Feeling like you overdid it with all the holiday feasting and imbibing? A good walk might be just what it takes to start working off some of that overindulgence. Consider Balboa Park, where there’s a new and improved system of five trails originating from the Sixth and Upas Gateway.

Map out your hiking plan.

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These trails range in length from 1.5 to 6.6 miles, and are rated from easy to difficult, although even the trails that are marked as “difficult” are fairly easy for anyone used to hiking San Diego County. With surfaces ranging from paved walkways to somewhat rough canyon-side paths, these trails are perfect for anything from a leisurely stroll to mountain biking.

Some of the trails pass through the more developed areas of Balboa Park; some wind through wooded or scrub canyons. The routes are clearly marked with color coded, numbered signs. All the trails, except #5, start off by following Sixth Avenue to Laurel Street, and then head east into the park.

The easiest and shortest trail, suitable for strolling, jogging or rollerblading, is Trail #1, which turns east on Laurel Street just to the bowling green, and then returns to the trailhead along the east side of Balboa Drive.

Trail #2, with a “medium” rating of difficulty, is, literally, a walk in the park. From Laurel Street, it continues for 4.1 miles east over Hwy. 163 on the Cabrillo Bridge, past the museums, circumnavigates Spanish Village, and then returns back along Balboa Drive to the trailhead. This is a great evening walk, with all of the lights on the bridge and the Prado museums invoking a magical mood.

Trail #3 is only 3.6 miles long but has a “difficult” rating because it leaves paved surfaces at times and follows steep dirt canyon trails. After passing through the museum area to the large fountain, it crosses the foot bridge across Park Boulevard, descends into the west side of Florida Canyon, north until Upas Street, where it traverses a beautiful oak and Eucalyptus grove and flower garden. Heading west along Upas, the trail includes the paved pedestrian trail through Upas Canyon and the Bridle Trail bridge over Highway 163. A steep paved path brings you up into the park again, and the Sixth and Upas Gateway.

The 5.2 miles of Trail#4 are rated “medium,” and this follows the same path as Trail #3 across Park Boulevard, but then heads south once it descends into Florida Canyon, and follows Florida Drive past the Naval Hospital. It then crosses to the east side of Florida Drive and follows along Pershing Drive to Bird Park, then down Upas Street through Morley Field, meeting up with Trail #3 at Florida Drive to return to the trailhead.

Trail #5 is the longest, and at 6.6 miles, is rated “difficult.” It reverses direction from the previous trails, first heading east on Upas across Highway 163, then looping along the Bridle Trail north through the lesser-known Marston Addition of the park. Following Upas Street to Florida Drive, it connects with Trail #3 through Florida Canyon, to the foot bridge across Park Boulevard. Passing the Fleet Science Center, it heads into the butterfly garden canyon and Gold Gulch, and up to street level by the Air and Space Museum. The trail follows President’s Way to El Prado, and back over the Cabrillo Bridge. Once across the bridge, the trail follows a loop to Marston Point, then descends into the canyon again to the Bridle Trail, north along the west side of the 163, and all the way to the pedestrian overpass and back up to Upas Street and the trailhead.

You may feel like you shed a few pounds just reading this story—but for full effect, get out to the park and walk a trail yourself.