The Ceremonial Arch and the California Tower

Hello, I’m Bleu from Mama Blue’s Adventures. I created this companion blog to give you some “color” for your hike.

The Alltrails Balboa Park Gardens Loop is 1.4 mile, well paved and heavily trafficked. It is rated as Easy. I will be suggesting several detours which will add another 3.14 miles. You will be able to pick and choose whether you would like to take the suggestions or not.

I recommend starting this trail at the Merry-go-round near the San Diego Zoo. If needed, you can find a restroom and an ATM at the Zoo entrance.

Turn west off of Park Blvd at Zoo Place. The Merry-go-round and a small parking lot is on the left. To the right is the much bigger Zoo parking lot. Now pull up your Alltrails app and let’s hit the trail!

There is also a parking lot on the south side of the Merry-go-round. You can access it by turning from Park Blvd on to Village Place.

You may also choose to park in one of the two lots on either side of Presidents Way, walk in from 6th Ave or to take the Old Town Trolley into the park. I’ll make note in this companion when this tour will cross these points.

Starting at the Merry-go-round

The Merry-go-round is from 1910 and was originally located in LA. In 1912 it was relocated across San Diego Bay to the island of Coronado. It has been part of Balboa Park since 1922 and moved to this location in 1968. It is one of the few merry-go-rounds in the country that still has a working brass ring game. Give it a go for $3. Temporarily closed due to Covid

Follow the trail to the south

The train tracks to your left as you make your way along the trail belong to the Balboa Park Railway which is run by the Zoo. The train station is located near the Zoo exit. Temporarily closed due to Covid.

While you walk here is a very brief history of how Balboa Park came to be.

1868 The founding fathers of what was then called New Town San Diego set aside 1400 acres of land north east of downtown as City Park.
1915-16 San Diego develops the central mesa of City Park to host the Panama California Exposition as a way to draw in visitors sailing up the west coast from the newly opened Panama Canal. The City Park is renamed Balboa Park celebrating explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
1917-18 Balboa Park is taken over by all three branches of the military as part of the WW1 war effort. This keeps the planned tear down of most of the expo buildings from happening.
1935-36 As an effort to boost the local economy then in recovery from the Great Depression, San Diego hosts the California Pacific International Exposition
1939-45 During WW2 the Navy takes over Balboa Park, naming it Camp Kidd. It becomes one of the largest medical training centers in the world. The Navy Hospital is still located in the park across Park Blvd.
1940 Orson Wells uses shots of Balboa Park in Citizen Kane as stand-ins for the fictional Xanadu.
1965-present The building of the Timken Museum within Balboa Park sparks public interest in the preservation and recreation of the original park buildings. This process is ongoing as you will see on your visit.

Special Note: Balboa Park is home to 16 museums. There is an Explorer Pass available in the Visitor Center that will allow you admission to 14 museums and the Japanese Friendship Garden at a significant discount.

Follow the trail right along Village Place

You’ll be passing Spanish Village on your right.

Suggested Detour = .23 mi. Walk through Spanish Village. You’ll find Daniel’s Coffee and bathrooms here.

Spanish Village was originally the souvenir area for the 1935-36 Exposition. Now it is the studios and galleries of over 250 local artists. It is a great place to pick up a unique souvenir and definitely worth a look. You’ll be passing it again on your way out of the park if you’d rather stop then. There are bathrooms tucked behind the west side of the Village. The San Diego Mineral and Gem Society also have their museum here. Admission is Free.

Continue back to the trail.

Now you’ll be turning with the path and heading south again passing the Casa del Prado Theatre.

The original architect for the 1915-16 Exposition was Bertram Goodhue. He chose to use a Spanish Colonial theme throughout the park as a nod to our Spanish heritage. In the more elaborate buildings he accented this style with grand, baroque, plateresque facades like you see here.

You’ll be passing the Prado Courtyard and rounding the corner turning right onto El Prado westbound.

This grand central pathway at the center of the park is also called El Prado where the building to your right is the Casa del Prado. Just to make it a bit more confusing, I will also be pointing out the Prado restaurant in another building.

