“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” – Gary Snyder. In our Five Parks series, we’re examining some of the wonderful wild places urbanites can easily escape to for clean air, elbow room, and recreation. Our formula is simple: Find five worthy parks to visit within a two-hour drive (or train) of some of America’s most populated places. Today: San Diego. Previously: Austin, NC Triangle

San Diego earns its “America’s Finest City” moniker because it’s easy on the eyes.

Its 17 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, gorgeous public parks, and rugged mountain wilderness make it attractive from any angle. Few, if any, cities in America offer its access to staggering outdoor recreation.

Whether your vibe is surfing along a palm-lined beach on a balmy winter day, diving beneath the waves to swim with seals, or trekking up desert mountains little-changed since the indigenous Kumeyaay hunted and foraged here thousands of years ago, San Diego and its surrounds have a park for you. Here are five of them within a two-hour drive of downtown that you should check out:

San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park, La Jolla

Distance: 12 miles north of downtown

Activities: Snorkeling, SCUBA diving, paddling, boating

Size: 6,000 acres

Highlights: While this park is exclusively underwater, you can access it from multiple points, most popularly from La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Cove. The latter is a treasure-trove for snorkelers and divers, who can take a peek under the Pacific to see sea lions, giant kelp, anemones and the bright orange Garibaldi fish. California’s official marine state fish, Garibaldi males are fascinating to watch as they aggressively tend their neat seafloor nests made of pebbles. In late summer, paddlers delight in watching large gatherings of leopard sharks, which are harmless to humans, as they birth their young in the warm waters off La Jolla Shores. Check in online or at local dive shops for visibility reports.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, CA

Distance: 71 miles northeast of downtown

Activities: Hiking, camping, wildflower photography, stargazing

Size: 650,000 acres

Highlights: California’s largest state park is larger than the vast majority of national parks. Within its borders, you’ll find wildlife as diverse as American desert bighorn sheep and red diamond rattlesnakes. Also, for as iconic as the palm tree is to California, you’ll find its only native palm here: the sturdy California fan palm. Anza-Borrego’s biggest draw for visitors is its wildflower blooms. Even a thimblefull (or some such little amount) of rain sneaking into this arid corner of the Sonora desert can trigger a superbloom, which covers its typically brown hillsides with bright yellow, pink, and purple flowers. The park also hosts a nightly superbloom: It’s designated an International Dark Sky Park and the Milky Way is clearly visible to amateur astronomers on clear nights. Disperse across its 110 miles of hiking trails to find a secluded spot to enjoy the show.

Moonlight State Beach, Encinitas, CA

Distance: 26 miles north of downtown

Activities: Swimming, surfing, volleyball

Size: 25 acres

Highlights: If there’s a picture of California in your dreams, it looks like Moonlight Beach. Golden sand nestles under dramatic bluffs while waves lap at the shores. It’s ringed by high-dollar bungalows with gardens filled with bougainvillea and poinsettia plants. Yogis practice their poses on a public lawn overlooking the space while earnest youngsters enrolled in the Junior Lifeguard program and slathered in sunscreen practice their swimming and rescues. Anything you do here will be enjoyable, but stop in at a local surf shop and rent a board if paddling sounds fun. The break alternates between short- and longboard friendly depending on the season, so ask a local which you should grab before taking on the mostly gentle sets. The beach is walking distance to San Diego County’s Coaster train stop, so let someone else drive up to the beach for you and stop off for a burrito and a few beers before heading back to the city.

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Julian, CA

Distance: 50 miles east of downtown

Activities: Hiking, camping, horseback riding

Size: 24,693 acres

Highlights: The Laguna Mountains afford a breathtaking view of all of San Diego County, from the Pacific to the remotest parts of the Sonoran desert. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park’s 100 miles of trails traverse the small range. The highlight is the 3.5 mile Cuyamaca Peak trail, which rises 1,500 from its trailhead to the top of the eponymous mountain, which stands at 6,512 feet. From here, on a clear day, you can see the Coronado Islands off Tijuana or the Salton Sea in eastern California. The park is a mix between open meadows and pine forest and provides a stark contrast from the subtropical coast and pure desert interior. Save time after your hike for a stop in Julian, the small mountain town famous for its orchards and autumn-coded activities like cider tasting and pumpkin patches.

Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge

Distance: 15 miles south of downtown

Activities: Bird watching, hiking

Size: 2,521 acres

Highlights: Tucked between San Diego (1.4 million people) and Tijuana (2.36 million) is Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge protects the Tijuana River Estuary, where that river flowing out of the San Ysidro Mountains meets the Pacific Ocean. The park makes up for its small size with the fact that its untrammeled wetlands provide homes for more than 370 bird species, both year-round and migratory. A series of short inland trails and the .5 mile and 1.5 mile north and south beach trails, respectively, providing visitors with spectacular viewpoints for the area’s native and visiting bird populations. Early morning visits are recommended as the area lies beneath a Naval flight path. Border Patrol is also active in the area as it lies just north of the Mexican border.