Conference location
University of California, San Diego is situated on 1,200 acres of coastal woodland in La Jolla, California about 15 minutes north of San Diego on the freeway (I-5). The majority of the assembly will be held on campus in the Visual Arts Department’s space at the Cymer Conference Center in the Structural and Materials Engineering (SME) building (click on the link for a map), building number 734 at i7 on the UCSD campus map, in the northeast corner of the main campus, on the west side of the I-5. The closest parking lot available on campus is the Gilman Parking Structure.
We’re grateful to the Visual Arts Department at UCSD for hosting the event with us!
If you need accommodation or assistance at UCSD for this conference, please email Cristina at mvisperas at ucsd.edu.
Where to stay
Staying with a UCSD community member
Graduate students and junior faculty can contact conference organizers if you would like to check for accommodation with another student or faculty member, or if you want to us to look into the viability of a listing you found on your own. We are happy to help. Please also put in your request on the registration form.
Lodging options with easy transport to campus:
Below we have compiled a list of hotels that are either in walking distance of campus or that are close to the beach and we will offer rides to and from. We have excluded many La Jolla, Del Mar, and Solana Beach hotels from our list of suggestions due to lack of public and UCSD transportation, rush hour traffic jams, and lack of safe and accessible walking to campus despite apparent accessibility (hi-speed roads with no sidewalks). We will not provide rides from these locations. If you choose to stay there you will need a car or pre-check for anyone living in the area willing to give you a ride.
La Jolla Shores Hotel* 8110 Camino Del Oro La Jolla, CA 92037 This is a large, traditional Spanish colonial-style hotel with outdoor pool directly on the beachfront with a couple of good local restaurants, surf shops, coffee, grocery, and kayak/wetsuit rental shops nearby (you can kayak in open water or into cliff channels here). This hotel is three miles from the conference site (one+ hour walk), however transportation can be arranged with conference organizers. Say that you are with our conference through Communication Dept. and Science Studies at UCSD. (We do not have a block reserved though we do have many bookings here already.) *This is our suggested option. We will run a car shuttle service from this hotel. Sheraton La Jolla3299 Holiday Court La Jolla , CA 92037
(858) 453-5500 The Sheraton is a standard large business hotel that is a one mile walk to conference site, across a busy roadway and then the rest through the campus grounds. In the other direction is a chain of three linked strip malls accessed easily by paved sidewalks for an excellent Persian lunch spot, noodle house, Whole Foods, Peets, Trader Joes, CVS, arthouse La Jolla Landmark cinemas. This is directly off the I-5 at the La Jolla Village Dr. exit. La Jolla Shores beachfront is 2.5 miles by foot, mostly on busy roads with limited sidewalks. Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa
9700 N. Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 550-1000 The Estancia is a half-mile walk to conference site. This hotel is directly across the street from campus. Expensive. Spa. Upscale conservative. Nearby beach access is a a surprisingly rough descent along a canyon ledge path behind the Gliderport parking lot to Black’s Beach (famous for surfing and clothing-optional). It’s very close to the gliderport, consider reserve time for gliding or use the lunch spot there to watch gliders. Salk Institute (must-see Louis Kahn structure) is a block away. No shops nearby though near-ish to the only campus Peets and a few minor campus amenities. Hotel La Jolla* 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 (858) 459-0261 This hotel is 3 miles to conference site (one+ hour walk), though rides can be arranged to/from the conference site. A recent boutique mainstream trendy recent renovation, this hotel is oddly situated behind a gas station and a Starbucks however the La Jolla Shores beach its small area of restaurants/shops/grocery/kayak rental are 1/4 to ½ mile away and an accessible walking route. *We will also offer a car shuttle service from this hotel to the campus.
