The County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation is part of the County of San Diego's Land Use and Environment Group (LUEG) which serves the community by working to protect the public's health and safety, sustain the environment, and improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors. Other departments in the group include Agriculture, Weights & Measures; Environmental Health & Quality; Planning & Development Servies; Public Works: and San Diego County Libary. 

County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation 

2023-24 Recommended Budget $75.6M

The County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation enhances the quality of life in San Diego County by providing exceptional parks and recreation experiences and preserving significant natural resources.  

Staff promote environmental ambassadorship, health and wellness, safe communities and civic pride through thousands of programs including interpretive hikes and bike rides, educational workshops, nature discovery tables, classes, camps, volunteer activities, community festivals and more. Offerings enrich the lives of all patrons with a special focus on families, seniors, people with disabilities and at-risk youth. Staff work daily to protect, maintain and sustain 156 park locations featuring 384 miles of trails across 57,000 acres of land. 

Learn more about the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation online at sdparks.org, as well as on social media:  

  • Facebook - @CountyofSanDiegoParksandRecreation
  • Instagram - @sandiegoparks
  • Twitter - @sandiegoparks
  • YouTube - @SDCountyParks

Protecting the Climate & Natural Resources $20.4M

Protecting the Climate & Natural Resources
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (fleet and solar) - EV conversions
  • Promote green building and solar energy use
  • Create more EV charging stations at County facilities ($100,000)
  • Implement departmental sustainability plans ($235,000)
  • Water Conservation Projects 
  • Preserve land to protect species (MSCP and new North County MSCP) 
  • MSCP land aquisition ($7.5M)
  • MSCP goals and objectives ($2.2M)
  • Biological and cultural monitoring ($2M)
  • Conservation and restoration activities ($1.1M)
  • Land stewardship activities ($2.5M)
  • Improve environmental conditions in TJ River Valley (dredging) ($2.8M)
  • Rancho Lilac stewardship and TJ transboundary flow
  • Plant 3,500 new trees ($2.0M)

Supporting How You Live, Work & Recreate $36.1M

Supporting How You Live, Work & Play
  • Operate 156 parks, 57,000 acres of parkland and 384 miles of trails ($33.6M)
  • Maintain existing tree canopy ($1.5M)
  • Homeless encampment cleanup ($1.0M)

Infrastructure Safety $15.6M

Infrastructure Safety
  • Ongoing maintenance programs for safety/weed management at park and library facilities (MMIP)
  • Stewardship, fire and vegetation management ($7.5M)
  • Major maintenance ($3.5M)
  • Major maintenance capital ($4.7M)

Empowering the Community $3.0M

Empowering the community
  • Run Safe Destination (SD) Nights serving 8,000 youth ($1.1M)
  • Enhance acessibility through annual ADA improvements at County facilities ($1.0M)
  • Train employees on equity, diversity and inclusion topics ($400,000)
  • Use data to understand/track community needs (Community Needs Assessment) ($155,000)
  • Provide youth employment opportunities ($105,000)
  • Translate information into eight languages ($40,000) 
  • First Time Camping Program, youth/teen outdoor trips ($100,000)
  • Involve the community in our programs through meeting and online options ($112,000)
  • Monitor changes in regulations and develop policy in coordination with other jurisdictions ($155,000)

FY 23-24 Summary

Budget in Millions

$75.6M

Change from FY 22-23 is 6.9% 

Staff

299

Change from FY 22-23 is 4.9 %

Agriculture, Weights & Measures, Environmental Health & Quality,  Parks & Recreation, Planning
& Development Services, Public Works, San Diego County Library as well as the Office of Sustainability & Environmental Justice.