If it’s not too hot, walk down the middle of El Prado for a better view rather than taking the colonnade.

About the the Casa del Prado on the right…

Most of the original buildings constructed for the 1915-16 exposition were meant to be temporary and did not hold up well as time passed. 1971 the Casa del Prado became the first building to be carefully re-constructed. The outside of this new building is a nearly exact replica of the original.

In the inner courtyard of the building you can see examples of the original staff plaster decorations which were cast to create the new ornamentations for the current building. Look for the doorway to the courtyard at about the midpoint of the building.

Original staff plaster ornamentations inside the Casa del Prado Courtyard

Continue along the trail which is now heading west.

Now you will be getting to one of the best photo opportunities of the whole park. This is the Botanical Building and the Lily Pond.

This was one of the few buildings from the 1915-16 Expo that was intended to be permanent. If you have time, it is worth a peek inside where you will find a collection of 2100 permanent plants, including a carnivorous plant bog. Temporarily closed due to Covid.

The Lily Pond in front of the Botanical Building

Follow the trail towards the Botanical Building and then turn west again

You’ll be passing the Timken Museum on your left.

The Timken is a free museum housing the Putnam Collection of work by European old masters. Balboa Park as you see it here owes a debt to this little post modern jewel box. When the Timken was added to Balboa in 1965 it caused a huge controversy as locals were outraged by the placement of this post-modern building in this park with a Spanish colonial theme. The backlash was so strong that it fed a public interest in saving a preserving the long neglected buildings. Both public and private money has been found to preserve Balboa Park as you see it today.

Currently the Timken is undergoing a major renovation and is expected to be open in early 2022.

The trail will now take you through the grand Plaza de Panama.

This is the heart of Balboa Park. There is an ATM kiosk near the Timken Museum entrance.

Stop near the fountain in the center for a great view in all directions.

To the north is the San Diego Museum of Art. The Museum of Art was added to the park in 1926 and was designed by William Templeton Johnson to blend with the existing Spanish colonial buildings, The museum houses a fine and broad collection of art. Adult admission is $20 Adult/$15 Senior/$10 Military/$8 Student. The hours are Thu-Tue, 10am-5pm. To the west you can see the Sculpture Garden of the museum. Admission to the Sculpture Garden is free.

Suggested Detour = .11 mi. Walk through the Sculpture Garden. You’ll find bathroom access and Panama 66 where you can get “brews and bites”.

Rodin’s “The Prodigal Son” in front of the Museum of Art

History Flashback:

Stand near the main fountain in the Plaza de Panama and look south towards the Organ Pavilion. Imagine yourself here on December 31, 1914 at 11:59 pm. The whole view before you is a sea of 40,000 people, which was pretty much the whole population of San Diego at that time. It’s a dark, clear and cold night. In Washington DC, 2600 miles away, President Woodrow Wilson taps the golden telegraph key which sends a spark racing across the land and finding target behind the Organ Pavilion, igniting a flurry of fireworks. As the bursts of color fill the dark sky, a Navy destroyer in harbor aims it’s search light at the California Tower to the west, illuminating it against the starry sky. The Panama-California Exhibition was on!

The trail now takes you west down the colonnade.

These covered walkways or Colonnades were a part of the original Expo and have been recreated down to the lighting fixtures you see above.

The trail will take you south across the street but I encourage you to take a couple of detours at this point.

Suggested Detour: .05 mi. Take the path on your right which goes to the courtyard of the Old Globe Theatre and gives you a great view of the California Dome and Tower.

The Old Globe was added to the park for the 1935 exposition. The design was based on the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The original theatre burned down in an arson fire in 1985. It was rebuilt and these sister theaters have been added. The Shiley theatre is in the round and the Lowell Davies theatre is an outdoor venue.

From this courtyard you get a great view of the tile work on the dome of the California building. The tower is 198’ tall. The weather vane on top depicts the caravel, San Salvador, the ship Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego harbor in 1542. It adds another 10’ for a total height of 208'. The tower has an electronic carillon that chimes on the quarter hour. At noon on Sunday it plays a full song.

