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Agua Caliente County Park |
County Highway S2 north of I-8, San Diego
County (858) 694-3049 |
Stretching 910 acres, this park is the home home of a natural hot
spring that fires encompasses 140 campsites, hiking trails, and picnic
areas that are open from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The country-run Agua
Caliente airstrip is nearby the desert park. |
|
Anza-Borrego Desert State park |
Five miles north of I-8 on Highway 79, San
Diego County (760) 767-5311 |
Anza-Borrego Park is well-liked for its beautiful wildflowers that
appear in the springtime for two to six weeks. It is recommended that
you call ahead to find out the different times it would be best to see
the flowers in bloom. Aside from that time of the season, the area has
over 500 miles of unpaved road and 110 miles of hiking trails available
to horseback riding and off-road vehicles. Two-thirds of the park is
designated wilderness and a visitor�s center is open daily from October
to May. |
| Balboa Park |
El Prado from Sixth Ave. San Diego (619)
239-0512 |
The San Diego Union-Tribune states, �Nothing epitomizes the
extraordinary diversity and unity of [San Diego] as much as Balboa park,
perhaps our greatest place. It captures the ecological, cultural and
sociological diversity of our region in a manner with which we can all
identify.� Made for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Balboa Park
celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. The park�s setting, 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 compilation of enlightening and collective establishments. |
| Belmont Park |
3146 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach (619)
491-2988) |
This park, located on the water�s edge, includes a multitude of
shopping places, eateries, and the famous Giant Dipper Roller Coaster as
well as �The Plunge� swimming pool. |
| Cuyamaca Rancho State Park |
12551 Highway 79, San Diego county (760)
765-0755 |
This dramatic park features large meadows, wonderful pine and oak
forests, and wonderful scenes of the Anza-Borrego Desert. The 25,000
acre park is sited 40 miles east of San Diego and consists of over 100
miles of hiking and equestrian trails as well as camping facilities. It
can be easily found via Interstate 8. |
| Legoland |
One Lego Dr., Carlsbad (760) 918-5346 |
Legoland is a great theme park for children ages 2-12. The 128-acre
park consists of brightly colored bricks that look like the
internationally renowned Danish toy manufacturing company, �Lego� is the
first of its kind in the United States.
Kids a number of attractions that can consume an entire day in the park.
In Imagination Zone kids can be creative while playing with the original
Lego�s themselves. Castle Hill has rides and attractions for older
children. In Fun Town a child can earn their own Legoland driver�s
license and at the Ridge they can enjoy their day with a maze and sky
ride. Village Green is the place with figures from children�s story
tales as well as life-size jungle animals all created out of Legos. As
you can see, a child's creativity and imagination will abound at
Legoland. |
| Old Town State Historic Park |
San Diego Ave. and Twiggs St., San Diego (619)
220-5422 |
Old town is most admired for the Bazaar del Mundo that holds many
shops, popular Mexican restaurants and musical entertainment. The park
is the site of the early 19th century settlement of San Diego. Five of
the originally built adobe houses, a notable blacksmith shop,
schoolhouse, newspaper office and stable still sit on the park 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 |
In the winter Palomar Mountain Park is a popular spot for playing in
the snow. In the summertime and throughout the rest of the year visitors
abound for camping, picnicking hiking and bicycling. Skilled cyclists
enjoy the Palomar Plunge, an 18-mile ride straight down the mountain
including no pedaling whatsoever. The beautiful park includes 1,897
acres covered with conifers so large it may feel like you are actually
in the Sierra Nevada. 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 |
This 2,000 acre area right near Escondido is home to a vast array of
wild animals like rhinos, giraffes, elephants, and deer. If a safari
adventure is what you�re looking for, the animals in this park play as
wildly as they would in their native lifestyles in Africa or Asia. There
are many types of entertainment to a visitor of the park.
There are regular shows and informative speeches on the diversity and
variety of the park�s wild birds and animals. For an up-close and
personal photo opportunity, the 1.75 mile hiking trail and caravan tour
aboard a safari truck are amazing. The 5 mile long Wgasa Bush Line
monorail lasts about 55-minutes round trip and hosts an extremely
relaxing way to o observe the animals within the park. The Heart of
Africa, a new exhibit, allows visitors to walk among the animals of
Africa as if they were literally on a safari.
The Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo are operated by The
Zoological Society of San Diego. Summer, evening, and holiday hours are
all available at each park. |
| San Diego Zoo |
2920 Zoo Dr., San Diego (619) 234-3153 |
The Scenic San Diego Zoo is one of the most visited and greatly
praised zoological parks in the world. It contains over 4,000 rare and
exotic birds, animals and reptiles that are all on display at the
100-acre tropical garden site. One of the Zoo�s most visited exhibits is
the pair of giant panda�s that are currently on loan from China. A world
leader in the proliferation of rare and endangered animals, the Zoo�s
Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species is exceedingly proud
of a rare baby panda born in August of 1999.
The Zoo has strategically planned out numerous exhibits such as: Hippo
Beach, Tiger River, Gorilla Tropics, Polar Bear Plunge, Scripps Aviary,
and the new Ituri Forest. So now, the animals are provided with a
natural, bioclimatic setting to live in.
Tours are often taken in open-air double decker busses to create a
relaxing and entertaining showing of the park. There are regular
performances of the Wild Ones show, a children�s petting zoo and a baby
animal nursery. The popular Sea Lion show also is an exciting
performance to entertain all ages. |
| Sea World |
500 Sea World Dr., San Diego (619) 226-3901 |
The world-renowned attraction that is SeaWorld is home to five major
shows and multiple exhibits of sea turtles, bat rays, seals, a dolphin
feeding pool and an aquarium. Located directly on Mission Bay, SeaWorld
finds that the care and comfort of their animals is of extremely high
importance. Visitors can view a 20 minute video on JJ, a baby gray whale
that rescued by SeaWorld and later released into the wild in 1998.
Tourists also view the Penguin Encounter where many different penguin
species live in a special world created just for them. The Shark
Encounter and Manatee Rescue are places where one could visit and learn
about the increasingly endangered species living in our oceans. Almost
20,000 mammals, fish, reptiles and birds live in the marine park , for
example the favorite Shamu and his killer whale friends that star in the
Shamu Show.
Recently added to SeaWorld is the loved adventure ride, Shipwreck
Rapids, where Tourists can enjoy a simulation of a remote island where
the escape route is full of raging rapids and roaring waterfalls. The
attraction features a dining area along with even 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 rarest of trees, the Torrey
Pine. They are grown only on this 1,750 acre plot of land and on Santa
Rosa Island, which is about 170 miles northwest. The area includes
breathtaking scenery 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. |