Top 10 Things To Do, Activities and Attractions in Cleveland National Forest

"Afterwards, take yourself to the south east corner of the Gaslamp area and locate Petco Park (it’s kind of hard to miss). This giant baseball stadium is home to the San Diego Padres and, baseball fan or not (I’m not), is a pretty spectacular sight. If you’re in San Diego during the baseball season, tickets are affordable and make for a great night out. Otherwise, you can take a stadium tour, or just climb up onto the grassy bank opposite and have a nosey from there."

"Home to the San Diego Padres, Petco Park is a baseball stadium where you can take the whole family out to a ball game. It’s filled with state-of-the-art features that include everything from gigantic videoboards to smaller HDTVs scattered around the bars and concession stands so that you’ll never miss a moment of the action. Baseball isn’t the only thing to enjoy at the stadium, either."

"Opened in 2004, the stadium was built as part of a redevelopment plan of the aging downtown area of San Diego."

"A time warp back to the mid-19th century, the State Historical Park in the Old Town is scattered with restored historic buildings, including five original adobes, as well as detailed replicas. The finest of the adobes is the Casa de Estudillo from 1827, one of the oldest remaining pieces of Spanish architecture in California. The park is free to enter and gives a sense of the intersecting cultures, as a Mexican pueblo became an American settlement."

"In 1968, the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation established Old Town State Historic Park to preserve the rich heritage that characterized San Diego during the 1821 to 1872 period. Within Old Town don’t miss Casa de Estudillo, which is one of the few original buildings (many are reproductions), Whaley House and Museum, which is believed to be haunted and Junípero Serra Museum, literally the place where California began."

"There are numerous historic buildings located in this area, dating back to the early 1800s. It was the first European settlement in California. One notable building is Whaley House which Travel Channel named as the most haunted house in America."

"San Diego's monument to sports and fitness, this 4,600-acre aquatic park has 27 miles of shoreline including 19 miles of sandy beaches."

"If you want something simple, straightforward, and kid-friendly, this small Solana Beach spot sports a nice grassy area, and also has a playground for kids who get bored of swimming. Fletcher Cove also has picnic tables, bathroom facilities, and a beach wash station. This beach is best for walking, playing (there’s a basketball court, too) and boogie or body boarding, but if you’re looking to lounge on the sand all day, try somewhere else because the sand is limited here and sometimes completely swallowed by high tides."

"The main beach in Solana Beach is Fletcher Cove, aka “Pillbox” (because a WWII gunnery installation is there), located where Lomas Santa Fe Boulevard meets the coast and just across Highway 101 from the Solana Beach train station. There are public restrooms and showers, as well as picnic tables and a basketball court on the bluffs above the beach. Lifeguards are on duty from 8 a.m."

"Whether you want to go strawberry picking, have sunflowers as a backdrop, or get an awesome pumpkin patch fall photo, the Carlsbad Strawberry Company is the place to go!. Check their website ahead of time to see what’s in bloom!"

"For four generations since 1950, Carlsbad Strawberry Company has been providing fresh and delicious produce to the community. Located along Cannon Road in Carlsbad, its lush strawberry fields add color to Interstate 5."

"North Park and East VillageUpon opening in an unexpected stretch of El Cajon Blvd a few years ago, Coffee & Tea Collective’s small-batch roastery and tasting room quickly became a destination for serious local coffee lovers. The no-frills minimalist design to the space keeps the focus on what’s important: the coffee. They are all about quality and utilizing pour over brewing methods to produce a consistently great cup of joe."

"Coffee and Tea Collective is dedicated to craft coffee, which means they have some excellent beans here, all varieties of which have been carefully selected. Creating a cup of your favorite beverage is a meticulous ritual in this place, but the way coffee is treated here guarantees only the highest quality. As you can guess from the name, though, you are no limited just to coffee here."

"Coffee & Tea Collective Downtown is as cozy a coffee shop as can be. Their blank canvas of a design allows for the warmth and creativity of our surrounding community to grace its interior. They have a pretty sweet “How To San Diego” T-Shirt too."

"If you’ve ever wished you could order a donut with whatever combination of toppings you want, no matter how odd that combination might be, then we may have just found your new favorite place in all of San Diego. Sometimes you get weird cravings, and there’s not really anything you can do to satisfy them unless you go out of your way to combine them. Pickles and peanut butter anyone?"

"We asked our waiter at South Draft in Mission Beach, where is the best Mexican food in San Diego?. He immediately recommended Oscars Mexican Seafood as a great local, hole in the wall place to grab fish tacos in San Diego. He warned us there may be lines, and we avoided them by visiting the shack near La Jolla at lunch time."

"We had a great time visiting the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park and actually ended up going twice while we were in San Diego. (Our reciprocal membership made this possible.) It wasn’t the largest Science Center we have been in, but it had a great collection of hands on activities for the kids – including a Lego section. Our favorite part was the Tinker Lab where the kids eyes lit up when they saw tons of cardboard and other fun materials they could use to build whatever they wanted."

"Founded in 1973, it was the first museum to build a planetarium and IMAX dome on site, offering its guests a wide range of entertainment options even as it educated them on scientific subjects. Other museums quickly went “hey, that’s a good idea” and copied the design, and now, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a museum dome. The good news is that the Fleet Science Center is still just as fun as it was in the ’70s."

"The Fleet is home to Southern California’s only IMAX® Dome Theater and 100+ hands-on science exhibits for all ages. Watch immersive giant-screen films and amazing planetarium shows in the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theatre and experience seven galleries of fun, interactive exhibits at this popular San Diego attraction."

"Talking about the most popular museum in San Diego, the USS Midway Museum is the only fine name that is topping the chart for years. USS Midway Museum is the longest-serving aircraft carrier that is now floating at the Navy Pier in downtown San Diego. The aircraft carrier has originally served between 1945 to 1992 but is now home to 29 restored aircraft, two flight simulators, over 60 war and military exhibits, a gift shop and a café proudly in name of a museum."

"The USS Midway aircraft carrier, which served from 1945-1992, offers a fascinating glimpse into life aboard a giant ship. Self-guided audio tours are included with admission and are narrated by former Midway sailors. Docents, some of whom served on the ship while it was active, are on board every day to answer questions and can occasionally be persuaded to relate a funny or interesting story or two."