Tourist and Travel Information for Old Town, San Diego California

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. Below is helpful visitor information for Old Town San Diego.

 

• Park Information
• Getting To Old Town

• Nearby Attractions
• Local Time

• Old Town Weather
• Old Town Map

Old Town San Diego Park Information

The park includes a main plaza, exhibits, museums and living history demonstrations. Visitors are offered a glimpse into yesteryear, as converging cultures transformed San Diego from a Mexican pueblo to an American settlement.

Old Town Operating Hours

• Visitor Center & Museums - 10am to 5pm daily
• Retail Shops & Restaurants - 10am - 7pm, hours may vary
• Tours - Daily 11 am & 2 pm
• Additional Tours Wednesday - Sunday 1 pm & 3 pm
• Begins at the Robinson-Rose Visitor Center
• Living History Activities - Wednesdays & Saturdays 10 am - 4 pm

Old Town Admission and Fees

The Old Town State Historic Park is free to all visitors and it is the most visited state park in the country. Although it is free to see all the sites and attractions in Old Town, most of the museums have a donation box.

Contact information for Old Town San Diego

For general information about Old Town events, group tours, attractions or schedules, call the parks directly at the numbers below.

• Presidio Park San Diego - (619) 235-1122
• Old Town State Historic Park - (619) 220-5422
• Heritage Park - (619) 291-9784

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Getting to Old Town San Diego

Getting to Old Town by Air

Old Town San Diego is located less than 10 miles from the international airport in San Diego (SAN). San Diego's Airport called Lindbergfield is served by legacy carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways, as well as major low fare carriers including JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.

Getting to Old Town by Rental Car

Rental cars are available at the airport and online. Old Town is centrally located to most things in Dan Diego, so some sort of transportation is recommended if you plan on exploring anything outside of Old Town. Rental cars can pick you up and drop you off at your hotel or residence. San Diego has several rental car agencies and prices will vary.

Getting to Old Town by San Diego Trolley

The San Diego Trolley, a light rail service operated by the MTS, runs through Old Town and Mission Valley. The Blue Line connects Old Town to Downtown to the south and all the way down to the Mexican border beyond that. The Green Line travels east from Old Town through Mission Valley (making stops at all the shopping centers, Qualcomm Stadium, and the Mission San Diego), then continuing east past SDSU out to El Cajon and Santee. Standard one-way fares run from $1.25 to $3 depending on how far you travel. Day passes run at $5, and there are 2, 3, and 4 day passes available. Tickets have to be purchased from the vending machines at the station before you board the train. There's no formal system to check if you've purchased a ticket, but there are trolley guards that may come around and ask to see your ticket, and the fine is normally around $120 for not having a ticket

Getting to Old Town by Bus

The Old Town Transit Center (at 4005 Taylor St, near the intersection of Taylor Street and Pacific Highway at the northwest corner of Old Town) and the Fashion Valley Transit Center are hubs for many local Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus routes. In addition, the Old Town Transit Center serves the COASTER , a commuter rail service which runs north along the coast of San Diego County to Oceanside, and the occasional weekday Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.

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Nearby Old Town Attractions

Cultural Pursuits, Seaside Attractions, Sporting Games and Universities in San Diego. Old Town is centrally located to them! Old Town is a short drive away from some of the best colleges in Southern California, including: San Diego State University, UC San Diego, and the University of San Diego. And if it’s international adventure you crave, Tijuana, Mexico is only a short drive south, if you want to leave your car behind, the San Diego Trolley System can take you right to the US/Mexico border! Enjoy miles of sandy beaches and an amazing average weather of 70 degrees year round, make Old Town San Diego a perfect place to visit any time of the year.

• Balboa Park - 3.5 miles
• Cabrillo National Monument - 8 miles
• Legoland - 30 miles
• San Diego Wild Animal Park - 31 miles
• San Diego Zoo - 3.5 miles
• Sea World - 2.5 miles
• Coors Amphitheater - 19.5 miles
• Gaslamp Quarter District - 4.5 miles
• PETCO Park - 5.5 miles
• San Diego Convention Center - 4 miles
• San Diego Sports Arena - 1 mile
• Mission Bay Park - 4 miles
• Port of San Diego - 2.5 miles
• Port of San Diego - 2.5 miles
• Seaport Village - 3.5 miles
• Carlsbad - 31 miles
• Chula Vista - 13 miles
• Coronado - 10 miles
• Del Mar - 17 miles
• La Jolla - 9 miles
• Tijuana, Mexico - 19 miles
• Rosarito, Mexico - 35 Miles
• Puerto Nuevo - 43 Miles

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Old Town San Diego California Time Zone

Old Town

Time Zone - Old Town San Diego California lies in the Pacific Time Zone or PST. The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 105th degree meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. Pacific Standard Time (PST) is 8 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-8). Old Town is in the same time zone as San Diego and Los Angeles. Pacific Time Zone is one hour behind the Mountain Time Zone and three hours behind the Eastern Time Zone. Old Town observes PDT = Pacific Daylight Time in summer and PST = Pacific Standard Time in winter.

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Old Town San Diego California Current Weather and Forecasts

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

Old Town Weather - San Diego has a temperate, Mediterranean (Csa) climate when classified using the Koppen climate classification system, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. San Diego enjoys mild, mostly dry and plenty of sunshine throughout the year with 264 sunshine days annually.[6] Temperatures vary little throughout the year. Summer or dry period of May to October are mild to warm with average high temperatures of 70 - 78°F (21 - 26°C) and lows of 55 - 66°F (13 - 19°C), and temperatures only exceed 90°F (32°C) 4 days a year. Winter or rainy period of November to April are mild and somewhat rainy with high temperatures of 66 - 70°F (19 - 21°C) and lows of 50 - 56°F (10 - 13°C).

Climate in the San Diego area and the rest of California often varies dramatically over short geographical distances, due to the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons): frequently, particularly during the "May gray / June gloom" period, a thick "marine layer" cloud cover will keep the air cold and damp within a few miles of the coast, but will yield to bright cloudless sunshine between about 5 and 15 miles (9 - 24 km) inland; the cities of El Cajon and Santee for example, rarely experience the cloud cover. This happens every year in May and June. This phenomenon is known as microclimate.

Rainfall averages only about 10 inches (251 mm) of precipitation annually, which occurs mainly during the cooler months of December through April with few wet days per month during the rainy period, but it could be heavy once it rains.

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Map of Old Town San Diego Including Highways and Attractions

The map below provides inforamation on attractions and highways in San Diego and Old Town California. We also offer driving directions and information to Old Town in our Driving Section.

 

Click on Map of Old Town San Diego Click to Enlarge

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