Page 105 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

a narrow strip of road and sand running
past Navy installations and pristine
beaches to the south county. The red tur-
rets atop the Victorian Hotel del Coronado
peek above the city’s modest skyline.
Coronado’s pleasures include shopping
and dining on Orange Avenue, visiting the
Coronado Museum of History & Art,
ogling the San Diego skyline from Tide-
lands Park and teeing off at Coronado
Municipal Golf Course.
Balboa Park
San Diego’s century-old cultural heart
occupies 1,200 acres of hills and canyons
just east of downtown. It hosts 17
museums and The Old Globe theater,
winner of multiple Tony Awards. Its most
LILY POND IN BALBOA PARK, opposite; SeaWorld Turtle Reef, above.
SPECIAL
»
EVENTS 2019
GASLAMP QUARTER MARDI GRAS March 4, Downtown San Diego sdmardigras.com
SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC April 6-7, Mission Bay crewclassic.org
THE MISSION VALLEY CRAFT BEER & FOOD FESTIVAL April 27, Mission Valley mvcbf.com
FIESTA OLD TOWN CINCO DE MAYO May 4-6, Old Town San Diego cincodemayooldtown.com
GATOR BY THE BAY May 9-12, Spanish Landing Park gatorbythebay.com
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MARATHON June 1-2, Central San Diego runrocknroll.competitor.com/san-diego
SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR June 1-July 4, Del Mar Fairgrounds sdfair.com
OB STREET FAIR & CHILI COOK-OFF June 22, Ocean Beach oceanbeachsandiego.com
PORT OF SAN DIEGO BIG BAY BOOM July 4, San Diego Bay bigbayboom.com
DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB HORSERACING July 17-Sept. 2, Nov. 7-Dec.1, Del Mar
dmtc.com
COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL July 18-21, Downtown San Diego comic-con.org
KAABOO DEL MAR Sept. 13-15, Del Mar kaaboodelmar.com
ADAMS AVENUE STREET FAIR Sept. 28-29, Central San Diego,
adamsavenuebusiness.com/event-info/adams-avenue-street-fair/
»
MUST
SEE,
DO
» Mission Bay Park With plenty of room for
jogging, bicycling, boating, kite flying and countless
other activities, this 4,600-acre aquatic and land
park is centrally located along I-5 near the wildly
popular communities of Mission Beach, Pacific
Beach and Ocean Beach. Some areas have fire rings,
playgrounds or picnic areas, while others are best for
watercraft and swimming. Cruise along Mission Bay
Drive for an overview and keep an eye out for
crowds, as boat races, charity runs and other events
are common.
› sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation
» La Jolla This upscale Mediterranean-style
community lives up to its name (“The Jewel” in
Spanish), with a postcard-ready setting, white sands,
turquoise waters, sea caves (including Sunny Jim
Cave, California’s only known land-access sea cave)
and an Underwater Park teeming with pinnipeds,
rays, scuttling lobsters and countless fish. It’s not
just another pretty face, though; it hosts the Tony
Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse, Museum of
Contemporary Art San Diego, Murals of La Jolla and
the Birch Aquarium—while also offering the “Rodeo
Drive of San Diego,” named for Prospect Street’s
stellar shops, galleries and restaurants.
› lajollabythesea.com
» Anza-Borrego Desert State Park There
aren’t many places where you can drive from the
beach to the mountains and on to the desert in less
than a day. San Diego County encompasses all three,
including California’s largest state park. Traffic
reaches rush-hour proportions during the spring
cactus bloom, when the vast brown explodes with
color. The park is fascinating any time of year, as is
the town of Borrego Springs.
› parks.ca.gov
» Balboa Park The country’s largest urban
cultural park is a rambling landscape of museums,
theaters, artists’ studios and gardens. The tiled
California Tower, with its unobstructed 360-degree
view of the park and city, has become a treasured
landmark, reopened after an 80-year closure for the
park’s centennial in 2015.
› balboapark.org
» Cabrillo National Monument High above
the tip of Point Loma, this sprawling park
commemorates Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and San
Diego’s early history. It’s most popular for the
panoramas of the boat-filled bay and sea, the
mountains to the east and the hills of Tijuana to the
south. It’s a great place to look for whales spouting
offshore in winter.
› nps.gov/cabr/index.htm
2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 103