Return to Trail

Suggested Detour: .75 mi. Take the path to the west and it will take you to the front of the California Building and the California Quadrangle. Past the California Building, through the Ceremonial Arch and over the Cabrillo Bridge to Balboa Drive. This was the main entrance path into the park for both exhibitions. An ATM is available near Balboa Drive.

The California Building and Tower were built as permanent structures for the first Expo and have always housed an anthropology exhibit despite the church-like appearance of the building. Notice the detail of the facade of the museum. It was carved by the Piccirilli brothers who also carved the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. This is now the home to the Museum of Us. Adult admission is $19.95 Adult/$16.95 Senior, Military, Student and ages 6-17. The museum also sells tours of the Tower and the view of the city from the top is speculator. The Tower Tour is done 4 times a day and has limited availability. You can get tickets for $29.95, which include museum admission, and reserve your spot online at https://museumofus.org/tickets/.

The south side of the quadrangle features buildings with a very simple mission st The tower tour is $19yle to contrast the grandness of the California Building. The entry to small St. Francis Chapel tucked in the southwest corner of the quad, see if the door is open and take a peek.

Continue west under the Ceremonial Arch and over the Cabrillo Bridge on the south side of the El Prado.

The Cabrillo Bridge now crosses over highway 163, but in 1915 it crossed over a man-made lagoon where park visitors could rent row boats.

From the bridge you can see the skyline of downtown. The buildings in downtown San Diego have a height restriction of 500 feet due to their proximity to the airport.

To the north you can glimpse the San Diego Zoo and it’s Skyfari ride. The San Diego Zoo was started after the first expo when a local doctor discovered a lion, which had been brought in for expo entertainment, had been abandoned in the park after the expo ended.

As you cross to the other side of the bridge side you will see Nate’s Point Dog Park to the south. This is one of three dog park’s located within Balboa Park.

Once across the bridge continue west to Balboa Dr.

You are now on the West Mesa of Balboa Park.

The west mesa was the first section of the park to be enhanced and landscaped. On the southwest corner of El Prado and Balboa Drive you will find a statue of Kate Sessions. She was a self-taught botanist who traveled the world in search of new and interesting plants that might do well in San Diego. She made a deal with the city in 1885 to plant 100 trees a year within the park in return for the use of some park land for her nursery. In 1902 the city hired landscape architect, Samuel Parsons Jr. to create a comprehensive plan for the park. Much of his vision is here for us to enjoy today. This area of the park is mostly for the recreation and enjoyment of locals, with large areas of grass, tables for picnics, curving roads and walkways and large trees providing lots of shade. On the west mesa you will find local clubs for bridge, chess and horseshoes along with camps for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Campfire Girls. This is also the grounds for many festivals and gatherings.

Beyond Kate on El Prado you’ll find the ATM kiosk.

Cross El Prado and head back eastward on the north side of El Prado. On the northwest corner you will find Founders Plaza dedicated to the men who had the foresight to set aside and develop this park. On the northeast corner you will find the popular Lawn Bowling Greens.

Start reading here if you are entering the Park from 6th Avenue

You will see two small buildings on either side of El Prado before Cabrillo bridge. These are the original ticket booths for the 1915-16 exposition.

History Flashback

It’s 1915 and you have stopped in the small town of San Diego after making a trip through the Panama Canal aboard a ship. The canal had only opened the year before and it’s truly an impressive marvel of modern engineering, cutting five months off of the journey around the horn from the east coast. San Diego is your first visit to one of the rugged frontier towns of the west you have read so much about. You find San Diego to be young, a bit rough around the edges and anxious to impress…maybe a bit too anxious? After all, it is the smallest city to ever attempt an International Exposition. Having made your way from your lodging in New Town (what is now the Gaslamp District) aboard the electric trolley to these ticket booths on the El Prado, you would eagerly plop down your 50 cents for admission, anxious to see the wonders beyond the arch.

