Route 163 is from Route 5 near Balboa Park in San Diego to Route 15 near Miramar Naval Air Station. [CS&HC Sec. 463]
Entire route. [CS&HC Sec. 253.1]
Entire route. It is called the "Cabrillo Freeway", named after Juan Rodr�quez Cabrillo, the leader of one of the first European expeditions to California. In 1542, Cabrillo led the first European expedition to explore what is now the west coast of the United States.
The current route used to be the first leg of U.S. Route 395. A small section of current Route 163 south of Washington Street was also signed as U.S. Route 80.
That part of the California highway system frequently referred to as the Cabrillo Freeway, which is the segment of State Highway Route 163 between postmiles 0.5 and 3.0 through Balboa Park in the City of San Diego, is hereby designated a California Historic Parkway and is named the Cabrillo Parkway. [CS&HC Sec. 284]
Route 163 from Ash Street in San Diego to Route 8. [CS&HC Sec. 263.7]
West on C Street at the southern end of Route 163 is San Diego City College, established in 1914 as the first community college in San Diego. A San Diego Trolley station is easily accessible.
The freeway crosses glorious Balboa Park. To get to the actual park is a bit tricky. Heading south on Route 163, you get off at University Avenue, make a left, and then make a right on Park Avenue, and voila! Heading north, get off at Richmond Street, make a right on Upas Street (the very first street), and then make a right on Park Avenue. Balboa Park is full of sights, culture, and attractions for the whole family, like the world-famous San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Museum of Art, a golf corse, and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.
East on Friars Road is Qualcomm Stadium at Jack Murphy Field, home of the San Diego Chargers and Padres. One of America's finest multi-purpose facilities, Qualcomm Stadium opened in August of 1967. It was renamed in 1981 as Jack Murphy Stadium in honor of the late San Diego Union sports writer who played a key role in completing the stadium by writing editorials that rallied community support for the construction of a major multi-purpose stadium in San Diego. West on Friars Road is the Fashion Valley and the University of San Diego.
West on Mesa College Drive is the San Diego Mesa College, the Stephen Watts Kearny High School (named after the Colonel who in 1846 constructed Fort Kearny along the Oregon Trail in nowaday Nebraska City, NE), and the Kearny Mesa Community Park. East on Mesa College Drive is the Sharp Memorial Hospital and the Children's Hospital and Health Center of San Diego.
Currently, there is a bus-only lane that runs northbound for 0.4 miles between A Street and Route 5. The lane is in operation all day.
West on Balboa Avenue (former Route 274) lies Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa, a local airport owned by the City of San Diego.
Despite the fact that the freeway leads directly to downtown San Diego, it is only two lanes wide in each direction between Routes 8 and 5.