Parque Morelos

What’s there

Parque Morelos is one of Tijuana’s big public parks: 47 hectares in the east of the city, run by the municipal theme-park system, SIMPATT. Entry is free. SIMPATT’s page for the park lists a barbecue area with free grills, children’s play areas, paths for walking and cycling, an artificial lake with a pier for small boats, a little train and a theater, the Teatro Xicoténcatl Leyva Alemán, with a program of clowns and performers. In April 2026, SIMPATT’s head, Gamaliel Becerra Gómez, told El Imparcial that disused corners of the park had been turned into new barbecue areas, gardens and sports areas.

What to expect

This is a family park first, and it fills up on school holidays: it drew 45,000 visitors in the first week of the 2026 Easter break, up from 34,000 the year before, with clowns and storytelling on the program, El Imparcial reported.

It is also in transition. In July 2026, the city’s síndica procuradora, Teresita Balderas, announced that the park’s zoo, a wildlife management unit with about 160 animals of 15 species, would close and that the animals would be relocated after an audit of SIMPATT turned up irregularities, El Imparcial reported; the announcement came weeks after the park’s tigress, Mandy, died. As of late September, the transfer was still waiting on federal authorization, with the environmental agency PROFEPA doing the technical review and the deer due to move first, according to Zeta. The herpetarium was still being rehabilitated in April. In short, don’t plan the trip around seeing animals.

Prices and entry

Entry is free, and so are the grills, according to SIMPATT; the train has its own small fare. We couldn’t find a current parking rate, so carry some pesos. SIMPATT lists the park as open Thursday to Tuesday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on its summer schedule and from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter, and closed on Wednesdays.

Two rules to know: no alcohol and no pets. In 2025, SIMPATT’s then-director told El Imparcial that anyone caught drinking has their drinks taken away and is asked to leave, to keep the park family-friendly, and that pets are not allowed in.

Getting there

The main entrance is on Boulevard Insurgentes, between Avenida O’Higgins (formerly Benton) and Paseo del Parque; the official address is Blvd. Insurgentes 16000, in the La Mesa borough, in the area known as the Río Tijuana third stage. From Zona Centro or Zona Río it’s a drive or a ride-hail, not a walk. CEART Tijuana sits behind the park, and El Trompo is in the same third-stage area, so a museum and a picnic fit in one day.

Good to know

• Closed on Wednesdays.
• The grills are free, so bring your own food; leave the alcohol at home.
• Tijuana’s book fair, the Feria del Libro de Tijuana, runs at the park from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, 2026, opening with Julieta Venegas at 2 p.m. on Oct. 23. See our book fair story.
• Ópera de Tijuana’s free concert at nearby Paseo del Parque is on Sunday, Oct. 25; details on the event page.
• Park phone, per SIMPATT: (664) 102 6962.

Plan the rest of your day with our guides, and see what’s on around the city on the calendar.