Crossing the Cabrillo Bridge you pause to take in the view of San Diego before you. This landscape is so unusual to you, with so few trees. But this allows for grand views from the bridge of New Town, the harbor and Coronado. You watch a young couple in a row boat on the lagoon below the bridge. “Ah, to be young and in love”. Coming closer the the Ceremonial Arch you can see, hear and smell the wonders beyond and you find yourself anxious to cut through the crowds and cross beneath. Finally you enter and find yourself standing in the middle of the Plaza de California taking in the artistry of the California Building and the Tower. Then your attention is drawn to the larger plaza beyond. The crowd, the flags, the music, all of it beaconing you. By golly, will be getting your 50 cents worth today!

Continue east through the arch into the California Quadrangle rejoining the trail

Follow the trail south, crossing El Prado and into the Alcazar Garden.

Alcazar Garden was designed by Richard Riqua for the 1935 exhibition and it is patterned after the formal gardens of the Alcazar castle in Seville, Spain. The Montezuma Garden was located here for the 1915 exposition but all that remains of that garden is the huge Laurel Fig tree on the southern border. There is a restroom next to the parking lot south of the garden.

After meandering in the garden make your way back to the colonnade and follow the trail east past the House of Charm and back up El Prado.

On the right you will be passing the House of Charm Building. The House of Charm building was completely razed and recreated as a permanent structure in 1996.

It houses the San Diego Institute of Art (which is open Fri-Sun noon-4pm. A donation is requested) and the Mingei Museum which is newly opened after a $52 million renovation and it looks amazing. Most of the Migei is open to the public at no charge. There is only a charge to view the Gallery Level of the Mingei. $14 Adults/ $10 Seniors, Military and Students/ Free for Children and EBT

But wait! I strongly encourage a detour here.

Detour: 1.7 mi. This will take you south through the Palisades area of the park and it is worth the extra walk. Bathrooms, gift shop, ATM, food and beverage are available. At publication this area is undergoing a major improvement project.

Back at the Plaza de Panama turn south down Pan American Road towards the Organ Pavilion. Keep to the west side of the road.

Continue south on Pan American Road. On the right you will be passing Palm Canyon.

Stop a minute and enjoy these amazing fig trees. There are over 100 types of palms here but it’s the fig trees that take over the show. Though they look old, they have only been around 40-50 years. This canyon had the perfect microclimate for these big boys and they are thriving!

Continue south along the path. You’ll be passing a bathroom across from the Organ Pavilion.

You are now entering the area known as the Palisades which was created for the 1935-36 California Pacific Exposition.

The architect of the 1935 exposition was Richard Riqua. In the Palisades Riqua wanted to use indigenous architecture of the Americas to show a new, uniquely American form of architecture in these park buildings.

You are now passing The International Cottages.

The House of Pacific Relations International Cottages were established as part of the 1935 expo. Here are 34 cottages representing about 40 cultures. The cottages are hosted by volunteer organizations and are open Saturday and Sunday noon-5pm. The United Nations Gift Shop is open everyday 10-4:30. Temporarily closed due to Covid.

Continuing south you’ll see a large parking area.

There is an ATM kiosk at the corner of Pan American and Presidents Way.

Keep the right as you follow a loop around the parking area.

This parking area was originally a large pedestrian plaza featuring the Firestone Singing Fountains leading up to the Ford Building during the 1935 expo. Currently this area is undergoing a lot of restoration to return it to its original grandeur.

Looking to your right you can see the Balboa Club tucked behind the International Cottages. This is one of the few original buildings from the first expo. It was used by the Navy as an officer’s club during WW2 and still has a large pacific theatre mural on the wall in the main hall.

You’ll also see the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre which has entertained many generations of San Diego children. General Admission is $5/ $4 Seniors and Military/ Children under 2 are Free. Shows are Fri-Sun at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

Next you will pass the San Diego Automotive Museum which features a large collections of cars and motorcycles. Adult admission is $14.50 Adult/ $10 Senior, Military and Student/ $8.50 Children 5-17. It is open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm This was originally the California Building for the 1935 and the murals above the entrance were recently restored to their original glory.

