San Diego County - 89 Attractions You Must Visit

Mission Trails Regional Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country, providing opportunities for recreation as well as native flora and fauna viewing.The park is also home to a 14,000-square-foot, award-winning Visitor & Interpretive Center. The park consists mostly of rugged canyons and hills, with both natural and developed recreation areas, including many beautiful flowers.

The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial is considered one of the most unique veterans' memorials in the United States. The present structure was erected in 1954; it is the third Christian cross in that location, the first having been put up in 1913. It is 29 feet tall with a 12-foot arm spread. It is the centerpiece of the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, in San Diego, California, US, is an art museum focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego offers access to the very best art of our time at two iconic locations. While the La Jolla location is currently closed for a major renovation and expansion project, the downtown location serves as MCASD's primary hub of activity. The Museum of Contemporary Art has a nearly 5,500-object collection of post-World War II art that includes key pieces by color field painter Ellsworth Kelly.

This is one of the only museums in the country dedicated exclusively to the photographic arts, presenting work by some of the world's most celebrated photographers and cinematographers. Its mission is to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film and video.

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.

This is a historic lighthouse located on the Point Loma peninsula at the mouth of San Diego Bay in San Diego, California. It is situated in the Cabrillo National Monument. It is no longer in operation as a lighthouse but is open to the public as a museum. Visitors may enter the lighthouse and view parts of the living quarters there

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.

Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. The park has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby sevens.

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.

Potato Chip Rock is a nature attraction at the top of Mt. Woodson that is known for resembling the shape of the popular snack food.The hike to the rock takes approximately one to two hours. Potato Chip Rock sits 100 feet below the summit. There is no drinking water, toilet facilities, or rangers along any route to Potato Chip Rock. At least 400,000 hikers visit this San Diego open preserve each year.

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.

An aviation and space exploration museum containing many original and reproductions of historic aircraft and spacecraft.

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San Diego Bay is a recreational haven that attracts boaters from all over the world. Considered to be one of the best natural harbors on the west coast of North America, it was colonized by Spain beginning in 1769. San Diego Bay remains as a home port of major assets, including several aircraft carriers, of the United States Pacific Fleet, and as a result of base closures beginning in the 1980s, facilities in San Diego Bay are the major naval base facilities still in operation in California.

At 37 acres (150,000 m2), the garden includes rare bamboo groves, desert gardens, a tropical rainforest, California native plants, Mediterranean climate landscapes, and a subtropical fruit garden.

The San Diego History Center is a museum showcasing the history of San Diego, located in the city's Balboa Park. It also maintains a research library and archives serving residents, scholars, students and researchers.

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.

This anthropology museum's cultural resources and permanent exhibits focus on the pre-Columbian history of the western Americas, with materials drawn from Native American cultures of the Southern California region, and Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya. The museum also holds one of the most important collections of Ancient Egyptian antiquities in the United States, which includes burial masks, figurines, and seven painted wooden coffins. The most extraordinary of these is an extremely