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Balboa Park, San Diego California

In early April, I had an opportunity to spend the afternoon in Balboa Park.  Living here in San Diego County, we sometimes forget to visit the main attractions in our own ‘backyard’.  Large and spectacular is a good way to describe Balboa Park.  It sprawls over 1200 acres, not far from Downtown.  Included in the Park are Museums, Gardens, Theatres, Restaurants and of course, the world famous, San Diego Zoo. 

At this time of year, all of the gardens are starting to bloom (the award winning Rose Garden is a few weeks off).  Be sure and walk through the Botanical Building, which houses over 2000 varieties of plants, many of them tropical and sub-tropical.  This wooden lath house is considered one of the largest in the world.  Also not to be missed is the Butterfly Garden, a garden using specific plants that attract butterflies.
 
There are mature specimens of unusual, rare and beautiful trees everywhere.  I found myself wandering around for hours, with no particular plan, just enjoying these trees, the various gardens and the glorious Spanish Colonial Architecture that is everywhere. 

Don’t miss lunch or an early dinner at the Prado Restaurant, just next door to the Visitor Center.  If the weather is nice, and it usually is, try for a table outside on the patio.  The food is award-winning and the ambience can’t be beat.

If visiting from out of town, stop by the Visitor Center and pick up a map of the park, because it is very large and there is so much to see.  For more complete information, log on to balboapark.org.

A few items of interest:

• Kate Sessions, considered the ‘Mother of Balboa Park’ started planting trees there in 1892.  A slim biography of her life is available in the Visitor Center/Store.
• Consider visiting the Park on ‘Free Tuesdays’.  Each Tuesday of the month, a select group of Museums are open free of charge.  Check the website for more information.  There are 15 Museums to visit.
• Balboa Park is the largest cultural complex west of the Mississippi!