San Diego farmers markets, day by day
There's a certified farmers market somewhere in the county every day of the week — about 44 in all — with the biggest choice on Saturdays (Little Italy Mercato, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.) and Sundays (Hillcrest, La Jolla, Broadway Pier); weeknight favorites are Pacific Beach on Tuesday, Ocean Beach on Wednesday and North Park on Thursday.
- Certified markets countywide
- 44
- Biggest day
- Sat & Sun (~10 each)
- Little Italy Mercato
- Wed + Sat
- Only Monday market
- Welk Resorts, Escondido
The short version
- The County's Agriculture, Weights & Measures list (Aug 17, 2026) counts 44 certified farmers' markets, from Oceanside to Chula Vista to Borrego Springs.
- Saturday and Sunday have about 10 markets each; Monday has one (Welk Resorts, Escondido).
- Little Italy Mercato runs twice a week: Wednesday 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–2 p.m. on West Date Street.
- Weeknight markets: Pacific Beach (Tue 2–7 p.m.), Ocean Beach (Wed 4–8 p.m.), North Park (Thu 3–7:30 p.m.).
- Several markets shorten their hours in winter — Broadway Pier shifts to 10 a.m.–2 p.m. from November to March.
San Diego County is serious farm country once you leave the coast, and you can buy straight from its growers any day of the week. "Certified" matters: at a certified farmers' market, the County checks that growers sell what they grow. The list below comes straight from the County's own registry.
Certified farmers' markets by day of week
Source: County of San Diego Agriculture, Weights & Measures, Certified Farmers' Markets by Day of the Week, Aug 17, 2026 (includes two markets listed as "coming soon")
The markets visitors ask about most
Days and hours from the County list, Aug 17, 2026. Hours can shift seasonally.
What "certified" means
California's certified farmers' markets are overseen by each county's agricultural commissioner — here, the County's Agriculture, Weights & Measures department, which publishes the list this tip is built on. In the certified area, farmers sell what they grew. Many markets also have a separate section for prepared food, crafts and resellers, which isn't held to that rule.
Picking one
Three very different market experiences
| Little Italy Mercato (Sat) | Ocean Beach (Wed night) | Hillcrest (Sun) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel | Big city street market, several blocks long | Neighborhood street fair on Newport Ave | Long-running neighborhood market |
| Best for | Visitors staying downtown; breakfast plus shopping | Dinner from food stalls, then sunset at the pier | Produce shopping and prepared food |
| Getting there | Trolley to County Center/Little Italy | Park early; street parking fills | Bus routes along University Ave |
- Bring small bills — many stands take cards, not all do.
- Using CalFresh/EBT? Ask at the market's information booth how it's handled there.
- Heading to the mountains? The Santa Ysabel market runs Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., at the junction of Highways 78 and 79 on the way to Julian.
KEEP READING
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
County of San Diego, Agriculture, Weights & Measures · 2026-08-17
All days, names, addresses and hours
- BackgroundFarmers markets
San Diego County Farm Bureau