Skip the Shipping Boxes and Shop Local Makers at Mission Trails
The best gift you give this year should be one you can trace back to the person who made it. For two days in November, more than 20 San Diego makers set up inside the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, which puts 8,000 acres of park right outside the window.
The Holiday Marketplace is back, hosted by the nonprofit Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, and walking through costs nothing. Registering ahead is encouraged, and that’s free too.
More Than 20 Makers, and You Get to Meet Them
Booths fill the Visitor Center with gifts, art, handmade goods, and one-off finds you won’t see in a hundred other online carts. Every one of them comes from a local maker, and that maker is standing right behind the table.
That’s the part worth showing up for. Ask how something was made, who made it, and what else they have coming. It beats a product page.
A Terrace With Mission Gorge Straight Ahead
The Visitor Center sits above Mission Gorge, and the terrace has one of the better views in the city. The exhibits and the gift shop are open while you’re there, so give yourself time to wander.
Mission Trails runs more than 8,000 acres and 60 miles of trails, one of the largest urban parks in the country. Come early, walk a little, shop after.
A Percentage of Every Sale Stays in the Park
A cut of what you spend goes to the MTRP Foundation, the nonprofit that has partnered with the City of San Diego since 1988 to protect the park, improve trails and habitat, and run its education programs.
“Holiday shopping is a lot more fun when you can meet the people behind what you’re buying, support local businesses while also supporting Mission Trails Regional Park,” said Jennifer Morrissey, executive director of the MTRP Foundation.
See you there!
Bring a tote, take the shuttle, and give yourself an extra hour on the terrace. Local gifts, a short walk, and a view that does the rest.
📆 Saturday, November 14 – Sunday, November 15 | 9 AM – 3 PM
📍 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego
ℹ️ More info here
See you there, San Diego!
