Barham/Discovery, San Marcos, CA

Barham/Discovery is the part of San Marcos that grew up around Cal State San Marcos, filling the hills south of Highway 78 from the campus west to Discovery Lake. The name pairs the old town of Barham, founded by John H. Barham in 1883, with the Discovery Hills tracts that came much later. Near the freeway it reads like a college district. Up the slopes it turns into quiet hillside suburb. Much of the housing went up around the turn of the century, in phased tracts with stucco walls, tile roofs and Spanish or Mediterranean detailing. Coronado Ranch, Rancho Tesoro and the gated Corte Bella are names you will see on listings, and older custom homes on roomier, more rural lots sit toward the east. North City keeps changing the northern edge, with apartments, campus housing and ground-floor shops rising between Twin Oaks Valley Road and the university. Discovery Lake is where people walk. A paved loop circles the water, and Lakeview Park beside it has a playground and a seasonal splash pad. The lake is also the north trailhead for Double Peak, a climb of about 2.5 miles to a summit where clear days show Catalina Island and, far to the south, Mexico. Jack's Pond Park on La Moree Road adds a small nature center. North City handles most dinner plans. Buona Forchetta serves Neapolitan pizza and handmade pasta on a large shaded patio, and Necessity Coffee pours beans roasted at its Encinitas home base at the same address on North City Drive. Wynston's scoops ice cream, and Newtopia Cyder pours hard cider. On Redel Road, Draft Republic pairs bowling lanes with beer brewed on site by Tarantula Hill. Campus Marketplace, anchored by Ralphs, covers groceries for most streets in Barham/Discovery. The Sprinter stops at the Cal State San Marcos station for trains toward Escondido or Oceanside, and the 78 runs along the top of the neighborhood. Kaiser Permanente's San Marcos medical center sits on Craven Road. When classes are in session, the roads around campus fill and parking near North City takes patience. Turn uphill toward the lake, though, and within a few minutes the loudest thing on the street is a sprinkler.