Balboa Park Best Park in San Diego Discover Why!

Balboa Park is the best Park in San Diego for many reasons. This Park lies in the center of several San Diego trendy neighborhoods. I equate this park to Central Park in New York City. When you visualize Central Park, you imagine the city of New York surrounding Central Park. Balboa Park is similar but not the city of San Diego, and we don’t call the surrounding areas of Balboa Park boroughs we call them neighborhoods.

An interesting fact about Balboa Park which is why I equate this park this to Central Park is because Balboa Park is bigger than Central Park by 842 acres to be exact! One of the reasons for this is because San Diego Zoo is a part of Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo is the fifth largest zoo in the United States.

Balboa Park Best Park San Diego Park Activities

Back to Balboa Park, I love this park. Living in a San Diego trendy neighborhood that surrounds Balboa Park means you are walking distance to many of the benefits this park has to offer. Balboa Park has: Museums, Performing Arts, Attractions, Gardens, Restaurants, Tours, Shopping, and outdoor exercise activities like tennis, hiking trails, lawn bowling and the list goes on. This park brings culture to San Diego with its Museums as there are various exhibitions throughout the year.

If you are planning a vacation to San Diego or moving to San Diego, Balboa Park is a San Diego experience to enjoy. Balboa Park has an app where you can plan your activities during your visit. If you are moving to San Diego; Balboa Park takes care of its residential locals by providing a range of discounts to its sights. For example, you can enjoy the museums free check the schedule here as its free fees vary on the months.

I want to discuss one of my favorite activities at Balboa Park, and that is the hiking trails. There are 65 miles of trails within Balboa Park. There are five entrances to the Balboa Park. Four corners of the outskirts of the park: Golden Hill Gateway,   Marston Point Gateway, Morley Field Gateway Park Blvd. Gateway  Sixth and Upas Gateway. Each Gateway has different hiking scenic views and different hiking levels from easy to difficult. There are arrows that point you in the direction of the trail you selected throughout  Balboa Park. Why I like these trails is because they all have different environments. You can hike in a desert-like trail, or a forest type trail, or city “run trails” or enjoying walking throughout Balboa Park. One thing to bring up is that some of the trails are secluded so I would not suggest going alone.

Balboa Parks also hosts some cool events like Balboa Park December Nights and Earth Day during the Spring/Summer.

Earth Day is usually around Spring/Summer you can find more details here on this event ( link) I’ve gone once it’s packed with vendors, food, and activists. Activists against abortion and the inhumane treatment of animals. Unfortunately, they usually have disturbing posters and material which kind of kills the vibe of this event.

Balboa Park nights in December is a great way to get you in the holiday spirit. The parks decor is  Christmas holiday festive. There’s usual holiday plays at The Old Globe Theatre like, “The Grinch who Stole Christmas.” You can also enjoy various foods, and they have beer gardens throughout the park during this event. Be sure to check out Balboa Park House of Nations as each house shows you how they celebrate the holidays.

Both of these events get ridiculously packed so getting in and out of the park is tedious. I suggest you rideshare in as parking, of course, is a challenge.

Two other parts of Balboa Park to note is the Spreckels Organ Pavilion it is a cool area to check out, and that area hosts various events. Check out the info here.

The other area that you want to visit in Balboa Park is the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages. It is so cute and quaint walking through her and visiting the various cottages.

San Diego Neighborhoods Near Balboa Park

If you are moving to San Diego and want to be near this park here are the San Diego trendy neighborhoods that surround Balboa Park.  These San Diego trendy neighborhoods are within walking distance: NorthPark, Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, Cortez Hil, South Park, Little Italy( its stretch on walking but notable).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]