San Diego, California
San Diego self-guided walking tour: the Gaslamp and the bay.
A free, original loop through downtown San Diego: the Gaslamp Quarter Archway, the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade, Seaport Village, the Embracing Peace statue at Tuna Harbor Park, the USS Midway, the Star of India, the Santa Fe Depot, Horton Plaza Park and the William Heath Davis House. Read the stops here, then open the mapped route on your iPhone.
Start at the Gaslamp arch
Begin under the Gaslamp Quarter Archway on 5th Avenue at L Street. The loop follows the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade west to the bay, runs north along the Embarcadero past Seaport Village, the USS Midway and the Maritime Museum’s ships, then turns inland to the Santa Fe Depot and heads back east along Broadway and south down 4th and 5th Avenues through the Gaslamp Quarter. Every stop is seen from public sidewalks and waterfront paths; going aboard the ships is optional. The route follows mapped pedestrian paths, but it has not been walked on site by Daily Wander.
- On iPhone, get Daily Wander if you do not have it.
- Return to this page and tap Open the tour in Daily Wander. Check the preview, then choose Open in Daily Wander.
- In the app, review the route and choose Start this route or Save route. Keep this guide handy for the stop notes.
Museum visits, tickets and meals are separate and are not included in the walking time. Follow local signs, closures and diversions.
Nine stops, in walking order
The route uses public viewpoints. Check the linked sources for current access before planning a visit inside.
Stop 1
Gaslamp Quarter Archway
Begin under the Gaslamp Quarter Archway, the lighted sign spanning 5th Avenue at L Street. The Gaslamp Quarter Association says the idea was first proposed in 1986, Harmon Nelson and David Ford designed it in 1988, and it was installed in 1990. The sign weighs six tons and was dedicated in 1991. A rehabilitation begun in October 2012 swapped its original incandescent bulbs for neon. Look up at the lettering, then head south toward Harbor Drive.
Stop 2
Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade
Turn right at Harbor Drive onto the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade and follow it west beside the trolley tracks to First Avenue. The Cultural Landscape Foundation says this 0.6-mile park began as Marina Linear Park after a 1987 design competition, was dedicated to Dr. King in 1992 and opened in 1997. The northern path is lined with 30 plaques engraved with his words. Look for the 200-foot circular reflecting pool between Front Street and First Avenue.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation: Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade
Stop 3
Seaport Village
Continue west to the end of the promenade, cross toward the bay and follow the paths into Seaport Village. The Port of San Diego describes it as a 14-acre waterfront shopping, dining and entertainment complex built to recreate a harbor-side setting of a century ago. It opened in 1980. Walk out to the water’s edge for a wide view across San Diego Bay before turning north.
Stop 4
Embracing Peace and Tuna Harbor Park
Follow the waterfront walk north along the Embarcadero to Tuna Harbor Park. The Port of San Diego’s art tour lists Embracing Peace here, a painted bronze sculpture by Seward Johnson dated 2013, alongside Salute to Bob Hope and Military by Eugene Daub and Steven Whyte (2008). The same park holds the Aircraft Carrier Memorial (1993) and Stanley Bleifeld’s Homecoming (1998). Look up at the towering kissing couple, then walk the few steps to the bronze figures gathered around Bob Hope.
Stop 5
USS Midway Museum
Walk north along the waterfront to the head of Navy Pier, where the aircraft carrier is moored. The USS Midway Museum says the ship was built in only 17 months and commissioned on September 10, 1945, missing World War II by one week. During the fall of Saigon in April 1975 it served as a floating base for helicopters that evacuated more than 3,000 refugees. Decommissioned in San Diego on April 11, 1992, it opened as a museum in June 2004. Look up at the island rising above the flight deck.