Staying in San Diego proper:
San Diego has a limited public transportation infrastructure. There is a shuttle bus service, however. The UCSD shuttle connects the main campus, the adjacent La Jolla medical center campus, and the La Jolla Scripps Institute of Oceanography campus to the San Diego Old Town transit station (which includes Amtrak, buses and trolleys) and Hillcrest UCSD medical center campus. Staying in San Diego can be a good option if you are willing to use the campus shuttle bus. We recommend staying in either San Diego’s Old Town or the Hillcrest neighborhood and walking to the campus shuttle to get to campus. (The Hotel Circle only appears walkable to the Hillcrest shuttle stop, however it is actually quite difficult to access.) Allow an hour or more for travel each way.
Sommerset Suites (800) 962-9665 Sommerset Suites are about a half a mile walk from the Hillcrest shuttle stop. The hotel is appropriate for business travels, so not all that charming, but very reliable, clean, and with kitchenettes. Adjacent to Hillcrest shopping district but on a major roadway. Good option for sharing rooms. Hillcrest House Bed and Breakfast 3845 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92103 This highly rated B&B is also very close to the Hillcrest shuttle stop.UC San Diego recommends Bartell Hotels, a hotel group featuring seven local accommodation spots that are appropiate “for UCSD community.”
For further assistance, you can contact the San Diego Concierge, a a discount concierge service for San Diego and La Jolla hotels. They are a reliable source for answering questions about accessibility, local culture, and good last-minute discounted rates. Very LGBT friendly.
Transportation to and from and around UCSD
UCSD Shuttles offer free service to and from UCSD year-round. There are also city bus routes which serve the La Jolla UCSD campus (follow links for full service information):
30: UTC, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Old Town, downtown San Diego
41: VA Hospital, UTC, Clairemont, Fashion Valley
101: UTC, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside NCTD implemented Phase III of its Mobility Plan, extending route 101 to a new terminal on University Center Drive north of Nobel Drive.”
150: UTC, VA Hospital, Old Town, downtown San Diego
201/ 202 SuperLoop: UTC area
204 SuperLoop: UTC area, Executive Drive, Judicial Drive, Nobel Drive
921: UTC, Mira Mesa
Routes serving Hillcrest Medical Center:
3: Hillcrest, downtown San Diego, Euclid Avenue Trolley Station
10: Old Town, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, North Park, City Heights, College Avenue
Other transit options:
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), including all city bus routes and trolley
OTIS: Online trip planner offered by MTS
Google Transit MTS trip planner
Rider alerts, detours, service changes
North County Transit District, including the Breeze bus and Coaster train
Sorrento Valley Coaster Connection shuttle
Amtrak: See directions.
San Diego International Airport (Lindbergh Field): See driving directions.
Things to do during your stay
Bicycling
Silver Strand which connects Coronado and Imperial Beach is an excellent day biking route. Bicycling around campus is also a pleasant way to get around.
Hiking around UCSD (no car needed)
UCSD campus has a kind of art hike linking works in the Stuart Collection that includes Terry Allen’s talking Eucalyptus trees programmed with poetry and music, a Jenny Holzer table, a Barbara Kruger, a Kiki Smith, some decomposing Nam June Paik TV Buddhas and early video wall, and a Michael Asher water fountain on the grounds of a plaque commemorating the site’s original role as a military gun training spot – lower your head to take a drink quench your thirst and you bow to the US flag. The Snake Path by Alexis Smith is a particularly nice little walk. See the map and info at http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/. Here are some ideas:
– Walk over to the Louis Kahn Salk Institute. One hour round trip on foot from conference site.
– Hike the trails out behind the Canyonview Dining Center not far from conference site. Sit and have a coffee on the deck of this student dining center for canyon views and a break from the conference.
Walk to the SD Aquarium. Nice ocean views. 2 hours RT if you don’t spend time inside.
Trails on campus (no car needed):
– Campus Loop: 8,000 steps (4 miles), one hill
Discover the beauty of UCSD’s natural environment in this extended walk around the perimeter of the main campus.
– Chancellor’s Challenge 5K: 6,200 steps (3.1 miles), one hill
From the north campus recreation/ athletic fields to Library Walk, follow the route of the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars, held each fall.
– East-West Connect: 3,000 steps (1.5 miles), easy
This sidewalk route crosses the I-5 to connect the east and west portions of campus. See the Triton Baseball Stadium, UCSD’s Preuss School, and the towering Challenge Course.