The Air and Space Museum is the focal point of this plaza. This building was originally the Ford Motors Building for the 1935 expo. Ford wanted to showcase their new V8 engine and built this structure in just 3 months! There was even a ride offered on a test track behind the building called the Roads of the Pacific. The test track allowed visitors to see how well the Ford autos handled different terrain. The two planes in front of the museum are a Lockheed A12 Blackbird and a Convair Sea Dart. This Sea Dart is one of only 5 built right here in San Diego. It was the only jet designed to take-off and land on water to achieve mach 1. The Flight Path Grill is located inside the museum. $23 Adult/ $19 Senior and Military/ $13 Children 3-11/ Free of Children 2 and under. The museum is open daily 10am-4:30pm.

The Starlight Bowl was originally the Ford Bowl, an entertainment venue during the 1935 expo. The bowl seats 4300 and was used by the Civic Light Opera until 2012. A group has formed to raise money for it’s restoration.

The Gymnasium was originally the Electric Building for the 1935 expo. It is now a public gym hosting a wide variety of sports. There are plans underway to restore the facade of this building.

The Comicon Museum’s Comicon started right here in San Diego in 1970 and is San Diego’s biggest convention. We are all excited to have this museum opening here in Balboa for a year-round experience. This building was originally the Federal Building for the 1935 expo and was constructed in just 9 weeks! Admission is $19.95. The museum is open Wed- Sat 10am-6pm and Sun 11am-7pm

You should now be at the corner of Pan American and Presidents way.

This would be your entry point of the trail if you came on the Old Town Trolley (Stop K) or parked at either of the large lots north and south of Presidents way.

Follow the path north keeping to the east side of Pan American Road.

After passing the parking area on your right you will be coming up on the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

As you approach look for the tall pine trees behind the pavilion. These are rare Torrey Pines. They only grow naturally on the San Diego coast and on Santa Rosa Island.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion was donated by John D. Spreckels for the 1915 expo. The Pavilion was designed by Harrison Albright in a Neo-classical style. Spreckels deeded the Pavilion to the city with the stipulation that there was be a free concert every Sunday at 2pm, This still happens to this day. The Pavilion houses the largest outdoor organ in the world with over 5000 pipes and back in the day John D. could hear the music all the way across the bay at his home on Coronado Island! Temporarily closed due to Covid.

Meander your way through the Organ Pavilion and make your way back to the path moving northward.

Next you will find the Japanese Friendship Garden and Tea Pavilion.

This garden is an expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama. The garden sits on a 12 acre lot and is spectacular, especially in March when the cherry trees bloom. $12 Adult/ $10 Student, Senior and Military/Children 6 and under are Free. It is open daily 10am-6pm. There is a nice view point of the garden just up the path. The Tea Pavilion has traditional teas, sushi and rice bowls.

Buddha statue in the Japanese Friendship Garden

Continue northward back to the trail.

The statue dominating the plaza ahead is of El Cid, an 11 century Spanish hero. El Cid was a gift from the artist, Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1930. This is just one of many copies around the world. El Cid had nothing to do with San Diego but it was a gift and he matched our decor.

Just before you get the the House of Hospitality Building, take the path to the right into the Casa del Rey Moro Garden.

The Casa del Rey Garden was designed by Riqua for the 1935 expo. He was influenced by the Moorish gardens of Rhonda, Spain. Above you can see the patio of the Prado Restaurant.

Make you way back to the path and into the colonnade of the House of Hospitality Building and into the courtyard.

Here in the House of Hospitality Building you will find the Visitor’s Center where you can purchase an Explorer Pass. You will also find the Prado Restaurant, The Prado Perk coffee cart and bathrooms. On the second floor surrounding the courtyard you will find historic photos of Balboa Park displayed.

This building was originally built for the 1915 expo and was renamed the House of Hospitality for the 1935 expo. It was razed and completely reconstructed in 1997.

Make your way back to El Prado where we will end this detour and rejoin the trail.

After making your way through the Plaza de Panama continue east on El Prado

Opposite the Botanical Building south of El Prado between the buildings you’ll find a nice little quiet niche to rest and get out of the crowd. This is the Persian Rug Fountain. The Persian Rug fountain was designed by Richard Riqua for the 1935 Expo. The path to the right of the fountain connects to the Casa del Rey Moro garden.

