20 Attractions to Explore Near SeaWorld San Diego

Manta is a steel launched roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego in San Diego, California. Manta features two launches. Riders reach speeds of up to 43 miles per hour on the two-minute, 2,800-foot long ride.

This is a large peninsular park located within Mission Bay, is a popular location for charity walks and runs, bicycle races, time trials and other special events. It is also the home of the annual Over-the-Line tournament.

This is a historical wooden roller coaster located in Belmont Park, a small amusement park in the Mission Beach area of San Diego, California. Built in 1925, it and its namesake at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are the only remaining wooden roller coasters on the West Coast designed by noted roller coaster designers Frank Prior and Frederick Church, and the only one whose construction they supervised. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Belmont Park is a historic amusement park located on Ocean Front at Surfrider Square in the Mission Bay area of San Diego. The park's most iconic attraction is the historic Giant Dipper roller coaster, which is considered a local landmark. The attractions and rides that remain from the original 1925 park include the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another historic facility is The Plunge, an indoor swimming pool.

This is one of the most visited landmarks in San Diego County. The pier extends 1971 feet into the ocean and is purported to be the longest concrete fishing pier on the west coast.

Old Town San Diego features acres of Mexican heritage, historical sites, colorful shops, eclectic restaurants, a theater and tons more to explore.Old Town has over 30 restaurants, most with great outdoor dining, and a quaint atmosphere plus there are more than 75 unique places to shop. This historic area is situated next to the State Park with 32 historic sites and shops.

A state protected historical park commemorating the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870.

A 7-day a week Public Market and event venue offering the best of what the region has to offer. Showcasing a rustic environment with prepared foods, beer, wine, specialty cocktails, produce, fish, desserts and pastries, pastas, arts and crafts, a test kitchen, pop up dinners, and educational driven events.

The Junípero Serra Museum, in Presidio Park, is one of the most familiar landmarks in San Diego. The Museum exhibits archeological finds, historic objects, and reference materials related to Spanish colonization and the early history of California and provides educational programs about the Spanish, Mexican and indigenous heritage of the San Diego region.

This is an 1857 Greek Revival style residence, a California Historical Landmark,[2] and museum located in Old Town, San Diego. From its rich Greek Revival architecture style and authentic decor to its mysterious past and unrivaled haunted pedigree, it’s no wonder this home attracts visitors from all over the world. Besides being the Whaley family home, it was also San Diego’s first commercial theater, the county courthouse, and a general store.

This is the world's largest accredited model railroad museum. This unique museum contains five enormous scale model layouts depicting railroads of the Southwest in O, HO, and N scales. Its mission is to collect, preserve and present the heritage of American railroading using educational programs, displays, toy trains, and scale models of California railroads.

Presidio is a national park site like no other, with surprising adventures for everyone. Get away from it all on a trail and enjoy the view from a scenic overlook. The park encompasses about 40 acres and has views of the city, the San Diego River valley, and the Pacific Ocean. The grounds are open for picnics and play. The facilities can be used for weddings and other special events.

Tourmaline is a surfing-only beach, popular with novice surfers who are looking to get some practice in. The park is situated at the northern end of Pacific Beach, a short distance south of where the sand beach ends and the rocky promontory of La Jolla begins. This park also features "Tourmaline Memorial" a monument celebrating surfers who have enjoyed the surf at Tourmalin.

A majestic Sea port in San Diego. In addition to port activities, the Port District controls San Diego Bay and owns and manages the Bay's immediate waterfront under the state's Tidelands Trust. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports bringing in nearly 3 million metric tons of cargo per year through the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the National City Marine Terminal.

Shelter Island is a neighborhood of Point Loma in San Diego, California. It is actually not an island but is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The "island" is 1.2 miles long and only a few hundred feet wide. A single street, Shelter Island Drive, runs the length of Shelter Island and also connects it to the mainland via a causeway lined with marine-related businesses.

Sunset Cliffs Park is a 68-acre park that extends 1.5 miles along Point Loma peninsula's western shoreline.The park's topography includes intricately carved coastal bluffs, arches and sea caves. It affords inspiring panoramic ocean views.There are surfing spots below the cliffs. The cliffside trails are popular for walking and for watching the sunset, but are undeveloped and can be dangerous.

This is a 375-foot long pedestrian bridge that stretches across the Kate Sessions Canyon at a height of 70 feet. The bridge is supported by steel cables that are secured to huge slabs of concrete buried in the soil.Today, locals and visitors enjoy a stroll across this bridge for the views and serenity offered in its secluded spot.

Established in 1948, it preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. The centerpiece of the museum's collection is the Star of India, an 1863 ironbark.

San Diego Waterfront Park is a 12-acre open space park surrounding the San Diego County Administration Center. Numerous walkways with intermittent benches wind through the gardens. There are six large civic green lawns, and a long row of reflecting pools with interactive spray fountains.

Star of India is an iron-hulled sailing ship, built in 1863 in Ramsey. After a career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she was renamed, re-rigged as a barque, and became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route. Retired in 1926, she was restored as a seaworthy museum ship in 1962–3 and home-ported at the Maritime Museum of San Diego in San Diego, California. She is the oldest ship still sailing regularly and also the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still afloat.