Kate Sessions: Mother of Balboa Park

Some of Balboa Park's most unique attractions are not in museums, they are outside attractions that encourage park visitors to sit back and enjoy the great outdoors.

Share this Article

• The Japanese Friendship Garden is one of the most tranquil places in the park. Discover a different world by walking along the meandering paths through carefully tendered landscapes. Admire the koi pond, the bonsai, and the many varieties of bamboo. To complete your experience, sip a cup of tea at the separately owned tea pavilion.
  

  Hours: Mon. - Fri. 10:00am - 5:00pm; Sat.- Sun. 10:00am - 4:00pm.
  

  Free: Third Tuesdays

• Spreckels Organ Pavilion -

  Organ Pavillion

  The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is the home of the world's largest outdoor pipe organ with over 4,500 pipes. Free, public organ concerts by the Civic Organist or guest artists are presented at 2:00pm every Sunday. After spending a summer day in the Park, stick around to enjoy the many local bands that entertain for the 'Twilight in the Park Concert Series' on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays at 6:15pm. The Organ Pavilion is a great place to either kick up your heels to dance to the music or to rest your feet after all that walking.

• Palm Canyon - Like palms? This area of the Park features more than 50 species of palms from around the world as well as other complementary plant species. It was developed in 1912 for the Panama-California Exposition, and enhanced in 1976 with additional palms, a wooden footbridge, and a stairway to access the canyon.

• The Lily Pond - The Lily Pond was built for the 1915 Exposition to serve as a reflecting pool and to display water lilies. It still serves the same purpose and is carefully tended to by the Park staff (Peter) on a daily basis. Koi are supposed to be the only species of fish in the pond but people have been known to dump aquarium fish, catfish, bass, turtles, and for some reason, craw daddies.

• The Botanical Building Hours: - Open Friday through Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; closed on Thursday and City holidays. Admission is free. The lathe structure behind the pond is the Botanical Building, an oxygen-rich sanctuary of ferns, orchids, bromeliads, herbs, seasonal plants, Vietnamese Bonsai, and a special Venus fly trap bog. This special place is a must-see when you visit Balboa Park.

  But wait, there's more!

  • Alcazar Garden - Located across from the Globe and behind the Mingei, this Spanish-style garden is known for its two ornate fountains and benches that are decorated with turquoise blue, yellow and green Moorish tiles. The formal garden is planted with 7,000 annuals for a vibrant display of color throughout the year. This beautiful garden is tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of the museum traffic - if you are looking for a quiet place to rest your feet, this is the perfect place for a little tranquility.

  • Zoro Garden - This little garden is located between the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and the Casa de Balboa. This 1915 stone grotto features a butterfly garden that has been planted with both the larvae and nectar plants needed for all cycles of the complete life cycles of butterflies. A special garden mural was recently installed by Alpine artist, Vaness Rusczyk. The former site of a nudist colony (during the 1935 California Pacific Exposition), Zoro Garden is located between the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center and the San Diego Historical Society.

  • Inez Parker Rose Garden - This delightful place features 2,400 rose bushes in 180 varieties. The garden is in peak bloom during April and May, although many roses are in bloom from March through December. The rose garden is located south of the footbridge that crosses Park Boulevard near the San Diego Natural History Museum.

    Inez Parker Rose Garden

  • Cactus Garden - Located directly next to the Rose Garden, the Cactus Garden features more than 150 species of cacti and other desert plants from North and South America. Trails located within this garden lead visitors along the hillside. There is a very nice picnic bench in between both of these gardens that is perfect for sneaking a little alcoholic beverage.

  • Train Ride and Carousel -

    Balboa Park Carousel

    For over 50 years, a 48-passenger miniature train has run along 2200 feet of track adjacent to Spanish Village. Currently operated by the San Diego Zoological Society, the train carries passengers of all ages every day throughout the summer and on weekends and school holidays during the rest of the year.
    

    The Balboa Park Carousel is one of only a few built by Herschell-Spillman Co. of New York that are still operational. Built in 1910, the 50 carousel horses (with real horse hair tails) and assorted carousel animals arrived in Balboa Park in 1922. It is one of the few carousels left in the nation that still allows riders to try to catch the brass ring. Balboa Park's beautiful carousel operates daily during the summer and on weekend and school holidays throughout the rest of the year.