Continuing east on El Prado

On your right you are now passing the Casa de Balboa on your right.

This is my favorite building in. Balboa Park. The Casa de Balboa, has a Spanish colonial baroque architecture. Make sure to look up at the “ladies” along the eaves of the building. There was no real purpose for their design in 1915. They were carved purely as an amusement to the workmen and the public. The Casa de Balboa was destroyed in an arson fire in 1978. At the time it housed the Air and Space Museum and the entire collection was lost. Fortunately, the staff plaster ornamentation of the building had already been cast in preparation for a future reconstruction so the Casa de Balboa was able to be recreated to the grandeur you see here. You may of noticed that the buildings of the park are more simple at the west end and become grander as you move eastward. This was all part of Goodhue’s original design plan.

You will find the Cafe in the Park upstairs. It features “Good food, fair price!”. Temporarily closed due to Covid

The Casa de Balboa houses three museums. The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a treat for the kid in all of us with over 27,000 feet of trains, trestles and tracks. $13.50 Adult/ $9 Senior and Military/ $9 Children 12-17 / $6 Children 4-11/ Free for Children 3 and under. Open Thu-Sun 11am-4pm

The Museum of Photographic Arts has a permanent collection of nearly 9,000 images and 24,000 items related to photography. Admission is “Pay what you wish”. Open Fri-Sun 11am-4pm

The San Diego History Center is the home San Diego’s historical society. They have a huge collections and are always rotating exhibits. Admission is a suggested $5 donation. Open Fri-Sun 11am-4pm

Continue eastward on El Prado.

As you pass the Casa de Balboa you will find the Zoro Garden. This 6 acre sunken grotto was originally constructed for the 1915 expo but was reimagined for the 1935 expo as the Zoro Garden Nudist Colony. In reality it was a show featuring partially nude performers who lounged around and performed a quasi-religious sacrifice to Zoroaster, the sun god five times a day. Admission was 25 cents or you could look through knot holes in the fence for free!

Continue eastward towards the large fountain.

You will find an ATM kiosk ahead.

You are now in an area known as the Cascades. Ahead on your right is the Fleet Science Center. The Fleet is home to the very first Omnimax theatre and is an interactive museum for science based learning. It’s just plain fun. Built in 1973, the Fleet was designed to fit in with the Spanish colonial theme of the park. Inside you will find Craveology for a nosh. 21.95 Adult/ $19.95 Senior/ $18.95 Children 3-17/Children 2 and under are free. Tickets for movies in the Dome are $18.

The Bea Evanson Fountain was added to the park in 1972. Mrs. Evanson was the founder of the Committee of 100 which formed in 1967 after the addition of the Timken Museum and the Museum of Art Sculpture Garden. The Committee of 100’s purpose was to preserve the original Spanish Colonial buildings in Balboa Park. Currently the fountain is undergoing refurbishment. Once completed the fountain will once again send its spray up to 60’ on the air. There is a wind speed indicator on the top of the NAT and it adjusts the height of the spray accordingly.

The San Diego Natural History Museum (The NAT) is to the north.

The NAT Building was dedicated in 1933. It was designed by William Templeton Johnson to blend with the Spanish Colonial architecture of the park. If you look at the facade you will find both animal and Egyptian motifs. Inside you will find the Flying Squirrel snack bar. Adult admission is $19.95 Adult/ $16.95 Senior and Military/$11.95 Children 3-17/ Free for Children 2 and under. The NAT was built on the site where once stood the grandest of the buildings from the 1915 expo, the much loved Southern California Counties Building.

