Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Find Coast Redwoods in Balboa Park

Balboa Park’s Founders Park
Balboa Park’s Founders Park

Balboa Park’s trail system is just about complete. After several years of planning and implementation, five trail “gateways” are in place, and a total of 19 trails emanate from those gateways. Throughout the park, sprucing up the trails and walkways have coincided with landscape improvements and police enforcement that has rendered the area much safer and more attractive to local residents and tourists.

Balboa Park’s exquisitely landscaped “West Mesa” section along Sixth Avenue is the destination for the hike described here. You’ll follow Trail 1, the shortest and smoothest (almost entirely sidewalk) of the five routes that emanate from the Sixth and Upas Gateway. This is one of the few trails in the park that (although not designated as such) might be considered viable for wheelchairs.

From the gateway sign at Sixth and Upas, head south on the palm-lined sidewalk along Sixth Avenue. At infrequent intervals, you see small trail signs guiding the way. The signage is innovative: Each sign has background color — blue for Sixth and Upas trails, and other colors for the other four gateways. The number for each trail lies inside a geometric outline (round for an easy trail, square for a medium-difficulty trail, and diamond for a difficult trail). Signs have directional arrows and often have a cumulative mileage figure.

After ten blocks of sidewalk travel, the Trail 1 sign directs you leftward on Laurel Street/El Prado, the street that crosses over the long Cabrillo Bridge to the east. As you make that turn, check out Founders Park on the left, with lifelike statues of Balboa Park’s early proponents. On the right, across El Prado, lies the statue of Kate Sessions, the horticulturalist known as the “mother of Balboa Park.” Starting in 1892, Sessions planted thousands of trees from around the world on what was at that time dry, scrubby hilltops and hillsides. Today, the landscaping on West Mesa serves as a de-facto botanical garden and arboretum.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cross Balboa Drive, heading east toward the start of the Cabrillo Bridge (take the sidewalk across the bridge toward Balboa Park’s historic section if you are so inclined for a side trip). The Trail 1 route, though, veers left (north) just before the start of the bridge. You skirt a perfectly manicured lawn-bowling court and curve around a picnic site called Redwood Circle. Yes, those are coast redwoods planted around the periphery, far from their native foggy habitat up north. They do look a bit scraggly due to San Diego’s too-sunny climate.

As you continue north, now and again you’ll catch a treetop-level vista, off to the right, of the dominant building in the park’s historic area: the Museum of Man’s California Tower. Farther ahead lies a crossing of Quince Drive and a short passage through the Trees for Health garden, which highlights medicinal native and non-native plants and trees.

As you approach Upas Street, note a couple of gnarled oaks with puffy bark on the right. They’re in fact cork oaks. Dig your fingernails into the soft bark to find out for sure. On a bit farther, just short of the historic Marston House (tours offered), you return to your starting point.

Maps of Balboa Park may be obtained as PDF downloads by visiting balboapark.org/maps/maps.php.

Balboa Park’s West Mesa

Stroll through Balboa Park’s green and friendly west side.

Distance from downtown San Diego: 2 miles

Hiking length: 1.5 miles • Difficulty: Easy

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts
Next Article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Balboa Park’s Founders Park
Balboa Park’s Founders Park

Balboa Park’s trail system is just about complete. After several years of planning and implementation, five trail “gateways” are in place, and a total of 19 trails emanate from those gateways. Throughout the park, sprucing up the trails and walkways have coincided with landscape improvements and police enforcement that has rendered the area much safer and more attractive to local residents and tourists.

Balboa Park’s exquisitely landscaped “West Mesa” section along Sixth Avenue is the destination for the hike described here. You’ll follow Trail 1, the shortest and smoothest (almost entirely sidewalk) of the five routes that emanate from the Sixth and Upas Gateway. This is one of the few trails in the park that (although not designated as such) might be considered viable for wheelchairs.

From the gateway sign at Sixth and Upas, head south on the palm-lined sidewalk along Sixth Avenue. At infrequent intervals, you see small trail signs guiding the way. The signage is innovative: Each sign has background color — blue for Sixth and Upas trails, and other colors for the other four gateways. The number for each trail lies inside a geometric outline (round for an easy trail, square for a medium-difficulty trail, and diamond for a difficult trail). Signs have directional arrows and often have a cumulative mileage figure.

After ten blocks of sidewalk travel, the Trail 1 sign directs you leftward on Laurel Street/El Prado, the street that crosses over the long Cabrillo Bridge to the east. As you make that turn, check out Founders Park on the left, with lifelike statues of Balboa Park’s early proponents. On the right, across El Prado, lies the statue of Kate Sessions, the horticulturalist known as the “mother of Balboa Park.” Starting in 1892, Sessions planted thousands of trees from around the world on what was at that time dry, scrubby hilltops and hillsides. Today, the landscaping on West Mesa serves as a de-facto botanical garden and arboretum.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cross Balboa Drive, heading east toward the start of the Cabrillo Bridge (take the sidewalk across the bridge toward Balboa Park’s historic section if you are so inclined for a side trip). The Trail 1 route, though, veers left (north) just before the start of the bridge. You skirt a perfectly manicured lawn-bowling court and curve around a picnic site called Redwood Circle. Yes, those are coast redwoods planted around the periphery, far from their native foggy habitat up north. They do look a bit scraggly due to San Diego’s too-sunny climate.

As you continue north, now and again you’ll catch a treetop-level vista, off to the right, of the dominant building in the park’s historic area: the Museum of Man’s California Tower. Farther ahead lies a crossing of Quince Drive and a short passage through the Trees for Health garden, which highlights medicinal native and non-native plants and trees.

As you approach Upas Street, note a couple of gnarled oaks with puffy bark on the right. They’re in fact cork oaks. Dig your fingernails into the soft bark to find out for sure. On a bit farther, just short of the historic Marston House (tours offered), you return to your starting point.

Maps of Balboa Park may be obtained as PDF downloads by visiting balboapark.org/maps/maps.php.

Balboa Park’s West Mesa

Stroll through Balboa Park’s green and friendly west side.

Distance from downtown San Diego: 2 miles

Hiking length: 1.5 miles • Difficulty: Easy

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.