San Diego Best Attractions

Haunted Houses are an awesome way to kick off Halloween! Dress up, grab some friends, and be prepared to scream and jump. The Haunted Trail in Balboa Park is an outdoor walk where thrills lurk around every corner. There are about 10 different “houses” along the trail with different themes and scary characters loom all over the trail. There is everything from a school bus to a farm house. Characters will crawl, jump, and fall out of nowhere at you. There are scary guys with chainsaws and creepy ghosts. You never know what is coming next.

The Scream Zone haunted house isn’t as scary. Maybe because it is enclosed so there aren’t as many places for them to jump out at you. It does have some cool special effects and banging. They can trap you more easily, though, so watch out for that. There are quite a few rooms to go through and since it isn’t as scary you can spend more time actually looking around and take it all in, instead of trying to run through as fast as you can to get away from an extra scary creeper like in some of the Haunted Trail rooms.

When deciding which to go to, assuming you can’t go to both (which I would recommend), decide how scary you want it to be and how far you want to walk. The Haunted Trail is a good 15 minutes of walking and just walking around Balboa Park in the dark is spooky enough, even without all the scary zombies chasing you. Do not wear heals! The trail is mostly dirt and you’ll be falling into it. I made that mistake because my costume called for it. I would go there if you aren’t scared easily. The Scream Zone haunted house is better for kids and for people who don’t want to walk very far.

*check back soon because I will be adding the Haunted Hotel review soon!

It seems like new discount sites are popping up every day and they can be a great way to do something different or try a new restaurant at a great price. I like to check each day to see if I can snag a great deal for a class, activity, restaurant, nail place, and any other cool deal I come across. Whether you live here or are just here on vacation, you might as well see what you can find and save a few bucks at the same time.

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Balboa Park is home to many of the museums in San Diego. It is also a great place to go just to hang out and have a picnic. Every Sunday at 2:00 pm the Spreckel’s Organ Pavilion has a free show. On Tuesdays the museums rotate having free admission throughout the month.

San Diego Museum of Man, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Art Institute the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, the Natural History Museum, the San Diego Historical Society, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, the Reflection Pond, the latticed Botanical Building (which is always free), the Bea Evenson Fountain, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego Zoo, and Timken Museum of Art are all located in the park.

I would definitely recommend the bigger museums… the Science Center, Museum of Art, and Natural History Museum are the best. The Science Center is especially fun for kids because it is interactive.

There are a number of gardens located in the park. These include Alcazar Garden, Botanical Building, Cactus Garden, Casa del Rey Moro Garden, Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, Japanese Friendship Garden, Marston House Garden, Palm Canyon and Zoro Garden.

The Old Globe Theatre, a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Starlight Bowl both have many shows throughout the year.

Visit the “international cottages” or House of Pacific Relations. These are a collections of houses from 17 different countries. There are free shows during high season on Sundays at 2:00.

Chess, horseshoe, petanque, and lawn bowling clubs are also located in the park.

Located in the northeast corner of the park is the Morley Field Sports Complex. Included in this complex is the largest tenant of the park, the Balboa Park Golf Complex with an 18-hole golf course and a 9-hole executive golf course, the San Diego Velodrome, baseball fields, the USTA awarded Balboa Tennis Club, archery ranges, the Bud Kearn Swimming Pool, and a disc golf course.

The rich ethnic diversity of San Diego is reflected in the Park’s institutions: the Centro Cultural de la Raza; the World Beat Center (celebrating cultures of African origins); the Mingei Museum of International Folk Art; the Japanese Friendship Garden, and the House of Pacific Relations.

For dog lovers, there are 3 leash-free dog areas.

Discounted admissions to Balboa Park’s major museums are available through the Passport to Balboa Park. The $39 Passport, valid for one week, represents a $95 value and allows entrance to 13 Park museums. A child’s passport is also available for children 3 to 12 years old for only $21, which is a $43 value.

For more information, hours, and prices click on the link…

Balboa Park