This year was my first "official" visit at Balboa Park. I'd seen it one time, while taking a trolley tour around San Diego, but we didn't have time to stop that day. It looked intriguing, so I wanted to make sure and give it a go on our Southern California trip this year. When we got there, I realized this was another one of my could have, would have, should have moments. Could have stayed longer, if only I would have planned better, which I should have.
This park in incredible. It is a mixture of park, museums, zoo, gardens, playgrounds and more. It is huge. I was not expecting the immensity of it. When we were on the trolley, we only saw a fleeting moment of it. We stopped to pick up passengers, and then we were off again. There are 17 museums, the San Diego Zoo, carousel and miniature train rides, unbelievably beautiful gardens, playgrounds, and a variety of restaurants. You can rent bikes to explore the park, play golf, disc golf, and lawn bowling, plus they hold a variety of events during the year. There are also several hiking trails, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and so much more.
Needless to say, with only a half a day to visit, we didn't get very far. Even with a full day, it would be impossible to see it all. We checked out the Automotive Museum, and wandered around all over. They were having some kind of Naval Ceremony the day we were there (looked like possibly a graduation of some sort), so it was an incredible site to see all of those in their white uniform.
Here's a list of some things that kids would probably be interested in seeing:
- San Diego Railroad Museum
- San Diego Air & Space Museum
- EthnoBotany Children's Peace Garden
- Pepper Grove Playground
- Fleet Science Center
- San Diego Natural History Museum
- Mary Hitchcock Puppet Theater
- Japanese Friendship Garden
- San Diego Museum of Man
You can find more information about those and many other things on their Kids Itinerary page.
