Paid parking starts in Balboa Park
By: anniegvideos
San Diego, California. - Paid parking began Jan. 5, 2026, in Balboa Park parking lots and at parking meters along roads within the park.In addition to annual and monthly passes, there are daily and hourly options available. Free parking will continue to be available for up to three hours at the Lower Inspiration Point parking lot.
Both verified City residents and non-residents may purchase daily parking, or monthly, quarterly or annual parking passes in advance. There will be a one-time $5 fee to register, and one form of residence verification will be needed, such as a driver’s license, vehicle registration or utility bill. Residents will also be asked to enter their vehicle’s license plate number. Rates posted on the kiosks throughout the park will only display the non-resident daily rate. Resident discounts are offered exclusively online and must be purchased in advance of your visit to the park.
While the technology to verify residency at the kiosk is not available at this time, the City is working with our parking vendor to display the discounted daily rate for verified City of San Diego residents on the kiosk in the future. This would alleviate the need to purchase the daily pass online.
By state and local law, parking revenues must be reinvested in the park, with eligible expenses to include park operations and maintenance. These revenues will be critical to support improvements and ongoing maintenance in Balboa Park.
The daily cost of each parking lot within Balboa Park will vary, depending on how close it is located to the center of the park. To obtain the City of San Diego resident discount, residency must have been verified in advance via the online portal, which is also accessible from the City’s Balboa Park Parking Information website. It is important to note, the meter kiosks within the parking lots do not have the ability to verify City of San Diego residency on the spot and resident rates are currently not available at the kiosks.
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