Chula Vista Visitors Guide

A fantastic find in the South Bay district of San Diego is Chula Vista, meaning “beautiful view” in Spanish. Located between the San Diego Bay and the coastal mountain foothills, Chula Vista is seven miles from downtown San Diego. This city, founded in the early 19th century, has a diverse cultural and economic mix. Downtown Chula Vista is home to the popular Lemon Festival, Rose Festival, and Starlight Parade.

Chula Vista offers tourists and residents alike convenience, affordability, and many great entertainment options.  Chula Vista (Spanish for Beautiful City) is located five minutes south of downtown San Diego along the Interstate-5 freeway.  Drive another ten minutes past Chula Vista on I-5 and you reach the Mexican border town of Tijuana. Downtown San Diego’s financial district, government offices, the Gaslamp Quarter entertainment district, Horton Plaza Mall, San Diego Convention Center, Civic Theater, Petco Park Baseball Stadium, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, San Diego bay, nautical museums, marinas, and restaurants are all minutes away.  If the above wasn’t enough to fill your day – Chula Vista itself offers much in the way of exciting things to do with two marinas, yacht clubs, waterfront restaurants and several bayside parks.  One can take harbor cruises, enjoy whale watching excursions or try your luck on a charter fishing boat trips from here.  A new Nature Center has marine life exhibits including shark, ray and other fish tanks along with regional flora, fauna, and history.

One can attend performances by the hottest groups at the outdoor Coors Amphitheater.  The 20,000 seating venue is perfect for a night of music under the stars.  Don’t miss Knott’s Berry Farms San Diego Soak City Water Park located near Coors Amphitheater.  This 32-acre water park has over 22 thrilling rides including family rafting, a giant wave pool, high-speed water slides, and tube slides. Note: Re-opening scheduled for Spring 2008.

The town sports four golf courses as well as a U.S. Olympic Training Center where athletes train year-round in archery, soccer, track, tennis, field hockey, rowing, cycling, and other sports.

The town was founded in the late 1880s when building lots sold for only $300.  It was discovered that lemons grew well in the rich soil and Mediterranean climate, and the town soon became the world’s largest producer of lemons along with celery.  Over time the farms and lemon groves gave way to aircraft production, kelp (seaweed) harvesting for munitions (smokeless cordite), and US Naval shipyard facilities.

Like many other towns in America – the original city center with its older buildings has been renovated into offices, trendy boutiques, bistros and coffee bars in recent years.  The town has a two-year community college and it is said that San Diego State University will build a new four-year college in the town.  The San Diego Chargers have been negotiating with the city for some years to build a new football stadium as well with one option being in conjunction with San Diego State’s new facility.  Lots of energy has been spent in discussions over whether to rename the team the Chula Vista Chargers.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

The town’s housing stock is made up of WW-2 and post-war housing tracts as well as newer condos, planned unit developments, apartments, and townhomes.  As the shipyards expanded, the lemon groves all but disappeared. Many strip malls along with the traditional shopping mall anchored by a major department store such as a Sears or Penney’s can be found here. Today much new residential development is taking place in the Otay Valley near the U.S. Olympic Training Center and the Otay Reservoir.  Chula Vista is a fine residential community in which to live and an affordable place to stay for tourists. It’s just a short hop away from the more pricier locales in Downtown San Diego, Mission Bay, and Mission Valley.

Chula Vista Attractions

Numerous tourist attractions provide good reason to visit Chula Vista including Knott’s Soak City USA, the Chula Vista Marina, and the Chula Vista Nature Center. The U.S. Olympic Training Center is a must-see. Educational opportunities are also plentiful with the Sweetwater Union High School District headquartered in Chula Vista and Southwestern College.