More San Diego Parks

 

Agua Caliente County Park	County Highway S2 north of I-8, San Diego County (858) 694-3049	This 910-acre park is home to a natural hot springs that flows into an indoor and outdoor pool. The area consists of 140 camping spots, hiking trails, and picnic areas that are open from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The county-run Agua Caliente airstrip is nearby the park.
Anza-Borrego Desert State park	Five miles north of I-8 on Highway 79, San Diego County (760) 767-5311	The glorious Anza-Borrego Park is famous for its beautiful wildflowers that bloom in the springtime for two to six weeks. Most people call ahead to find out the approximate times it would be best to visit. In addition to the wildflower season, the park has over 500 miles of unpaved road and 110 miles of hiking trails open to horseback riding and off-road vehicles. Around two-thirds of the park has been designated to wilderness life and a visitor’s center is open daily from October to May.
Balboa Park	El Prado from Sixth Ave. San Diego (619) 239-0512	According to San Diego Union-Tribune, “Nothing epitomizes the extraordinary diversity and unity of [San Diego] as much as Balboa park, perhaps our greatest, goodest place. It captures the ecological, cultural and sociological diversity of our region in a manner with which we can all identify.” Developed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Balboa Park celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. The park’s location, near downtown, spans 1,200 acres and is one of the biggest urban parks in the country! The classic Old Globe Theatre, world-famous San Diego Zoo, the Starlight Bowl, Spreckels Organ Pavilion, multiple museums, an 18-hole golf course, and the 25-court Balboa Tennis Club all reside within the park’s collection of enlightening and communal establishments.
Belmont Park	3146 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach (619) 491-2988)	Located on the water's edge, this park includes a multitude of shopping sites, restaurants, as well as "The Plunge" swimming pool and the historic Giant Dipper roller coaster.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park	12551 Highway 79, San Diego county (760) 765-0755	Located 40 miles east of San Diego and easily accessable via Interstate 8, this large park offers wide meadows, beautiful pine and oak forests, and glorious views of the Anza-Borrego Desert. The 25,000 acre park includes over 100 miles of equestrian and hiking trails as well as camping facilities.
Legoland	One Lego Dr., Carlsbad (760) 918-5346	For kids ages 2-12, Legoland is a great theme park. The 128-acre park uses vibrantly colored bricks to mimic the internationally renowned lego toys from Danish toy manufacturing company, “Lego”. Legoland is the only one of its kind in the United States. Children can enjoy many different attractions to joyously fill an entire day at the park. At the Imagination Zone children can play with the original Lego’s themselves. Castle Hill holds many attractions and rides for an older child. At the Ridge they can enjoy a maze and sky ride and in Fun Town a child can earn their own Legoland driver’s license. Village Green is an area with figures from children’s story tales as well as life-size jungle animals all created out of Legos. As is easily imagined, children’s creativity and imagination will abound at Legoland.
Old Town State Historic Park	San Diego Ave. and Twiggs St., San Diego (619) 220-5422	San Diego's Old Town is well revered for the Bazaar del Mundo including many shops, popular Mexican restaurants and musical entertainment. Old Town is the location of the early 19th century settlement of San Diego and five of the original adobe structures, a historic blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, newspaper office and stable still sit on the land today. Over 6 million people visit Old Town each year.
Palomar Mountain State Park	County Route S7, Palomar Mountain (760) 765-0755; (800) 895-4427 for Downhill Bicycling Info	Palomar Mountain Park in the winter is a popular spot for playing in the snow. When summer hits and throughout the rest of the year, visitors rush here for camping, picnicking, hiking and bicycling. Talented cyclists enjoy the Palomar Plunge, an 18-mile ride straight down the mountain including no pedaling whatsoever! The beautiful park contains 1,897 acres covered with conifers so large it may feel like you are actually in the Sierra Nevadas. The Palomar Observatory features a 200-inch Hale telescope as well.
San Diego Wild Animal Park	15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd., Escondido (760) 747-8702	Spanning 2,000 acres and located near Escondido, this park is home to a vast array of wild animals including giraffes, rhinos, elephants, and deer. If a safari setting is what you’re craving, the animals in this park move about as naturally as they would in their native habitats in African or Asia. There are lots of choices of entertainment for a visitor of the Wild Animal Park. There are frequent shows and informative speeches on the diversity and variety of the park’s wild birds and animals. The caravan tour aboard a safari truck and 1.75 mile hiking trail both provide up-close-and-personal photo opportunities. The 5 mile long Wgasa Bush Line monorail goes about 55-minutes round trip and presents an immensely relaxing way to see the animals around the park. A new exhibit, The Heart of Africa, allows visitors to walk among the animals of Africa as if they were literally on a safari. The Wild Animal Park in addition to the San Diego Zoo are operated by The Zoological Society of San Diego. Summer, evening, and holiday hours are all offered at each park.
San Diego Zoo	2920 Zoo Dr., San Diego (619) 234-3153	The gorgeous San Diego Zoo is one of the most famed and highly praised zoological parks in the world. It houses over 4,000 rare and exotic birds, animals and reptiles} that are all on display at the 100-acre tropical garden site. Among the Zoo’s most loved exhibits is the pair of giant panda’s currently on loan from China. {{The Zoo’s Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species, a world leader in the propagation of rare and endangered animals, is very proud of a rare baby panda born in August of 1999. Polar Bear Plunge, Scripps Aviary, Hippo Beach, Tiger River, Gorilla Tropics, and the new Ituri Forest are all exhibits whose design has been very systematically planned out as to provide a natural, bioclimatic setting for the animals to live in. Guided tours in open-air double decker busses provide a relaxing and entertaining view of the park. There are many performances of the Wild Ones show, a baby animal nursery, and a children’s petting zoo and a baby animal nursery. The popular Sea Lion show also presents an exciting performance for all ages.
Sea World	500 Sea World Dr., San Diego (619) 226-3901	SeaWorld features five major shows and numerous exhibits of sea turtles, seals, bat rays, a dolphin feeding pool and aquarium. Located on Mission Bay, SeaWorld places a high priority on the care and comfort of their animals. Visitors can view a 20 minute video on JJ, a baby gray whale rescued by SeaWorld that was later released back into the wild in 1998. Tourists also watch the Penguin Encounter where lots of different penguin species live in a special world created just for them. The Shark Encounter and Manatee Rescue are areas where one can visit and learn about these endangered giants of the sea. Close to 20,000 mammals, fish, reptiles and birds live in the marine park including the infamous Shamu and his killer whale friends that star in the Shamu Show. The adventure ride, Shipwreck Rapids, is new to SeaWorld. Here visitors can enjoy the simulation of an escape from a remote island featuring an escape route involving raging rapids and roaring waterfalls. The attraction features a dining area and more chances to interact with various animals.
Torrey Pines State Reserve	North Torrey Pines Rd. south of Carmel valley Rd., Del Mar (858) 755-2063	This reserve is world-renowned for the most rare of trees, the Torrey Pine. They are grown solely on this 1,750 acre plot of land and on Santa Rosa Island, which is about 170 miles northwest. The area contains beautiful views from lookouts 300 feet above the sea as well as walking trails down the bluffs that lead to the beaches below. Torrey Pines State Reserve presents some of the most refined and unique scenery along the San Diego coastline.

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