Kate O. Sessions Park

large grassy area with views of San Diego bay and words "Kate O. Sessions Park"

Kate Sessions Park in San Diego is a GEM. It is a great spot for a picnic or a short hike because the incredible views! According to Google, Katherine “Kate” Olivia  Sessions was an “American botanist, horticulturalist, and landscape architect closely associated with San Diego, California, and known as the ‘Mother of Balboa Park.'”

It’s a nice place for any event – even a wedding ceremony! I’ve seen some elaborate picnic spreads here due to the increased popularity in luxury picnic companies in San Diego. Lots of groups meet here too, including “Mommy Meet-ups” and an embroidery group

In the Summer, the Pacific Beach Town Council often hosts Concerts at the Park here. 

Reservation Contact Information:
858-581-9927

Can reserve, parking lot (free), restrooms, drinking fountain, picnic tables, public transportation, street parking (free)

Playground, bark, monkey bars, playhouse, rubber ground, slides (big, medium and small), swings (saddle and baby/bucket), tot lot

Large grassy area, hiking trail

Alcohol NOT allowed (24 hour ban), dogs allowed (LEASHED), Scenic

Kate Sessions Playground

The playground at Kate Sessions Park is simple, but fun! It has one structure for ages 5-12 with a couple of slides and a spinner, and a structure with a couple of different types of monkey bars. The entire playground has bark ground cover (no sand here!). There are benches and a low wall nearby for parents to site while kids play. 

Kate Sessions Playground - play equipment over bark
Tot Lot at Kate Sessions Park

The tot lot (in the same play area) for children ages 2-5 has three little slides with a few stairs. No interactive panels here, but it’s a cute play structure, perfect for littles. 

Swings

Kate Sessions Park has two saddle swings and two bucket (baby) swings right next to each other.

swings at Kate Sessions Park - two bucket and two saddle
Monkey Bars

There are different types of monkey bars, if you have a little one who loves these!

monkey bars at Kate Sessions Park
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Restrooms

Kate Sessions Park has a restroom building, but it’s nowhere near the park (see map at the bottom of this post). Keep that in mind if you’re potty training! But the facilities are perfectly fine, one side for men and one side for women. 

Bathroom at Kate Sessions Park
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Views of San Diego

Without question, the big draw of Kate Sessions Park is the incredible view of San Diego and all the beautiful trees! Don’t be surprised if you see a proposal here 🙂 At the very least, you’ll likely see some amazing picnic spreads. It’s a great place for a picnic! My daughter loved running down the hill with her friend (she didn’t enjoy coming UP the hill as much). 

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Hiking Trail

We went on a nice hike at Kate Sessions Park with my daughter and her friend. We did not get to the top (they wanted to go back to the playground), but it was a nice hike and I imagine the view is nice from the top! I’m sure they could have managed just fine if they were motivated – they are five years old (so, it’s an easy hike). 

The first part of the hike is nice and shaded, with these lovely trees on either side of the path. There is a bit of a climb about that, but not too difficult. I did get a little turned around on the way back (no signage), but you can see the playground at various points so just keep walking in that direction. 

You can enter the hiking trail from a couple different points, but I like to enter from here (just beyond the playground). It’s the black dot in the middle of the picture above. 

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Picnic Areas

Kate Sessions is a great spot for a picnic! You can either bring a blanket and spread out on the grassy hill (for those amazing views I talked about earlier), or grab one of the many picnic tables.

This BEAUTIFULLY shaded picnic area is right next to the playground (a bit of a walk to the restrooms though). Look at how stunning! 

Right next to they playground (not shaded), there are a few picnic tables (pictured behind the tot lot above) and a hot coal bin. 

Between the playground and the restrooms, is another picnic area with three tables (spread out) and some trash cans. You can see this spot on the map at the end of this post. 

Near the bottom of the hill, there are two additional picnic areas. One has a deluxe barbecue with a hot coal bin, and the other has a couple of tables. You can see the location of these in the map at the end of this post!

Alcohol Policy at Kate Sessions Park

Alcohol is NOT allowed at Kate Sessions Park, per San Diego Municipal Code (page 21 of that document lists Kate Sessions Park has having a 24 hour ban on alcohol). Please keep in mind that glass is never allowed at any park, for safety. 

Natural Beauty

Wow – the trees at Kate Sessions Park are so beautiful! According to Wikipedia, Kate Sessions struck a deal with the City of San Diego in 1892 to “lease 30 acres of land in Balboa Park (then called City Park) as her growing fields. In return, she agreed to plant 100 trees a year in the mostly barren park, as well as 300 trees a year in other parts of San Diego.”

Look at all the different beautiful trees here!

Parking

You’ll find several areas to park at Kate Sessions. The parking lot is a good size, and has a round about at the top. There are also several locations for street parking (listed on the map at the end of this post!). 

Map

Here is a marked up aerial map so you can see where everything is located. Note that the restrooms are pretty far away from the picnic tables and playground!

Get Ready for Fun!

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