Unspecified/General

On the Pacific shoreline just north of downtown San Diego, Mission Bay Park is the largest urban aquatic park in the United States and one of the most heavily visited public recreation areas in southern California. The 4,235-acre park encompasses some 2,000 acres of land and over 2,000 acres of protected water, with the meandering bay carved into a coastal salt marsh during the late 1940s through a vast public-works programme. The bay's creation transformed an unproductive tidal wetland known as False Bay into one of the most prized public recreation areas in the western United States. The dredging programme commenced in 1949 and ran for nearly two decades, with the carved-out sand used to build the islands, peninsulas and the long sweeping beaches that now line the bay. The park's amenities are remarkably extensive. Several long sandy beaches with playgrounds, picnic areas and concession stands ring the bay, including Bonita Cove, Tecolote Shores, Crown Point Shores and the popular Fanuel Park playground. The park hosts a long list of water sports including sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, wakeboarding, water-skiing and jet-skiing, with several rental concessions placed around the bay. The bay's gently curving shoreline and consistent winds make it a particularly popular destination for beginners. A continuous bike path encircles the bay for a total of about 25 miles, with several handsome arched bridges providing additional pedestrian and cycling connections across the bay's narrowest passages. The park is also home to SeaWorld San Diego, the city's long-established marine theme park, which sits on the bay's south shore. Major resort hotels including the Hilton San Diego Resort, the Catamaran Resort and the Bahia Resort hotel each operate from their own slices of the bay-facing land. Free, open from sunrise to ten in the evening and easily reached from anywhere in central San Diego by car or public transit, the park is one of the most accessible large-scale recreation areas in the United States.

Type: Outdoors

Address: 2581 Quivira Court, San Diego, CA, United States

Telephone: 619-235-1169

Website: sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/missionbay

Opening Date: 01/01/1949