By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Blogger
Since 1925, San Diego has had an amusment park at the beach, a kind of Coney Island of the West Coast if you will (tho with California style; there’s no messy Nathan’s hot dog eating contest here) and it has been a part of the city’s landscape and lifestyle for an entire century. Belmont Park is as iconic to San Diego as the Hotel del Coronado and the California Tower in Balboa Park.
To understand how long ago 100 years was, you have to put things into perspective. In 1925, Calvin Coolege was president. Men wore two-piece bathing suits to the beach and women’s swimsuits were the length of dresses. There was no Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Prohibition was in effect and Babe Ruth hit just 25 home runs that year (it would be two more years before he would hit 60 in a season).
And as Belmont Park celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025, here’s a revelation that adults may not realize: Belmont Park is not just for kids. Weave your way through the parents with strollers, past the children playing in games in the arcade and splashing in the Plunge pool – the largest saltwater pool in the world, by the way – and the high schoolers riding on the Zero Gravity, the Tiki Typhoon and other thrill rides and you’ll find some really fun things to do if you’re old enough to know your college fight song (mine is Yeah, Alabama, in case you are wondering).
For one thing, there are bars in and around Belmont Park. There are two stands right in the middle of the main amusement center selling margaritas, beers and cocktails. There’s the newly re-branded Fit Social bar and lounge facing the beach with bands occasionally playing on a stage and the huge bar and restaurant Draft, which has 69 beers on tap (many of them from local San Diego breweries) with views of the Pacific Ocean as well a super-giant TV screen for watching sports. You can have a drink your hand as you walk around the park.
Not only that, but some of the attractions are ideal for adults. There’s the escape rooms of Escapology, the fun ram-into-each-other Krazy Kars bumper cars and a PubClub.com favorite, a tiki-themed putt-putt minature golf course. Plus, there is the historic Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, the signature attraction of Mission Beach and one of San Diego’s iconic landmarks.
It is (highly) recommended to ride the roller coaster upon arrival, for it would not be a good idea to do it after a couple of beers or margaritas. The roller coaster is not as large, fast and tall as ones at, say Magic Mountain, but it can give you quite a thrill as it plunges down from that first hump and has you holding tight onto the bar while making high-speed turns, all the while hearing the clack-clack-clack of the cars on the old wooden track. Do, tho, take time to look the incredible views it offers of Mission Beach.
Link: Balboa Park Website
Kevin Wilkerson is an award-winning journalist. He has published PubClub.com for more than 20 years. The article was written by a human with no assistance from AI or Chat-GTP.
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