– Eucalyptus Trail: 2,000 steps (1 mile), easy to moderate
A trail on uneven terrain winds through a shady fringe of eucalyptus trees; thousands were planted here for use as railway ties by the Santa Fe Railway.
– Pepper Canyon Circuit: 1,500 steps (0.75 miles), easy
Enjoy the vistas into Pepper Canyon from this winding walk around its perimeter.
– Med School Mosey: 1,000 steps (0.5 miles), easy
The UCSD School of Medicine enrolled its first class in 1968. Take a quick jaunt around the manicured quads of the Stein Clinical Research and Leichtag Family Foundation Biomedical Research buildings.
– Ridge Walk: 4,000 steps (2 miles), easy
A straight path through the heart of campus traverses four colleges — Roosevelt, Marshall, Muir and Revelle — past RIMAC and Mandeville Center.
– Sun God Stroll: 1,000 steps (0.5 miles), easy
Campus walkways trace an easy route around Niki de Saint Phalle’s Sun God, the inaugural piece of UCSD’s Stuart Collection and popular campus landmark.
– East Campus Amble: 1,500 steps (0.75 miles), easy
An easy path circles UCSD Medical Center – La Jolla, one of San Diego’s premier medical facilities.
Hikes farther afield (requires a car)
– Torrey Pines State Preserve (Del Mar) is a stunning location for short hiking. Walking there from campus is too treacherous due to lack of sidewalks, narrow shoulders, steep cliffs with rocks that sometimes fall, and fast traffic. The beach that stretches north from here is gorgeous. Well worth a visit.
– Coronado just is gorgeous for its beach and the classic Hotel Del is a trip. Very expensive. Connected to San Diego by a long downtown bridge.
Cultural activities (requires a car)
– San Diego is 30 minutes from the Tijuana border. You will need a passport and can park and take a cab on the TJ side. CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana) was subject to a boycott in recent years.
– Barrio Logan/Chicano Park murals on the overpass of the Coronado Bridge the building of which destroyed homes and displaced many residents are worth seeing and there are numerous places nearby for excellent food. The north-bordering (gentrified) East Village neighborhood has a strong arts scene. http://eastvillagesandiego.com/category/culture/
– SDMCA – SD museum of contemp art, 3 locations—downtown in two locations on Kettner Blvd right near the Amtrak/Trolley Station (a lovely structure in itself) and minimalist large musuem in La Jolla Village on Prospect overlooking the ocean.
– Balboa Park museum complex—built for the California-Panama Exposition in 1912, this lovely park complex has many museums (art museum, the panopticon-shaped Museum of Man, the Mingei Museum. a photography museum, an organ pavilion, a Zen garden, a quirky old history museum, a tiny village of nation-themed cottages — all worth seeing apart from the famous zoo to which they are adjacent). Bicycling from a local hotel is a good way to go, particularly since you avoid the parking situation.
Shopping centers near UCSD:
La Jolla Village Square (map)
Large mall: Westfield UTC (map)
Local hospitals and urgent care:
Thornton Hospital (24-hour urgent care) is on the medical campus adjacent to the main campus, easily walkable from the conference site.
UCSD Medical Center – Hillcrest 24-hour ER for those staying south of the Interstate 8 in San Diego
Where to stay and things to do in San Diego for longer stays
Hillcrest/Northpark area
Balboa Park Inn is a homey, gay-owned hotel in a pretty, residential and progressive park neighborhood right at the entrance to Balboa Park. Balboa Park’s museum complex dates from the 1914 California-Panama Exposition, and is worth visiting for a day. This complex is adjacent to and continuous with the Zoo, which is easily seen along with the museums in one day. This hotel is walking distance to many coffee shops and Hillcrest bars and nightlife.
