San Diego/Balboa Park-Hillcrest

San Diego's most beloved green space, Balboa Park is a massive urban park in the heart of the city just north of Downtown San Diego. Within the park's canyons and hills lie beautiful open spaces, lush gardens and vegetation, the renowned San Diego Zoo, the historic Old Globe Theatre, and numerous museums. Hillcrest, a neighborhood just to the northwest of Balboa Park, is a dense urban community that has undergone a lot of gentrification and is home to many locally-owned businesses and most of San Diego's gay nightlife. Bankers Hill to the south of Hillcrest is considerably quieter but home to several popular bars and restaurants.

By car
Being in the heart of the city, Balboa Park and Hillcrest are accessible by a number of major streets. Park Boulevard runs north-south through the park and the eastern edge of Hillcrest, connecting to Downtown to the south. 5th and 6th Avenues also provide a direct connection to the area, where one can continue north to Hillcrest or into Balboa Park via Laurel Street/El Prado over the Cabrillo Bridge. Laurel Street continues west towards the San Diego International Airport. Washington Street and University Avenue provide the major connection through Hillcrest, connecting to neighborhoods east and west.

SR-163 runs north-south through the neighborhood, connecting Hillcrest to Downtown to the south and Mission Valley to the north. However, there is no direct connection into Balboa Park from SR-163.

Parking can be very congested however, parking is available if you look in the right places. Parking lots are found throughout Balboa Park. There are two large parking lots in the park. One is for the San Diego Zoo and one is at Inspiration Point (on the east side of Park Boulevard north of Presidents Way), which is served by a free tram which connects the lot to many of the museums in Balboa Park. The tram runs 9AM-6PM daily, with extended hours during the summer. On-street metered parking is also available and can be paid for with coins, and many meters also accept credit or debit cards.

By bus
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates buses in San Diego, which can be a good way to avoid parking hassles. The MTS has a couple of lines which directly serve Balboa Park, the Route 7 and the Rapid 215, both frequent services which run along Park Boulevard and connect Balboa to Downtown to the south and Mid-City neighborhoods to the northeast (note that the 215 only stops at the Naval Medical Center and Zoo Place within Balboa Park). Hillcrest is quite well connected, with a few frequent routes running south to Downtown along the western edge of Balboa Park (3, 11, 120) and a couple connecting Hillcrest to neighborhoods east and west (1, 10).

See
Most of Balboa Park's museums offer free admission one Tuesday per month to residents of San Diego County and to active-duty military and dependents.



San Diego Zoo


The many expansive and well-designed exhibits throughout the park provide a natural setting for the zoo's animals, with the exhibits generally divided up by continent; the major areas are Discovery Outpost (where you'll find most of the reptiles and a children's petting zoo), Lost Forest (with several large bird aviaries, most of the apes, Tiger Trail, Hippo Trail, and African rain forest animals), Northern Frontier (arctic animals, including polar bears), Asian Passage, Outback (Australian animals), and Urban Jungle and Elephant Odyssey (which together hold animals of the African savanna). The terrain of the park, with plateaus, steep canyons, and wide flat areas, creates an expansive setting with many hidden corners and less-beaten paths.

The zoo is so large that you really need to devote several hours—if not a whole day—to seeing it all. Visiting in the winter will mean fewer crowds and cooler weather, but visiting in the summer has the benefit of extended hours. Buses provide a way to get around the zoo. A special guided bus tour using double-decker buses takes you around much of the zoo without stopping, while the Kangaroo Buses (both double and single-decker) allow you to get on and off in different parts of the zoo. In addition, the Skyfari aerial tram provides a quick shortcut to get from one side of the zoo clear out to the other, providing magnificent views of the zoo. If you decide to walk around, moving walkways make traversing some of the steeper sections easier.

Do

 * Balboa Park's many gardens provide a scenic and quiet escape from the bustle of the city or a relaxing break between museum visits. Many of the gardens follow specific themes, with desert species, flowers, native species, a Moorish garden, a rose garden, and a Japanese garden. The highlight of Balboa's botanical collection is the, a historic structure which contains an adjacent lily pond and numerous species of ferns, orchids, palms, and other tropical plants. (The Botanical Building was closed for renovation in January 2022, and is projected to reopen in late 2023 or early 2024.)
 * Near the entrance of the San Diego Zoo, the and the  provide an entertaining diversion for kids. Each charges $2 per ride per person. The, a historic landmark built for an exposition in the 1930s, is a community home to many artists and art studios.
 * There are many hiking and biking trails through Balboa Park. One of the most popular running/walking trails is a 5.5-mile route that’s compatible with all fitness levels and starts and ends at C Street and 6th Avenue in Downtown and heads north, running past bridges, canyons, creeks, flower-covered hillsides, and gardens. There is also a 0.41-mile Balboa Park bike path which begins at Upas Street and Seventh Avenue, near the northwest corner of Balboa Park. The level of difficulty is well above average here as there are several steep descends, sharp turns, and a bridge that crosses highway 163. In several areas, bicyclists must dismount and walk, for safety.

Events

 * San Diego's St. Patrick's Day Parade takes place each March in Hillcrest, with the parade running along 6th Avenue on the west side of Balboa Park, followed up by an Irish festival with traditional music, food, and a Celtic village.
 * The San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and festival takes place during Pride Weekend each July in Hillcrest, with a music festival, a block party, a rally, and a major parade running down University and 6th Avenues.
 * Cityfest is a huge street festival that takes place every August in Hillcrest, with lots of arts, crafts, food and entertainment.
 * December Nights takes places in Balboa Park the first weekend of each December and is a celebration of the holiday season, with plenty of food, crafts, and entertainment at the park's various museums, which are free of charge during the event. The park is decked out in spectacular light displays, which remain up for the remainder of the holiday season.

Buy
Most of the museums in Balboa Park contain gift shops specializing in merchandise and items specific to that museum, like art shops at the art museums, science toys at the science museums, zoo stuff at the zoo, etc. There's also a general gift shop at the Balboa Park Visitors Center in the House of Hospitality, where you can purchase postcards and the like. In addition, the Spanish Village Art Center contains a number of art studios where you can purchase arts and crafts directly from the artist.

The Thursday Club, in Balboa Park, is one of the largest antique markets in the city and is held annually, usually sometime in March. Crowds start lining up for this event early in the morning, and bargains galore can always be found at this very well attended event.

Eat
Expect food to be overpriced(or very expensive) in Balboa Park. Most food options in the park revolve around museum cafes, as there aren't many stand-alone restaurants in the park. You can find a cafe in the Casa de Balboa building, the House of Hospitality, the Natural History Museum, the Science Center, the Old Globe Theater, the Sports Museum, and the Museum of Art. There is a tea pavilion at the Japanese Friendship garden, just south of the House of Hospitality. There are also snack carts around Balboa Park. The San Diego Zoo also provides a number of eating options.

Hillcrest
Hillcrest, on the other hand, has numerous fine restaurants: