at the time because everyone already at the bay (keep in mind this event draws over a half a million spectators) was wondering what the heck just happened. I was thinking maybe it was a test because it was too early for the show. I continued on to my planned spot on the grass to watch the festivities. I waited, and waited, and waited until it was pretty obvious the show was NOT happening. You have to keep in mind this was 2012. Information was available but not as quickly and easily as today. The barges that act as the land pad for the fireworks started to head back to port. It was over.

I didn’t find out the next day like most people what exactly happened. It was insane. Not only national news, it turned into international news. It was all over the net. Apparently, a computer glitch, a small error in code sent 18 minutes of pyro to go off in an awesome, sulfur smelling, blinding, deafening 30 seconds. I was surprised to hear the company that actually won the bid was a New Jersey based company called Garden State Fireworks. Form what I hear a great company that just had their biggest mishap captured on video and shown to basically the entire world.

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That was 2012. Naturally I remember looking forward to 2013 to see, well if it would happen all over again. It didn’t, in fact not even close. The 2013 fireworks show was put on by the same company Garden State Fireworks and it went off without a hitch. It was spectacular.

2021 Big Bay Boom for the Fourth of July

Fast forward to today. The show is incredible. Its one of the best firework shows in the state of California, probably the country. If you are in San Diego, it’s a solid option to see if you are looking for your best July fourth Firework viewing options.

Tips for Watching the Big Bay Boom

If you live in Downtown or anywhere close, I suggest ditching the car and walking in to one of the many places to view. The fire the fireworks off from at least 4 barges throughout the bay, Its tough to find a bad place to watch. The shows usually last about 17 to 20 minutes and starts at 9pm sharp. They actually have free shuttles as well, I’ll  drop a link below to the Big Bay Boom website so you can check it out for yourself.

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There are other options as well throughout San Diego to catch the shows.

July Fourth at the Beach in San Diego

Daytime on July fourth can be a ton of fun as well. When I used to live at the beach I’d spend most of the day on the sand enjoying the holiday and the sun. If you plan to hit the beach, either get an uber or Lyft because driving and trying to park will be borderline torture. Its just not going to happen unless you get  extremely lucky, find a lucky spot, pay someone an exorbitant fee, etc.  A sneaky option that I employ sometimes might work for you is parking outside of the beach area and cruising in on a bike, a skateboard, maybe an electric bike {I feel like the whole world has one now}. Makes parking pretty easy farther away from the ocean and sand and you pass all the cars trying to drive in. Anyway, works pretty well for me, it might for you.

The fourth of July is a great time to be either living in or visiting San Diego. Just be smart and be safe. Also, make surer to have those videos ready to record. The Big Bay Bust of 2012 happened because of a computer glitch. I think its unlikely but who knows, maybe it happens again. I’m ready for it this time.

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