At The Backroads

Balboa Park is a few minutes from downtown San Diego, and if you are visiting San Diego, this is one of the places to experience San Diego’s natural beauty (there are canyons and mesas that spans through the park), wonderful art and culture, and Spanish architecture. The Park is home to many museums, theaters for the performing arts, lovely gardens and of course, the famous San Diego Zoo.

House of Hospitality Building, Balboa Park

The walk: Starts at Balboa Parking lot near the Veterans Memorial Museum then goes in the counterclockwise direction passing the Rose Garden, Desert Garden, Reflecting Pond, Alcazar Garden, Spreckels Organ Pavillon, United Nations Village, Old Cactus Garden, Air and Space Museum back to the Parking Lot.
Distance: 2 miles loop, but can be more depending on how far you explore each garden.
Parking: Free parking at Inspiration Point Parking lot, east side of Park Blvd, between Presidents Way and Balboa Park Activity Center. You will not take the park tram after you park, instead, this will be the starting place of your walk.

Veterans Memorial Garden

You may ask, why walk when we can take the tram to the heart of Balboa Park. However, if you want to explore the park, by foot will give you greater opportunity to see more. From the parking lot, you take the paved path that goes up to the Activity Center. Then, you bear right to explore the lush green in the Veterans Memorial Garden.

Airplane Passing Veterans Memorial Garden

This garden would have been a very quiet place if not for the airplanes that pass by every 5 minutes probably. After walking through the trellis lined garden, you can continue walking West and then North once you hit Park Blvd. From here, you walk alongside Park Blvd, boring at first without much scenery, but in about 0.2 mile, you will hit the Rose Garden.

@ the Rose Garden

If you may find yourself alone or with a few people in the Veterans Garden, here at Rose Garden, it will be hard to find yourself alone. This is probably the most visited garden of Balboa Park.

Bees Enjoying the Roses

Not only thickly visited by people who wants to smell the roses, but also by the bees. Next to the Rose Garden, is the Desert Garden.

Desert Garden, Balboa Park

The Desert Garden in Balboa Park contains more than 1300 plants, which includes succulents and drought resistant plants from around the world, in its 2.5 acres. If you visit between January to March, the cacti blooms wonderfully.

Blooming Cacti

I always think that the cactus flower speaks of so much character. Not getting enough water, yet they are still able to bloom beautifully. But even without the flowers, the desert plants are worth the visit, you may just be surprised with the spookiness of their shapes, and with how tall they grow. There is a trail that winds along the side of the hill of Desert Garden. In spring, the trail is lined by yellow wildflowers. When you are done with the cactus garden, you can turn South towards Rose Garden and then cross the footbridge to go to the other side of Park Blvd. From here, you will pass the fountain between the Science Museum and Natural History Museum.

Museum of Natural History Building and Foutain

After you pass the Museum of Natural History, you can either walk on the paved streets of El Prado, or take the arched hallway of Casa del Prado.

Casa Del Prado

Arched Hallway of Casa Del Prado

When you are at the end of Casa del Prado, make a right to the Botanical Building.

Botanical Building and Lily Pond

If you take some time to take a close look at the Lily Pond, you will not only see lilies, but also fishes and turtle.

Turtle

Koi

The Botanical Building with the Lily Pond in the foreground is one of the most photographed spots in Balboa Park. The Botanical Building is one of the largest lath structures in the world.

Inside Botanical Building

Inside the Botanical Building are more than 2,100 permanent plants and some seasonal flower displays.
In the other side of the Lily Pond opposite the Botanical Building, is probably the most photographed spot in Balboa Park, the House of Hospitality Building (very 1st picture above, and picture below).

House of Hospitality Building

The House of Hospitality Building is Home to Balboa Park Visitor Center, and a public restaurant, the Prado.

Prado Restaurant, within the House of Hospitality Building

After the Hospitality Building, you cross the road towards Mingei Museum and continue walking west, and on the left side of the street is the Alcazar Garden.

Alcazar Garden and the California Tower

Alcazar Garden lies adjacent to Art Institute and Mingei Museum. After Alcazar Garden, you walk back East towards the Hospitality Building again. When you get to the other side of the road, you turn right and walk South towards the Spreckels Organ Pavillon.

Spreckels Organ Pavillon

The organ contains 4,530 pipes ranging in length from the size of the pencil to 32 ft. Since 1917, San Diego has a civic organist, who performs free weekly Sunday Concerts between June to August. You continue walking South to the United Nations Building, and when you reach Balboa Park Club, take a detour on the right to continue your walk on the Old Cactus Garden.

Old Cactus Garden, Balboa Park

The Old Cactus Garden in Balboa Park contains some of the largest succulents in the Park. There is a hiking trail in the Desert Garden that goes down the canyon, unless you want to explore the canyon further, you can take it, or you just take the trail eastward towards the Balboa Park Club Building. After this, you continue your walk East by following the road towards the parking lot which is less than half a mile away, where you will pass several more museums, such as Air and Space Museum, Automobile Museum and Sports Museum. However, if you feel like you are dead tired from walking already, you can wait for the Balboa tram in front of the Air and Space Museum, this tram will bring you back to the parking lot. The tram is free.

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