Where To Celebrate Summer Solstice Near Orange County: 2024

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Summer Solstice dawns on Thursday, June 20, which will be the longest day of the year, and there is no better place to celebrate the sun than California. We’ve been enjoying summertime events in California since before the start of meteorological summer on June 1.

We looked across the Golden State to find unique solstice celebrations in music, food, and fun Thursday through Sunday. In California, Solstice is officially at 1:50 p.m. on Thursday.

If you want some ideas across California on how and where to celebrate, we have found a few. Still, you can always find your local drum circle or toast the sunset from any given beach just after 8 p.m.

Santa Barbara: Summer Solstice Parade And Festival: Thursday, June 20 - Sunday, June 22For 50 years, Santa Barbara has celebrated the longest day of the year with parades, parties, and even a downtown Art Crawl. No one does Summer Solstice over a long weekend like Santa Barbara. Find out more information on events and happenings here.

Southern California:

Hike Malibu's Solstice Trail: Located in the wildlands near Malibu, bring water and sunscreen for easy, moderate or strenuous hikes through coastal native vegetation for some gorgeous surprises. "While enjoying a gentle hike to the seasonal waterfall, you will pass remains of the Keller House, a stone hunting cabin built over one hundred years ago and significantly damaged by fire in 2007. Upon arriving at our most popular feature, the Solstice waterfall, you will find the stone and brick ruins of The Roberts Ranch house designed by architect Paul Revere Williams in 1952. For more information, visit the Parks Service Website.

Summer Solstice Popup Market: 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 22 at Kaleidoscope, 27741 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo. “Join a fun-filled day of shopping, food, and entertainment. Browse through a variety of unique vendors offering handmade crafts, artisanal goods, and delicious treats. Enjoy live music and activities for the whole family, and soak up the summer vibes at our outdoor market in Orange County.

Temecula Summer Concert Series: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 20, in the Temecula Civic Center Quad. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs for a Solstice evening concert: Britain’s Finest The Beatles Tribute, and the Sunset Market Night in front of Temecula City. For more information, check out VisitTemeculaValley.com.

Del Mar Summer Solstice Celebration: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 20 at Powerhouse Park and Beach, 1658 Coast Boulevard, Del Mar. A ticketed event for $130 per person, with elevated cocktails, tidbits from 15 Del Mar area restaurants, beachside music, and a commemorative wine-tasting glass. This is a 21 and up event and tickets are still available.

What Makes Summer Solstice So Special?

The sun travels its longest path through the sky on the summer solstice, which occurs when it reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky. It is the longest day of the year in terms of daylight. In California, that’s at 1:50 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

On Thursday, the sun will rise at 5:38 a.m. in Southern California and will set at 8:01 p.m., meaning we’ll see around 11 and a half hours of daylight.

You can read more about the science of the summer solstice on The Old Farmer’s Almanac website.

The summer solstice offers a short window to see electric blue noctilucent clouds, the highest in Earth's atmosphere, which float about 50 miles above our planet's surface near the edge of space, which starts at an altitude of 62 miles.

This year, the solstice coincides with the full strawberry moon on June 21. It doesn’t happen often that the solstice falls within a day of the full moon — only about once every 19 to 20 years, according to Space.com.

As you fill out your summer calendar, block out a few dates for the summer meteor showers. The Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricornids and the always-anticipated Perseids all start in July.

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And, who knows, you may get a chance to see the aurora borealis or northern lights as the sun’s 11-year magnetic cycle goes into overdrive as it approaches what’s known as “solar maximum.” During this time, the sun’s magnetic field completely flips between the north and south poles. As the magnetic fields become tangled about midway through the cycle, the number of sunspots, where geomagnetic storms originate, is expected to ramp up.

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