Balboa Park Activity Center

A pretty awesome spot in Balboa Park to get your ping pong, volleyball, or badminton on! The activity center is located across from the Veteran’s Memorial (park there), the main museums, and the zoo.
There’s a monthly schedule published each month with various times for different activities. The times are pretty similar each month though. The only downside is the activities aren’t free; you have to pay a small fee each time or join the club. (Example — ping pong is $ 5 each visit or $ 50 a year!) Overall this place is great, clean, and fun. Aside from the price (the only con really), I’ll be back!

Fantastic space. Went to the Art event last weekend. It was a great space although seeing all the Art spaces took less than an hour. I wasn’t impressed with the show and next year will go opening night because i heard that was awesome. Easy parking access with big lot nearby and a nice big patio. This is the only time I have been here so I’ll have to get back to you on the rest.

Has anyone ever noticed there is a Balboa street in every city? I live off of one too! Anyway, I came here because my boyfriend’s friends were playing a Volleyball competition. The place was really nice looking, and the surrounding area was even more interesting.

This place is provides courts for volleyball, badminton, ping pong, and tournaments. It gets crowded sometimes but its free, clean, and near the heart of San Diego. its a great place to get together with friends for a good work out, way better than the gym in my opinion. I’m very busy but try to come here once in a while. I have nothing but gratefulness for the balboa park activity center!

This place can be a valuable asset if you come with the right attitude. I used to play badminton competitively in high school back in 2003 in San Jose, CA. After taking a number of years off, I ended up moving to San Diego and picking the game back up again a few years ago. It has been mentioned that this place can get really crowded, and this is especially true during the summer; however, getting a membership can help you out.
For $ 80, you can play on the San Diego Badminton Club member side for a year. As a beginner, I can understand how daunting it may be to play on this side, but all of the members are good spirited in my experience. Many advanced players don’t mind helping out novice players, and if they don’t want to, they will respectfully decline. Most advanced players will not totally destroy you in a game; they will typically play in a fashion that will highlight the techniques you are lacking in which will in turn make you a better player.
Also, playing on the member side gives you the opportunity to observe skilled badminton players. Even being allowed to spectate is a good way to develop your badminton proficiency.
The facility itself is maintained really well and their schedule gives ample time to come play even with a busy work schedule. Their schedule can be found here:
I haven’t played on the table tennis side or the volleyball sections when they have them, so I can’t comment on that aspect. If you want to develop your badminton skills though, this center is a great resource.

Came here for the SD Art 2013 Festival and it’s such a great venue for it! It was spacious and didn’t get too crowded. Plus, the restrooms were very clean. Check out their outdoor area. It’s a pretty place. Am considering this area for my wedding.

This is pretty much the only place in San Diego for not-​very-​serious-​players to play badminton– and its free for people who just walk up, which is nice!
The downsides– the schedule can be unpredictable, we have walked up twice now and it has been closed. Their website doesn’t really work, and there is no updated schedule online. You pretty much have to call before going, or pick up the month’s paper schedule when your’e there (how 20^th century!)
Also, its always very crowded for non-​members. Going in the evening, or on weekends, means you will be waiting for at least 45 min-​1 hour for a court. I would be ok with paying a little (even $ 1?) if it meant more opening times and getting courts faster.
Lastly, i wish there was a sign up sheet for singles/​beginners. If you don’t already have people to play with, you pretty much can’t play.

Balboa park activity center is the place to go for your badminton and ping pong fix. On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons brings about the veteran players who provide ample competition.
a years membership is under 100 dollars where as other gyms in orange county and LA are that price for 2 to 3 months. If you are cheap, you could opt out of the membership and play for free on the non member side, but you’ll only get a court if you have 4 players to reserve.
this place would get a 5 if only it didn’t get so crowded. Not only that but people sign up on multiple courts and it takes away the chance for others but the staff hasn’t dealt with the issue.

Oh how it feels so good to be a kid again…
As adults, we always neglect and are often
side tracked from the simple things in life.
So its always nice to go back to that time when
being free spirited was all we cared about. And
ultimately, this will keep us grounded as grown
ups…hahaha
Remember when trying to just swing from
one end of the monkey bars to the other side
was so much funn?!
Go visit!

Boy does this place bring back memories. I used to frequent this gym during high school (so often that i called it my second home) and though now i rarely have the time to play here anymore, it will always hold a special place in my heart. During spring and summer, there is an influx of Asian peeps there to play badminton and the wait for a court can get pretty long, upwards of an hour. Along with open badminton play, there is open volleyball play and events during holidays like Easter (egg hunt).
Outside of the gym, there is a nice courtyard with a fountain, where I’ve seen many wedding couples or prom groups taking pictures. It’s a relaxing place to sit under the shade and enjoy lunch or take a stroll.
I love the balboa park activity center and I hope that the city’s budget cuts won’t affect the programs and activities that the center has to offer to locals.

They do a great job here with maintenance, and friendly staff. A nice free facility that offers indoor badminton, table tennis/​ping pong, indoor volleyball, and host various events throughout the year.
I stop here on the way home, to play some badminton with my daughters during the week. Usually no wait, and nice facility.
Look up on their website under «scedule updates» on the right side of screen to make sure they are open that day for badminton (sometimes they hold special events):
They also have private instruction by pro’s with badminton and table tennis.
Badminton hours:
Monday 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Tuesday 11:00am to 10:00pm
Wednesday 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Thursday 11:00am to 10:00pm
Friday 4:00pm to 8:00pm
Saturday 10:00am to 2:00pm
Sunday Closed

There is so much to do at Balboa Park. The activity center is a cool palace to check out before you venture through the whole park. Take your time and check out all the different things this place has to offer.

I use to play badminton here and later found out they have ping pong tournaments here every week. i joined their weekly ping pong tournaments for a year, it was fun. they also have open gym volleyball, the players are decent too. this gym is nice and clean, they have a very friendly staff.

pros… went here a while back, and was wonderfully surprised at all the people who are playing either table tennis, badminton and as i remember a while back, volleyball as well.
now that i’m all back into playing some badminton, and going to digi sport the other day, i really want to make it back to this place again. i think i will also try to get into some table tennis as well. it has been a while since i played it, we called it ping pong way back when.
cons…wish there were more places like this for badminton and table tennis.