Recreation

Recreational Activities

Balboa Park offers a variety of recreational activities for local and out-of-town visitors.

• Balboa Park Activity Center

  The Balboa Park Activity Center is a 38,000-square-foot multi-purpose gymnasium built to accommodate badminton, table tennis, volleyball,  and other activities, including tournaments. The center is set amid beautiful landscaping, public art, and spacious outdoor plazas and it is a first-class sports facility.

• Balboa Park Golf Course

  The Balboa Park Golf Course is a challenging par 72, where Sam Snead holds the course record. There is also a 9-hole executive course. The course features stellar views of San Diego, Balboa Park, Point Loma and the Pacific Ocean. The oldest public golf facility in San Diego, Balboa Park Golf Course also offers a driving range, Pro Shop, coffee shop, halfway house and practice putting greens.

• Balboa Park Tennis Club

  The Balboa Park Tennis Club can be found within the Park’s 1,200-acre vibrant landscape, filled with gardens, canyons, and hiking trails, and is a few steps away from the San Diego Zoo, the 17 museums at Balboa Park, and the Morley Field Golf Course.

  The Tennis Club is home to:

  • An ongoing Doubles Challenge Court that offers the opportunity for players to find a pickup game.
  •  A full USPTA-certified staff of teaching pros who offer individual lessons and clinics for guests visiting the area and locals.
  •  A complete Pro Shop with tennis accessories and other court needs.
  • A popular eatery called Route 6 Cafe offers a variety of smoothies, coffees, sandwiches, burritos, salads, and snacks.
  • Balboa Tennis Club hosts several prestigious tournaments each year. The Club is wheelchair-friendly and home to one of the San Diego Wounded Warrior Programs.

• Lawn Bowling

  Balboa Park’s lawn bowling greens are nestled on the northwest side of the Cabrillo Bridge at the corner of El Prado and Balboa Drive.  Organized in 1932 with five founding members, the San Diego Lawn Bowling Club is still going strong with more than 100 members. Social bowling games occur Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday at 10:30 a.m.  Club members also provide free lessons to San Diego County residents.

   

  

• Morley Field Disc Golf

  Morley Field was established in 1978 making one of the original disc golf courses in the world.  Open from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week, the course overall isn’t long but it does have a few lengthy holes and it‘s beautifully maintained by the shop employees and features Mach III baskets and concrete tee pads. This is a challenging course, with many trees and tough pin placements. Pin positions change each Monday, and there are 3 to 6 positions for each hole.

• Morley Field Sports Complex

  Morley Field was named after John Morley, who served as a park superintendent in Balboa Park from 1911 to 1939.  His guidance and inspiration for the cultivation of the park made for many of the beautiful gardens in the park today.

  This multi-faceted sports complex offers a vast variety of outdoor opportunities with 25 tennis courts, Bud Kearns swimming pool, a senior center, a tiny tots play area, group picnic areas, an archery range, a multi-purpose ball field, a velodrome (bicycle track), bocce courts, a disc golf course, a fitness course , Petanque courts, Balboa Park Golf Course, native trails located in Florida Canyon, Golden Hill Recreation Center and Golden Hill Park.

• Municipal Gym

  A variety of sports programs take place in the gym, including basketball leagues for youth and adults, open play, volleyball, fitness classes, disabled services tournaments and special events.

• San Diego Velodrome

  Located in the heart of Balboa Park’s Morley Field Sports Complex, the San Diego Velodrome is the resource for bicycle track racing in the greater San Diego area. One of three velodromes in the Southwestern United States, the San Diego Velodrome is a premiere training and racing destination. Our development programs are tailored for riders of all ages, skills, and abilities. Offering one of the longest race schedules in the US, the SDVA fosters grass-roots racers through National and Olympic-level riders. San Diego Velodrome is committed to providing our members with great racing, adult/junior classes, coaching, and most importantly FUN!!