Instagram has quite possibly popularized the old past time of wall crawls and we’re here for it. A wall crawl is a great way to explore different neighborhoods around a city and the local art makes for great backdrops for your feed. Anytime we visit a new location, or even within our hometown, we always research new wall murals to track down and photograph.

If you’re visiting San Diego, this mural guide is a great start for finding some of the most popular murals throughout the city. Enjoy exploring downtown, East Village, North Park and Hillcrest. And if you happen to make your way towards La Jolla, there’s even one there you should make sure you check out too.

Downtown

Greetings from San Diego

You can’t visit San Diego without visiting this mural. The “San Diego” is filled with iconic landmarks like the Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Bridge, Sunset Cliffs and Balboa Park.

This wall is adjacent to a small parking lot and alley, so it’s pretty easy to park and snap some quick pics.

Where: 4225 30th St. San Diego, CA 92104

Oh My Goodness

Right around the corner from Shop Good in North Park is this fun black and white mural that is a neutral lovers must visit. We randomly found this wall driving around North Park on the hunt for another murral.

This mural is located within an alley, so the traffic is low, but you’ll want to make sure you use a low mm lens and stand all the way back against the opposite wall to fit the full mural in your camera frame.

Dress up the wall with a pop of color or blend in with black and white like we did!

Where: 3030 North Park Way San Diego, CA 92104

You are Radiant at Artelexia

Right around the corner from Oh My Goodness, is the more popular mural You Are Radiant. Just a few shops down this art is painted on the side of Ray Street Custom Framing. There’s only street parking in the area so snag any open spot that’s close by.

This colorful wall is sure to be a positive message on your IG feed, because let’s be honest we all need to hear this sometimes.

Where: 4223 30th Street San Diego, CA 92104

Et tavee

Another Ladies Who Paint mural collage can be found on Park Blvd right at the intersection of C St.

There is not street parking on this busy street, so we pulled into the gated drive right before the murals knowing we’d be quick with pictures.

Again, I think this is the prettiest of the 3 murals along this wall but you can google maps the address to see the others and decide for yourself!

Where: 1146 Park Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101

Fractal #35

Located on the wall of The Studio Door gallery and just right around the corner from the artists studio, Fractal #35 is surrounded by four other murals by local artists. You can see the other murals here and plan for multiple photo opps.

This one is our personal favorite among the collage.

Where: 3750 30th Street San Diego, CA 92104

SD CBD

Not so much a wall mural, this fun backdrop is actually a CBD retail building with sparkly ombre painting covering the entire exterior. Located on the corner of Florida Street and University Ave., you can’t miss this building and there’s even a few parking spots designated for the store.

The building can be a bit challenging to pose with if photographing a dog because there’s dirt/landscaping separating the sidewalk from the more public side of the building and depending on the time of the day the sun can be harsh.

Where: 2004 University Ave. San Diego, CA 92104

midtown

Nature/Abstract L Star

Local artists who together go by the name Ladies Who Paint created two more murals on a wall on F Street, just east of 14th Street in the East Village of San Diego.

These two murals were created on a blank space of wall left of the blue “Hi, Hello, Hola!” mural seen just below.

Where: 1466 F St. San Diego, CA 92101

Pandr Mural “Hi, Hello, Hola!”

A large mural using blue hues to showcase “Hi, Hello, Hola” side by side, is located right next to the above Nature/Abstract L Star mural.

Commissioned by Pandr, a visual brand agency, you’ll really need to step back to take this wall in.

Tip: To capture one of the phrases in a picture, stand towards the curb of the street to fit the full phrase in your frame behind your subject.

Where: 1466 F St. San Diego, CA 92101

Betty Larkin

Betty Larkin is another Ladies Who Paint Mural series that can be found on the side of the New School of Architecture and Design.

This geometric pattern blends hues of orange, blue and purple.

There’s some white containers on the sidewalk just in front of this mural that served as a great platform to get some height and hide the sidewalk from the background.

Where: 770 12th Ave. San Diego, CA

Niki Zarrabi

Niki Zarrabi is located next to Betty Larkin and has the most beautiful flowers painted up the entire side of the wall.

Note: The Ladies Who Paint have a mural walk you can follow on their site around the East Village. We didn’t make it to all their murals, but as you can tell the ones we did are all fun, beautiful and worth a visit.

Where: 770 12th Ave. San Diego, CA

smile, You’re in San Diego

Another staple when visiting San Diego if you ask me is “Smile, You’re in San Diego.”

This colorful wall can be challenging to capture because it’s on a wall of an active public parking lot and also a popular homeless hangout. If there are no cars, count your lucky stars that you can take the photo straight on. If you’re not as lucky as us, photographing the mural at an angle will be your best bet with your subject close to you.

Where: 109 W C St. San Diego, CA 92101

Hillcrest

SeaWalls: Murals of Oceans

Seawalls is a large under water art piece featured on a wall of an open parking lot. It’s easy to access but a bit challenging to capture the full mural without additional parking lot features in the frame.

Visit early and the parking lot should be empty giving you more options to position your photograph.

Where: 3804 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92103

Unofficially: Love Wins

A newer mural popped up on the side of San Diego’s acclaimed best gay bar in Hillcrest, Urban Mo’s. This pride mural was spray painted next to the resident wall Sheona and gave us all the feels when visiting. This is partially because I got so many compliments on my sit-stay and posing expertise.

Where: 308 University Ave. San Diego, CA 92103

La Jolla

One Pointed Attention

Painted amongst an open parking lot wall, One Pointed Attention is easy to find and access, while there are a few obstacles to maneuver like trashcans, a light pole and parking spot blocks, the wall is massive and has plenty of open space to hone in on this hypnotic design.

You can try and stand further away from the wall to fit more in your frame, but Doodle Mom didn’t like the extra things that were in the shot so she hoisted me up and Doodle Dad photographed me straight on.

Where: 7835 Ivanhoe Ave. San Diego, CA 92037