A Place to Smell the Roses

Recently rated in the top 10 parks in the United States in the Trip Advisor Travelers Choice Awards, Balboa Park features 16 unique gardens including the Japanese Friendship Garden, the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden featuring over 2,400 rose bushes, and the Botanical Building with adjacent Koi and Lily Pond. The Botanical Building houses more than 2,100 plants including a fascinating collection of cycads, ferns, orchids and palms. Join the weekly 45-minute docent-led Botanic Building Garden Tour to learn about the origins, design and horticulture housed in the building. Balboa Park is also home to 15 museums and theaters as well as the world-famous San Diego Zoo.

And speaking of the Zoo, both the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, boast wonderful botanical collections. Both parks employ a team of horticulturists, arborists and gardeners who care for more than a million plants on a combined 1,900 acres. One of only six zoos recognized for their plant collections by the American Association of Museums (AAM), the Zoo holds distinctions in acacias, aloes, bamboos, coral trees, cycads, figs, gingers, orchids, and palms. Treat yourself to a self-guided walking tour, or join a monthly Botanical Bus Tour or look for special days with access to Orchid Odyssey. The Safari Park's accredited collections are the Baja Garden, Old World Succulent Garden, Conifer Forest, figs, palms, and the Native Scapes Garden.

A don't miss for plant lovers, the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas encompasses four miles of garden trails, including a wide collection of native and endangered plants, a whimsical children's garden, and the nation's largest collection of bamboo species. The garden offers a full line up of engaging events including workshops, plant sales and bird-watching tours.

Along the Water

One of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast, the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Park is dedicated to preserving its namesake, the Torrey Pine tree and other indigenous wildlife in their native environment. A coastal wilderness of pine forests and sandstone canyons, the park offers hiking trails that wind their way along the cliffsand breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. Look for seasonal sightings of migrating whales as they travel along the coast.

Just south of Torrey Pines, the Cabrillo National Monument Historic Park commemorates the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay in 1542, the first European explorer to set foot on the West Coast of the United States. Apart from the historic significance, the park offers amazing views of San Diego's harbor and skyline, as well as Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island. Just below the monument, the stretch of coast has some of the best tide pools on the West Coast.

If water sports are your passion then don't miss a visit to Mission Bay Aquatic Park, the largest aquatic park in the United States. Encompassing 4,600 acres, the park offers water activities for all ages including kayaking, paddle boarding, wave runners and sailing. The park also has 27 miles of meandering shorelines with bike paths, play and picnic areas, fire pits and dozens of well-maintained restroom facilities. Mission Bay is also home to SeaWorld San Diego and excellent sport fishing with six public launch ramps, two fuel docks and a number of sport fishing boats at Mission Bay Sport Fishing, Seaforth Landing, Dana Landing and Sportsman's Doc.

San Diego's Wetlands are another wonderful place along the water to explore the region's diverse flora and fauna, as well as view a wide array of permanent and migratory bird species. Some of the more popular wetlands to investigate include the Tijuana Estuary, in Imperial Beach, the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge on San Diego’s Bay, and the Famousa Slough in Point Loma.