SAN DIEGO — For those looking to fill their children’s Easter baskets with joy and and chocolate this week, let this be your ultimate guide to finding the most golden of eggs.
You can’t say some-bunny didn’t fill you in — here are some go-to spots for Easter egg hunts in San Diego that are sure make this holiday a hoppy one.
East County
— San Diego Animal Sanctuary & Farm: Hop on over to the farm for an Easter celebration in nature at The Children’s Nature Retreat, located at 5178 Japatul Spur in Alpine. The farm is organizing four egg hunts starting at 11 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday this week.
The cost is $12 per basket, along with regular admission fees. Each child can take home home up to 12 eggs. Tickets can be purchased here.
— Pacific Southwest Railway Museum: Families can first hop on the “Bunny Train” at the Campo Depot for a 45-minute ride to the museum’s Display Building, where two Easter egg hunting areas will be set up: one for younger ages and another for those up for more in depth hunting.
Tickets range from $5 to $28 based on age and train class. They can be purchased here.
— Grossmont Center: This Easter Extravaganza event will not only host a free Easter egg hunt, but will also include a mall-wide scavenger hunt and other activities like face painting and balloon animals. Also, there will be photo-op opportunities with the Easter Bunny.
Located at 5500 Grossmont Center Dr. in La Mesa, the “egg-cellent” fun begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will keep hopping until 2 p.m.
— Lemon Grove Recreation Center: On Saturday, there will be meet and greet opportunities with Benny the Bunny at 9 a.m. Then, there will be an organized egg hunt split into four age groups. Time slots are as follows: ages 0-2 at 9:35 a.m.; ages 3-5 at 9:50 a.m.; ages 6-8 at 10:05 a.m.; ages 9-12 at 10:20 a.m..
This free event, located at 3131 School Ln. in Lemon Grove, will also include other Easter activities.
North County
— Poinsettia Community Park: Kids can race to collect candy-filled eggs before getting their face painted, decorating cookies and much more at this event in Carlsbad, which is located at 6600 Hidden Valley Rd.
No registration is needed to attend this event, which is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— Mance Buchanon Park: This annual Easter event, located at 425 College Blvd. in Oceanside, will host a free egg hunt for children ages 3-11. Event coordinators say there will be plenty of candy, prizes and entertainment for the whole family.
The celebration begins at 8:45 a.m. and the hunt will start at 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to arrive early. Take advantage of free parking!
— Williams Barn at Walnut Grove Park: A whopping 20,000 prize-filled eggs will be scattered throughout this park, which is located at 1950 Sycamore Dr. in San Marcos. Plus, attendees can expect an entire Easter carnival with games and jumpees.
The Saturday event will be held from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Egg hunters need to bring their own baskets for this free event.
— My Gym Poway: This children’s fitness center, located at 12222 Poway Rd., Suite 18-19 in Poway, has encouraged guests to join them for a full day of activities on Saturday. There will be Easter-inspired games, relays, zipline rides, puppet shows and egg hunts for all.
Admission costs begin at $30 and reservations can be made online. The gym said a sibling discount is available.
South Bay
— Imperial Beach Veterans Park: St. James Lutheran Church of Imperial Beach will host an Easter egg hunt at the park, located at 1075 8th St., on Saturday at 10 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.
The church will also be serving up a community breakfast at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
— Otay Lakes County Park: Families can head over to this park, located at 2770 Wueste Rd. in Chula Vista, around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to enjoy “Breakfast with a Bunny” before taking part in an Easter egg hunt overlooking the lake at 11:30 a.m.
Event coordinators say light breakfast items will offered at no cost, but egg hunters will need to bring their own baskets. Day-use parking at the park cost $3.
— New Hope Community Church: On Sunday, there will be several egg hunts following services for kids off all ages — even high schoolers. Hunt times vary based on age groups with numerous slot times for each group. There’s even a glow in the dark egg hunt at 6 p.m.
More information can be found on their event page.
— Sesame Place: It’s an Elmo’s Eggstravaganza! Guests can visit Sesame Place, located at 2052 Entertainment Cir. in Chula Vista, any day until April for a hoppin’ good time with rides, a stage show, the Sesame Street Party Parade, and Easter-themed activities.
According to Sesame Place, eggs will hidden around the park daily and one golden egg will be hidden each day with its finder receiving an exclusive prize.
Spring egg hunts will be held at these recreation centers in San Diego on Saturday.
— Mountain View Recreation Center, located at 641 S. Boundary St., will host an event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, located at 6401 Skyline Dr. will host an event from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
— Azalea Recreation Center, located at 2596 Violet St., will host an event from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
—North Park Recreation Center, located 4044 Idaho St., will will host an event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
—Cesar Chavez Community Center, located 455 Sycamore Rd., will host an event from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
— Montgomery Waller Recreation Center, located at 3020 Coronado Ave., will host an event from 10 a.m. to 1: p.m.
— Park De La Cruz, located at 3911 Landis St., will host an event from 10 a.m. to noon.
—Penn Athletic Field, located at 2555 Dusk Dr., will host an event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The best Easter is one spent with your “peeps” and an Easter basket filled to the brim with delights. Happy hunting, San Diego!
