Just 20 minutes from Downtown San Diego are the Eco-Friendly man-made Santee Lakes which consist of over 180 acres of play space for walking, jogging, biking, or cooling down with a canoe or paddle boat ride. Take advantage of the shade as you watch for Herons, Ducks, Ospreys, and Coots or drop a line and try your luck at hooking for some of the of over 20,000 pound of recently stocked catfish. No boat? No worries as the General Store rents non-motorized boats by the half and full hours.  Once here you’ll want to stay and the park accomodates with 300 campsites, playgrounds for the kids, plus a couple pools. (reservations required).