Belmont Park

Belmont Park Today

It’s pretty incredible to get to visit an amusement park in our city that is almost a century old. I admittedly had not visited Belmont Park for many, many years and was floored to see how much it has changed!  It is in many ways a smaller version of the San Diego County Fair and can easily keep you entertained for at least half a day, if not a full day.

There are rides, games, an arcade, laser tag, zip line, restaurants, food booths, shops and not to mention it is literally right next to the beach.  Since this is not a gated-in park, you can easily go back and forth between the beach and park all day long if you wanted.

I highly recommend purchasing the all-day pass if you can afford it and going buck-wild here.  There is SO much to do.  We tried out almost all of their rides and seriously had such so much fun. There are rides for all ages too. Check out all the rides here.

Although the amusement park has gone through many chapters in its long life, there are still several attractions that have stood the test of the time. The most notable one being the Giant Dipper roller coaster.  This is actually the first adult roller coaster I went on when I was a child and definitely got me hooked after that!

Another historical feature of the park is their indoor pool, The Plunge.  This too I have fond memories of, even taking swimming lessons here when I was young.

It warms me up inside knowing that many of us can continue to visit such special places from our childhood and still see them standing today.

While you’re in the area, make sure to explore Graffiti Shack nearby!

History of Belmont Park

In an effort to help promote developer John Spreckels’ new railway, he had this huge amusement park built right along the coast. The main attraction was the Giant Dipper, which is still hugely popular today.

The Plunge, then known as Natatorium, was also built at the same time. It was promoted as the largest indoor saltwater pool in the world.  Take note of the Spanish architecture on the exterior which greatly resembles the designs at Balboa Park which were constructed a decade earlier. Read the full history of Belmont Park here.

This is their ride Beach Blaster:

Zero Gravity:

Krazy Kars:

Octotron:

I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera with me to this 3-story attraction and for good reason so I only took one photo looking up from the ground. It’s called Sky Ropes and seriously an insane obstacle course of sorts. I saw young kids doing it so I thought it would be no big deal. Ha!

This three story obstacle course will really test your balance and wits.  Yes, you are strapped in, but you are tight-rope walking and doing a ton of other crazy maneuvers to get from one side to the other.  There is even a zip-line section.

I am not lying when I say this at least partially helped me with my fear of heights.  When I first realized what this was all about I wanted to turn around and quit, but knowing I was strapped in, I decided to try one of the obstacles out.

It was terrifying seeing my drop to death or of great injury below, but I did it!  I ended up doing probably 17 of the obstacles and had a blast & was quite proud of myself!

Rock Wall:

Lazer Maze. I was SO thrilled to find out there is a laser tag here! Some friends and I used to do laser tag down in Point Loma, but unfortunately the spot shut down due to Covid. The laser tag here is 3 stories and a ton of fun.  I actually got first place too when we competed!  Ahhh yea!

Tiki Town Golf was every bit as cool as any other miniature golf place I have ever gone to. You get to navigate through a maze of exciting Tiki-themed displays throughout.  There was definitely a lot of time and heart put into the designs.

The arcade:

The Plunge

Here are some historical shots of the Plunge:

And what it looks like today.  My God the kids were having such a blast in there when we visited!  The pool definitely wasn’t filled with all those crazy features when I was a kid.  I’m kind of jealous!  You know most of them will remember the experiences they had here when they are older:

Giant Dipper Roller Coaster: