A little further off the beaten path lies a great place to spend a day or longer. The playground is…read morea good size without being too much for the kids. For camping, trailers or tenting is awesome. There are water and electrical for trailers, as well as single and group sites. All of it is on a relatively level elevation, making the kids' bikes a breeze. Tons of fun to be had, a great place to spend the weekend.

I love it when I can bring my dogs camping! Potrero County Park Campground is located on the East…read moreSide of San Diego. The surrounding areas are mountains and small towns. We went at the beginning of October. The weather in the daytime was cool, it rained for one day at night, and it got chilly. At night you can hear frogs and crickets. Dogs are welcome, but they must be leased at all times. There are hot showers available in the park bathrooms. Make sure to bring quarters to feed the machine. There are unruly campers at night. They blast the music up during quiet hours and drink. The best time to camp here is during the weekdays, and it's tranquil. The nature trail is easy to hike. It was a nice getaway! You can find more information about Potrero at - https://reservations.sdparks.org/reservation/camping/

Very awesome park with lots of grills and tables. Great multi use turf field open to the public…read morewhen not in use by AYSO or little league. The rangers are decent people and always look out for the patrons of the park. Could use a bit more gopher control on the heavily used parts of the park that aren't turf, have twisted my ankle several times, so I avoid going too far from the tables or grills.

Ooh! This is a beautiful park!…read more We were there for a "family" picnic, with friends who have become family. We were in area with a pavillion and lots of seating around the perimeter with picnic tables. There were a few big trees we could use to spread out for shade. And right nearby was a volleyball/"beach" ball court. It was a beautiful day for wonderful time with friends. The one issue I had was the parking situation. If anyone goes on a weekend, bring your patience because there was no parking available nearby, especially not for the disabled. For the size of the park, multiple pavillions, and other grassy areas for picincs, etc., there should be more disabled parking available with ramps to the pavilions.

Jess Martin Park is on highway 79 in Julian California. This is a really nice county park has base…read moreball fields skate park some exercise equipment. Has shade in some spots. Has bathrooms. Had wash station. BBQ gril. Perfect for picnics gathering. Birthday parties. Take a dog for a walk. Has handicap parking and accessibility. Would I recommend this county park yes highly would. I go every chance I can since I live in Julian and it's our local park. Thank you

My family and I drove up to Julian for a day trip but we knew we needed to let the kids get their…read moreenergy out and we stopped here to explore the playground. The playground equipment seemed newer and the kids loved it. What I loved was that it is completely fenced so I didn't have to be on top of my toddlers and they could explore a bit more on their own. We had a ton of fun climbing up everything and sliding down and using the swings. No one else was there for the majority of the time we were. One other family came for a short period of time and it seemed they were killing time before a photoshoot. Outside of the playground there is some picnicking areas and some sports areas as well. It seems like there can be a good use of space to do many different activities. There is a bathroom there however it is like a camping bathroom with a sink on the outside and nothing more than an outhouse on the inside. I opted to skip it and wait until we got to Julian to use a more modern bathroom. Overall, it was a great stop on the way to Julian for the kids and we will likely stop there again on future trips.

Great little park. Almost always clean and light traffic. The other families I have run into have…read moreall been friendly and the kids always played together well. There are play structures, swings and lots of room to play small games on the grass like catch, etc. Also a great little path for learning to ride a bike or scooter. However, the park is literally crawling with ants. I'm talking massive trails of ants in every single sidewalk crack and ants climbing your legs in the grass. We take a huge park blanket and spread it out and then just run constant ant patrol on the perimeter and it works out pretty well. Not a place to bring food as its swarmed within minutes. My kids and I lovingly call it the Ant Park. But all in all, we still totally enjoy our time there.

This is a nice small neighborhood park. It is pretty clean and not usually very busy. There are 18…read morepicnic tables, a few benches, but NO shade. Bring a pop up if you plan to be there very long. There is a grassy area for playing and a perimeter sidewalk. The play structures are good for little kids. There isn't a bathroom, just a port-a-potty. There is plenty of on street parking.

Nice easy hike. Beautiful waterfall. Had this waterfall all to ourselves. Took a nice little dip in…read morethe swimming pool. Chilly but refreshing!

Nice little hike. $10 for parking. Has a bathrooms. Fire road over some rolling Hills until you…read moremake a left to go visit the "river". Trail ends up at a nice watering hole. Could definitely do some wading during the summer months if there's water. Even though you're not supposed to touch the water. ‍. The fire road continues through the rolling Hills for several miles if you wanted.

If you find yourself in the quaint mountain town of Julian, CA looking to stretch your legs, I…read morehighly recommend the scenic 5 mile out-and-back hike up Vulcan Mountain. Despite being a moderate trail with over 5353 feet of elevation gain, the well-marked route makes the hike accessible and enjoyable. We found ample parking right off the road at the trailhead. There were even clean porta-potties here for one last pitstop before starting on our way. The trail was extremely dog-friendly for our pup, though we did see signs warning of mountain lions in the area. While we thankfully didn't spot any big cats, we did catch a glimpse of some large paw prints in the dirt! As we switchbacked under a lush forest canopy, we were treated to spectacular views of the Volcan Mountain Wilderness through breaks in the trees. The vista from the top of Vulcan Mountain was an incredible payoff for our efforts. We took triumphant photos in front of the commemorative summit sign to celebrate our achievement. After admiring the sights, we retraced our steps back to the car. The descent went quickly with the help of the thought of lunch waiting for us. With beautiful wooded scenery, capped off by a panoramic summit viewpoint overlooking Julian and beyond, this was a quintessential SoCal day hike that I'd take visitors on to showcase the natural beauty surrounding this charming mountain escape. Whether you stop for a slice of apple pie before or after, no trip to Julian is complete without conquering Vulcan Mountain!

