25 Reasons Why You Need to Visit Balboa Park San Diego!

Visiting Balboa Park

There are many places to see and things to do while in San Diego. It can be hard to narrow down your list of activities while visiting this Southern California city.

I had a difficult time making my list of “must do” activities while in San Diego. I wanted to see and do everything, but you know when you want do everything you end up doing nothing, so I widowed down my list to a few special places and experiences.

On the top of that list was visiting Balboa Park, San Diego! I saw the gorgeous photos of Balboa Park on Pinterest, and I told Peter, “we have to go there!”

On the second day that we were in San Diego, we made our way to Balboa Park San Diego. But one thing that I forgot to do while pinning all of the gorgeous photos of Balboa Park is read what there was to do in this beautiful place. So when we arrived there were hundreds of kids, I’m guessing they were visiting the different museums in the park. There was nowhere to park; we drove around for about 40 minutes when we finally decided to leave

Bummed and sad we went to eat hamburgers at the burger lounge, which is pretty good by the way. We decided we would go another day, the last day we were in San Diego.

Before heading to Balboa Park, San Diego makes sure to research if there will be any events the day you plan on visiting, so you’re prepared. Also, look for a Balboa Park map because the park is huge!

When we went in and enjoyed the park I loved it. It was as gorgeous as the lust worthy photos on Pinterest, and I was excited to be able to create our photos of Balboa Park.

With so much to do in Balboa Park, we could have spent the entire day there.

In case you don’t know about Balboa Park or why you should visit it I wanted to share with you the 25 reasons why you need to visit Balboa Park, San Diego!

25 Reasons to Visit Balboa Park San Diego

Visit one or more of the 15 major museums
Go to the San Diego Zoo
To ride the 1910 Balboa Park Carousel
It’s open 24 hours a day
Ride the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad
To admire the more than 2,100 plants in the Botanical Building
To photograph the lily pond in front of the Botanical Building
To walk along the Japanese Friendship Garden
Interact with the exhibits at the San Diego Air & Space Museum
Admire the collection of more than 7,000 images in the Museum of Photographic Arts
To play badminton, table tennis, or volleyball in the Balboa Park Activity Center
Play golf at the Balboa Park Golf Complex
Get some tennis lessons at the Balboa Tennis Club
Hike along one of the many trails. (View map of all biking & hiking trails)
Take a class at the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society
So your kids can play in one of the five playgrounds
Enjoy traditional Japanese tea while enjoying the view of the Japanese Friendship Garden
To lunch or done at the Prado at Balboa Park
So your dogs can play in one of the three dog parks
Attend an art demonstration at the Spanish Village Art Center
Visit the beautiful Romantic-style Marston House Garden
Go to one of the most esteemed regional theaters in the country, The Old Globe.
Check out one of the world’s largest outdoor organs. If you go on Sunday from 2:00 – 3:00 you’ll even catch a performance.
See Frank Sinatra’s 1967 Austin Petrol Hire Car in the San Diego Automotive Museum
Leisurely walk around the gorgeous grounds and enjoy some fresh air!