San Diego County

San Diego County covers the southwestern corner of California, holding the city of San Diego and the broad mix of coast, mountains, and desert that fills the corner of the state. The county runs from the Pacific east to the Anza-Borrego desert and from Camp Pendleton south to the Mexican border at Tijuana — about 4,500 square miles of varied terrain. Anchor cities include San Diego, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Encinitas, La Jolla, Coronado, Chula Vista, Escondido, El Cajon, and Borrego Springs (in the desert). Cabrillo National Monument sits at Point Loma; Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo anchor the urban core; Anza-Borrego Desert State Park covers more than 600,000 acres of the eastern county; Cleveland National Forest and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park hold the mountain country between. Most trips center on the coast. Downtown San Diego, the Gaslamp Quarter, the harbor, Coronado, and the surfing beaches from Imperial Beach north through Oceanside carry most visitor weight; Balboa Park and the zoo handle the urban-cultural itinerary; the mountain town of Julian (apple country) and the Anza-Borrego desert fill day trips inland.