Located on Park Boulevard between Space Theater Way and Inspiration Point Way or between the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center and the Centro Cultural de la Raza.
Up until recently, my family and I lived a stone’s throw from Balboa Park. We made it a yearly tradition to invest in annual passes for the San Diego Zoo. Last year, we even got the Balboa Park Explorer Passes so we could visit the 15+ museums whenever we wanted. When my toddler was still small enough to comfortably carry in the Tula, we would hike the Florida Canyon Trails on either side of Florida Street and make our way up to either the zoo, the museums, or the Pepper Grove Playground (depending on how much energy Mom had left). I always referred to it as “the playground near Balboa Park”. Who knew it was called Pepper Grove? Well, now I do and so do you! It was clearly named for all of the great shade-providing pepper trees surrounding the area.
Picnic tables, benches, restrooms, parking lot, open grassy picnic areas. There’s a path for learning to ride a bike, but stay away from the busy street!
Tot Lot, baby swings, regular swings, rubber mat floor, bark, slides, monkey bars, zipline, balance bar, swiggly stix, climbing wall, toddler “rides” and statues.
Street parking, one small lot near the Centro Cultural de la Raza, one large lot near the museum.
Address:
2125 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101
- Dogs Allowed (leashed)
- Good for Events
- Alcohol Allowed
- Tot Lot
- Bathroom Facilities
- Sunrise to Sunset









Playgrounds
I love this playground at the park mainly because of its diversity of play structures. There are three main playground structures. There is one for the little ones aged 2-5 and then two larger structures for 6 and up.
Aside from the play structure, there are other options for toddlers and tinies as well, such as a low balance beam, lots of animal statues to climb on, and two baby swings.
For the bigger kids, Pepper Grove Playground offers two regular swings, two other large structures, one of which is pretty unique, monkey bars and other things to hang and swing from, and a zipline.
Tot Lot








Larger Play Structures












Parking and Bus Stops
On my most recent trip to Pepper Grove, I discovered a small “secret” parking lot right in front of the Centro Cultural de la Raza. I’ve never noticed it before, but it has nine parking spots. Other than that, there is quite a bit of street parking on either side of Park Blvd. and a large parking lot behind the Fleet Science Center at Park Blvd. and Space Theater Way, but it is often full. All parking tends to be very full on Free Museum Tuesdays and on the weekends and during any other major Balboa Park event (i.e. December Nights, Earth Fair, Food Truck Fridays, Park After Dark). There is a bus stop right across the street from this park that services Routes 7 and 215.
Great for Events
On the east side of the park is Park Boulevard. To the west side are large grass areas. The park backs up to the back of the Japanese Friendship Garden, which is a great view for picnicking. On the north side of the park are several (approximately 15) picnic tables grouped together, shaded under pepper trees. There are a few other picnic tables sporadically placed around the rest of the park, but they are not covered or shaded.
With so many tables and so many play structures, this would be a great location for a large event with a lot of kids, family, and friends. Near the tables, there are two hot coal bins and a dumpster. On either side of the playground, there is a building of restrooms – a men’s room and a women’s room on each side. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there tend to be a few people sleeping in the grass at any given time, but I’ve never felt that anyone posed a threat.
Surrounding Area
On the south side of the playground, are the Centro Cultural de la Raza and the World Beat Center. The Centro Cultural de la Raza has a nice cactus garden out front and both buildings have beautiful murals painted all over their exteriors. They’re worth a look if perhaps you need to get your little one (or yourself) away from all the excitement for a few moments.
Perhaps you have a lover of aircrafts! Pepper Grove is very close to the flight path (without being too loud). You can see an airplane fly by every 5-10 minutes or so. Pro tip: one of my favorite spots to picnic or lie in the grass and read is about one block farther south on President’s Way. There’s a large grassy area directly under the flight path, which for some reason never ceases to amaze me.















