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301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach

Hours: Visitor’s Center: Wed.–Sun. 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Trails: daily, one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset

Admission: free

Info: 619 575-3613, www.tijuanaestuary.com

 

Where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific Ocean sits the Tijuana Estuary, a 2,500-acre saltwater marsh. Managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the wetland preserve is a rarity in this state as most have been overrun by development.

With only 600 visitors per month, the Tijuana Estuary is the perfect alternative to the hot and dusty Mission Trails Park and the tourist-infested Torrey Pines, offering hiking and horseback riding trails on flat ground and prime bird watching (more than 300 species have been spotted here). The Visitor’s Center features interactive activities about life on the marsh and, of course, a gift shop.