Stop 6
Star of India
Continue north on the Embarcadero promenade past Broadway Pier to the Maritime Museum’s ships at 1492 North Harbor Drive. The museum calls Star of India the world’s oldest active sailing ship. She was launched at Ramsey on the Isle of Man in 1863 as Euterpe, and from 1871 she carried emigrants to New Zealand, sailing around the world 21 times. She was a full-rigged ship until 1901, when she was cut down to a barque. Look at her iron hull, 212 feet long overall, and the rigging above it.
Stop 7
Santa Fe Depot
Cross North Harbor Drive, walk inland to Kettner Boulevard and follow it south to the Santa Fe Depot near Broadway. Save Our Heritage Organisation says San Francisco architects Bakewell and Brown designed this Mission Revival station in 1914–1915. Hispano-Moresque tiles by California China Products Company of National City cover the matching domed towers on either side of the entry arch. Inside, the waiting room keeps an 8½-foot tiled wainscot bearing the Santa Fe emblem and its original oak benches. Look up at the tiled domes.
Stop 8
Horton Plaza Park
Walk east on Broadway to 4th Avenue and Horton Plaza Park, between the U.S. Grant Hotel and the Balboa Theatre. The Cultural Landscape Foundation says the space has been used since 1870, when developer Alonzo Horton cleared land by his hotel for public gatherings, and he deeded it to the city in 1895. Irving Gill designed the Broadway Fountain in 1910, one of the first to light flowing water with color. Look at the fountain, modeled on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens.
Stop 9
William Heath Davis House
Walk south on 4th Avenue through the Gaslamp to the small house at the corner of Island Avenue. In 1850 William Heath Davis began building a waterfront town near the foot of Market Street and put up a pre-framed lumber saltbox house for his family. Built on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn, it is the oldest surviving structure in his New Town, which failed and was nicknamed Rabbitville. Today it holds the Gaslamp Museum. To finish, walk east on Island Avenue and south on 5th Avenue to the archway.
Keep the route with you
The tour link opens a route preview with an iPhone handoff. You can also download the GPX and open it from Files → Share → Daily Wander. The app shows the route; this page supplies the stop descriptions.
San Diego walking-tour questions
How long is this San Diego walking tour?
The mapped loop is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km). That is roughly 70 minutes of moving time at 3 mph; allow 2–3 hours with stops.
Do you need tickets to see the USS Midway and the Star of India?
Not from the outside: this loop passes both ships on the public waterfront walk. Going aboard the Midway takes a ticket, and the USS Midway Museum website lists current admission prices. The museum also says it keeps free public access to a designated viewing area on the flight deck during regular business hours. The Maritime Museum of San Diego says its General Admission ticket lets you step aboard Star of India and the rest of its historic fleet.
Is there a guided Gaslamp Quarter walking tour?
Yes. The Gaslamp Quarter Association says the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation leads guided walking tours that start at the Davis-Horton House at 410 Island Avenue, the last stop on this loop, and cover landmarks such as Old City Hall (1874) and the Louis Bank of Commerce (1888). Check the foundation for current days and times. This self-guided loop adds the waterfront and can be walked any time.
Can I follow the route on my iPhone?
Yes. Tap Open the tour in Daily Wander, check the route preview and choose Open in Daily Wander. If you need the app, install it first and return to this page. The page supplies the stop notes; the app shows the walking route.
Does the walk return to the start?
Yes. The loop starts and finishes at the Gaslamp Quarter Archway on 5th Avenue.
Can I download the GPX instead?
Yes. Download the GPX from this page, save it in Files on iPhone and share it to Daily Wander. The route geometry is available under the Open Database License.
Make another walk from your hotel
For a different distance or a loop from another starting point, use the US walking-route planner. Daily Wander can suggest a separate loop from the location you choose.
More self-guided tours: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans French Quarter, New Orleans Garden District, Nashville, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston Freedom Trail, St. Augustine and Amsterdam.
Original itinerary by VANTH Studio. Reviewed October 19, 2026. Route geometry from OpenStreetMap via the FOSSGIS pedestrian router; distance measured along the track. Actual time depends on your pace, stops and diversions. Access to venues is controlled by their operators.