San Diego's winter features mild weather and bountiful outdoor recreation opportunities. From landscaped gardens to wild beach trails, and from ocean-facing ice rinks to healthy food markets, there’s something for everyone in California’s second largest city.
Get Your Skates On
Ice skating tones your muscles, particularly the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, increases flexibility and helps reduce body fat. Ice skating burns around 350 calories an hour and is a good cardio workout if you don’t spend all the time on your butt. Every winter San Diego opens a number of rinks offering all these benefits as well as the social advantages of taking a spin around the rink with friends. The Outdoor Rink at Horton Square is open from November to January and the admission price includes skate rental. Ocean-facing rinks are also popular.
Discover New Food
It may be tempting to head into the heated supermarket for groceries now that winter’s arrived but there are alternative places to pick up your food. Farmers markets don’t close during the winter in San Diego, thanks to that mild climate. You may not be able to get summery tomatoes or strawberries but the stalls are full of healthful, in-season produce. Pick up leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, persimmons and satsumas.
Run a Marathon
San Diego’s oldest marathon is run in the winter and attracts runners to its rolling, scenic course. The Tri-City Medical Center Carlsbad Marathon & Half Marathon takes place in January (January 23 in 2011) and often sells out, so early registration is required. The marathon follows the Pacific Ocean for much of its course. The highest point is 308 feet above sea level, a gradual climb between miles five and nine. Twenty-six staffed support stations provide refreshment, and there’s roadside musical entertainment for those who like a bit of distraction when they run.
Love the Local Park
Balboa Park boasts 1,200 acres of space that includes more than eight landscaped gardens to explore, as winter is the peak blooming season. Visitors can go back in time to the historic cactus garden, travel to the other side of the world in the Australian garden, or walk through the desert discovering more than 1,300 plants from the driest parts of the world. After this gentle exercise, hit the Balboa Park Activity Center with its 38,000 square-foot gym, plus volleyball, badminton and table tennis courts.
Hit the Trails
Winter can be a great time to pull on your running shoes and step up your training. Average temperatures range from 49.7 to 65.8 degrees in January with 72 percent sunshine. Try one of the hilly trails in the Torrey Pines State Reserve, around 20 miles from downtown. Torrey Pines Reserve hugs the coast and has many trails to choose from. Try the Beach Trail with its steep hill or the more sedate Guy Fleming Trail which winds for two-thirds of a mile through the forest with views of the ocean.
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