We tackled Volcan Mountain Trail with an eight-year-old, so we didn't make it the full way but it…read morewas such a nice experience. We also brought along our dog as it is a dog friendly trail as long as your dog is on a leash. The trail starts out pretty steep, but it's well-marked with clear paths throughout. One thing I really loved was all the signage explaining local plant life and animal tracks so it made the hike feel educational and engaging. My kiddo was really into looking at the different animal paw prints. This trail is great for hiking enthusiasts and beginners alike but just know your limits and pace yourself if you're newer to hiking. I would definitely say if it's sunny to make sure you bring plenty of water with you, but there are a lot of shady spots on this trail so that is a nice change from the hikes that are closer to coastal San Diego.

Wonderful campground with lots of trees. Enjoyed a partial hookup that included electrical and…read morewater. Each site has a picnic bench and fire ring. Some have benches as well. Only one bathroom area but the family bathroom is spacious. The bathroom area also has huge wash tubs for cleaning pots and pans. Same area has the RV dump. Small pond about 0.1 mile from the east end of the park, can catch and release blue gill. Have to buy firewood at the ranger station. Only complaint was the noise. There were lots of kids screaming, crying and being unruly with parents doing nothing about it.

I did not stay here, but went to check it out for a future stay…read more The staff said we could drive thru and check it out. It is nice, looks like a good place to camp, but the sites are on top of each other and not what we are looking for so I probably will not stay there.

This park is pretty much for the community of Cotê Vera. There are signs that say that you cannot…read morehave private practices nor sporting events on the nice grass. The park consists of a very, very large field of grass and a food vending type Booth. There are also several bistro sets with two chairs each that line the field or grass patch area. It is across the street from the Life Time Gym and the Conserv Gas Station & convenience store. There is also a dog park across the street that is included in this park. While we were there, we saw a lot of signs saying that there's a Friday night event for the summer. Every Friday night between 5 and 9 PM they have food and music and events in this park. I think it's really great for the community members who live here.

The 2nd Annual 80s Rewind Music Festival hosted by Cota Vera in Chula Vista, CA was AWESOME!!…read more The event was FREE and had tribute bands: Talking Threads-Tribute to Talking Heads; L.A. vation-Tribute to U2; Strangelove-Tribute to Depeche Mode. The festival had food truck vendors, radio stations Magic 92.5 and 91X giving away goodies. DJ Hurricane Andrew played a lot of great 80s music. They also had a Beer & Wine garden and 80s arcades for the kids. People were able to bring their beach chairs and enjoy the live music. The new park at Cota Vera had a beautiful kids playground and event entertained adults and kids. This was one of the best events I've been in a while and look forward to next year's festival. Happy Yelping :)

After having breakfast nearby, I walked down to Escaya Park to go for a walk. The park is…read moreinteresting because it has two levels. The top levels basically has a large grassy playing field. In fact, there was a flag football game going on when I visited. The park is very well kept and has a lot of good things to offer. It offers BBQ stations, drinking fountains, a shaded structure with tables, restrooms, hot coal disposal, modern playground equipment, and basketball courts. My favorite part about this park is the amount of green grass. Oh yes, the gazebo is available for rent.

It's a nice park just for a quick visit at the playground. But for parties, I can't recommend…read more There's some sort of an air pocket that makes it windy all day long. The gazebo is rented at $353+ and you will also be charged with a security deposit (refundable). The food gets cold very quickly. No candles or food warming element can stay lit as the wind keeps blowing them out. Table cloths are flying over the food, etc. All decorations are blown away. Terrible terrible experience. All of our efforts preparing were wasted. No electricity as it turned out it's a separate request in advance and additional fee. So what I suggest is before making a reservation, visit the park first and see for yourself. I wish we read the reviews first.

As California's largest State Park, Anza-Borrego is another spot everyone should have on their…read morebucket list. They have some great trails, camping, star gazing, and a bunch of giant statues that are fun to check out. The visitor's center was fun with a friendly staff. Don't forget to ask about the Junior Ranger Program. We saw two coyotes outside the visitor's center. We did the Palm Canyon Trail. It was an easy and short trail that was perfect for kids. We walked past 4-5 bighorn sheep. That was very cool. Keep in mind there are certain areas that can only be reached if your vehicle has AWD. The town of Borrego Springs is nice with a couple restaurants, shops, and places to stay. Looking back, it would have been nice to spend the night to stargaze. Don't forget to hiking smart: sun protection and plenty of water. Stay on the trials. Leave no trace. And have fun.

Spectacular desert views just a short drive from San Diego or Los Angeles yet it feels like you're…read moreon another continent. Try a late March trip to see the desert floor ablaze in springtime flower colors, or the "secret" Dinosaur Trail, or searching for ancient Pictographs in the Blair Valley section of Coyote Canyon. Anza Borrego never disappoints for those seeking adventure right here in Southern California!