Lafayette Hotel is a good option if you want to spend a longer non-beach focused weekend in San Diego proper and be situated in between Hillcrest (though known as a gay neighborhood, it has less alternative culture) and North/South Park neighborhoods (mixed gay-straight, more alternative culture) as well as near enough to the park’s museum complex and the zoo. The Lafayette is two miles from the UCSD shuttle stop but walking is not suggested as there is a short but dangerous stretch of hi-speed roadway with no sidewalk, a narrow shoulder, and a canyon drop. IThe hotel is an imposingly tacky 1940s-era Bob Hope classic old brick structure with grand entry, outdoor pool, poolside rooms, Friday poolside cinema/bar event, kitsch adjacent steakhouse with piano (the Red Fox Room), on a mid-century-feel industrial thoroughfare a half mile from Hillcrest shopping area, ¼ mile from University Heights lovely coffee shops (Twiggs, Lestats), bars (Small Bar, Bourbon Street) and restaurants (Mizuta, El Zarape), and a good option for being near lesbian and gay bars (Bourbon St, the Flame, Gossip Grill).
Nearby interesting restaurants include Pomegranate Georgian (cash only), Flavors of East Africa, Café 21 (on Adams Ave.), Mizuta Abyssinian, Tiger Tiger!, Luigi’s Pizza, and the two El Zarapes–Park and Adams Ave. This also puts you more in the direction of North Park and South Park restaurants and bars (Smoking Goat, Jayne’s Gastropub for fancy, Whistlestop bar, The Station bar for drinks and vegetarian and nonveg burgers). Kava Lounge on Kettner near the airport may be of interest, as might the Starlight Lounge (use a cab for these). Saffron Thai and Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop are excellent inexpensive dinner options also near the airport. These restaurants are unfortunately not walkable from Hillcrest despite map appearance — it’s highly dangerous as there is no sidewalk and the canyon drops offs on hi-speed road.
The Pearl Hotel is a mid-century modern motel renovation that offers poolside drinks, cinema events and has a 20-30 something clientele in a non-beach Point Loma stretch— however it is accessible by car only.
Beach hotel options and locations
La Jolla village has lots of hotel options and lots of upscale stores and a modern art museum. The cove is very pretty, though highly populated. There are a lot of tourists.
Hotel des Artistes in Del Mar is a favorite among some faculty for its quirky rooms and more remote beach location. Del Mar village is lovely and an (also upscale) alternative to La Jolla. Car needed.
Point Loma Inn in Point Loma is a good choice for an affordable, remote, locals-only and non- trendy beautiful beach area. Point Loma is as stunning as the more pricey and populated Del Mar or Coronado) and lovely for walking and being alone on the beautiful coastline, yet very close to Ocean Beach amenities/food/bars. Beach hikes can include some treacherous cliffs. The immediate stretch of shops on Pt. Loma Ave includes a very good non-chain coffee shop frequented by locals. Rent a bike as this is not far from Ocean Beach. Check out the beautiful campus of Point Loma Nazarene. The residential area was Italian-American and Navy oriented and is middle class — not progressive like Ocean Beach or inland neighborhoods Hillcrest and North Park/South Park/Normal Heights but not hostile or unpleasant to stay in either.
Ocean Beach is 20-something surfing and street/beach nightlife mecca with youth hostels, inexpensive motels, and large dog beach adjacent to a good accessible public beach with lifegusrds in season – a very scaled down Venice LA. There are multiple dining options of all kinds: upscale trendy (Bo-Beau Kitchen, Kecho’s) vegan (OB Coop, many others) burgers (Hodads) German kitsch beergarden (Kaiserhof). The OB food coop is excellent. Newport Ave is commercial stretch with vintage warehouses, restaurants and head shops.
Pacific Beach is more generic middle class and packed with restaurants on Garnet running down to the Crystal Pier with its kitsch hotel. North of that area toward Bird Rock it becomes more suburban and beaches are more open, meanders into La Jolla village neighborhoods.
Mission Beach area has amusement park (Belmont) and motels. The main beach feels urban and is packed with a huge gritty parking lot.
Mission Bay hotels are tourist destinations but do offer kayaking and other non-ocean water sports options.
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Contact us with additional questions or concerns.