History Flash Back:

It’s Thanksgiving Eve 1925 and you have spent the whole day down at the old San Diego Counties Building in Balboa Park. The building is now being used as a municipal auditorium and you with all the other firemen have been decorating for tonight’s 16th Annual Fireman’s Ball. Oh, and you and the fellas have done a grand job of it! The whole hall was hung with the choicest collection of old helmets and lanterns and to top it all off you had strung up 500 feet of brand new hose! It was glorious! You had all celebrated by going down to the bar to quench your thirst before retiring home to clean up for the festivities. Having just showered and shaved, you're putting on your dress blue uniform and your wife is helping you with your tie when you hear the sirens. Lots of sirens. The news comes, the auditorium is on fire! You rush to the park to find a scene so unbelievable it was hard to grasp. Firemen are everywhere, nine companies of them. They are running, yelling, carrying hose, some in, like you, in their dress uniforms. The flames are already to the roof and the ceiling is falling in. You grab a length of hose and start running towards the flames but the heat is too intense. The water set on the flames seems to do little good. An aerial ladder is used to direct water through the roof but it catches on fire as well. In the end you stand there with your brothers watching it burn, the towers tumbling into the pit. It’s a total loss.

The building was never meant to be permanent. It was only made to last a few years, but it was so beautiful. Just three years ago the city had upgraded the whole thing to make it last with new flooring, modern furnaces and five kitchens! They put on a new roof and shored up the walls. In the end it was that new oil furnace that caused the blaze. After you all had left the janitor decided to fire up the furnace for the party. The fire had spread rapidly from the basement through the “kindling forest” of struts and braces used to shore up the walls. Thankfully, the fire was contained from the rest of the park and no one had been seriously injured. If the fire had started a hour later the hall would have been full and there would surely of been a terrible loss of life.

The trail now takes you over Park Boulevard via the bridge.

From the footbridge looking east you get a really good idea of what Balboa Park looked like before it was developed. San Diego has a Mediterranean climate and gets less than 10 inches of rain per year. Our natural landscape if covered with sage brush and other drought tolerant plants. The only trees natural to these canyons are the Scrub Oak.

Once across the footbridge, turn right and meander through the Rose Garden.

The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden is three acres filled with about 1600 roses. New varieties are introduced each year and it is recognized by several renowned organizations. There is a “Rose Garden Corp” of 45 volunteers who help maintain the garden.

Make you way back to the footbridge

Detour: This will take you through the neighboring Desert Garden. .3 miles

Instead of crossing the bridge, turn right and head north on the path through the Desert Garden.

Established in 1976, this garden features 1300 plants. The peak blooming period is from January through March but it offers great photo opportunities every day.

Take the first dirt path to the right. It stops at a large boulder overlooking the canyon.

From this vantage point you get a good view of the east mesa of Balboa Park. To the southeast, just across the canyons, you can see the manicured Balboa Golf Course. This is a municipal 27 hole golf course.

Looking south at the mouth of the canyon you can see where our indigenous peoples, the Kumeyaay, would often camp before the Spanish came to this land. The Kumeyaay were never conquered and now live on lands to the east granted to them by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Directly to the east you can see a lot where the city stores vehicles. Sadly, in this section, many years ago was the city dump and is unsuitable for other uses.

Looking to the northeast you can see Morely Field Sports Complex. This is a very large recreation complex which hosts a wide variety of sports. You can find tennis, swimming, baseball, softball, cross county, archery, a velodrome, frisbee golf, bocce and a lot more. I’ve seen everything from bootcamp fitness classes to LARP at Morely Field. I even recently saw a pole dancing class taking place on the grass there!

You can really see just how big Balboa Park really is. At 1200 acres, it is much larger than New York’s Central Park.

Return back to the path and meander your way through the Cactus Garden and back to the trail near the bridge.

Take the footbridge back over Park Boulevard and turn right heading north before you get to the NAT. Follow the trail around the Nat.

Looking to your left behind the NAT you will see the largest tree in Balboa Park. This Moreton Bay Fig was planted for the 1915 expo. It is 60’ tall and the canopy is 120’ wide. A few years ago it was found that the foot traffic around it’s Jurassic Park-like roots was compacting the soil and threatening the tree. It was barricaded to prevent further damage and now a system of decking is being installed that will allow people to get up close to this beauty again.

Follow the path northward crossing Village Place and back toward the Merry-go-round.

You will be again passing Spanish Village.

Thank you for allowing me to share Balboa Park with you. I hope that you found this Companion informative and entertaining.

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Blessings, Bleu

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