Page 73 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

LEMERGE/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: KYLE SPRAGUE/SHUTTERSTOCK
strip of road and sand running past Navy
installations and pristine beaches to the
south of the county. The red turrets atop
the Victorian Hotel del Coronado peek
above the city’s modest skyline. Coro-
nado’s pleasures include shopping and
dining on Orange Avenue, visiting the
Coronado Museum of History, ogling
the San Diego skyline from Tidelands
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 18
museums and cultural institutions and
The Old Globe theater, winner of multiple
SEASIDE VIEW OF LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA, opposite; Coronado Bridge, above.
SPECIAL EVENTS 2025
GASLAMP QUARTER MARDI GRAS Feb. 28, March 1 and 4, San Diego GaslampMardiGras.com
SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC ROWING REGATTA March 28-30, Mission Bay crewclassic.org
FIESTA OLD TOWN CINCO DE MAYO May 4-5, Old Town San Diego
oldtowncincodemayo.com
GATOR BY THE BAY May 8-11, Spanish Landing Park gatorbythebay.com
ROCK ’N’ ROLL MARATHON May 31-June 1, San Diego runrocknroll.com/san-diego
SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR June 11-July 6, Del Mar Fairgrounds sdfair.com
OB STREET FAIR & CHILI COOK-OFF June 28, Ocean Beach oceanbeachsandiego.com
BIG BAY BOOM FIREWORKS July 4, San Diego Bay bigbayboom.com
DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB HORSERACING July 18-Sept. 7 & Oct. 30-Nov. 30,
Del Mar dmtc.com
COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL July 24-27, San Diego comic-con.org
STOCKZILLA CATFISH STOCK EVENT Sept. 13-14, Santee Lakes santeelakes.com/fishing-events
SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW Dec. 28 2025–Jan.1, 2026, San Diego
sdautoshow.com
MUST
SEE,
DO
• MISSION BAY PARK With plenty of room for
jogging, bicycling, boating, kite flying and countless
other activities, this 4,235-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/parks/regional/
missionbay
• 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 the 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, and 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, attractions, artists’ studios and gardens.
The tiled California Tower, with its unobstructed
360-degree view of the park and city, has become
a treasured landmark.
• 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
2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 71