Best Balboa Park Day Trips & Things to Do

The gorgeous 1,200-acre San Diego park contains 15 museums, amazing venues, vast beautiful gardens and the acclaimed San Diego Zoo. Balboa Park was established in 1868 with much of its design beginning in 1892 when famed landscape architect Kate Sessions planted 100 trees on the site named for Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa. The park hosted both the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition and 1935–36 California Pacific International Exposition. The U.S. National Historic Landmark District has so many attractions to cater to everyone's interests and it's advisable to stop at the Balboa Park Visitors Center for a complete list. Show All