San Diego is nationally known for its beaches and theme parks, but residents often overlook its Olympic potential, which is cultivated weekly at the Chula Vista U.S. Olympic Training Center. The training center is nestled between suburbia and Lower Otay Lake and it is open daily to the public. Visitors are welcomed at the Copley Visitor Center by a larger-than-life flaming Olympic torch encircled by flags of U.S. Olympic sports, such as team handball and ping-pong. The bronze torch is the foreground for the surrounding Olympic training premises. On a windy day, the flags wave along with the Olympic torch fire, a commemorating salute to U.S. Olympic athletes.
Visitors to the Copley Visitor Center can expose themselves to the rigorous Olympic training process by taking a stroll on the Conrad N. Hilton Olympic Path, which winds through the center of the training center. The path is laid in plain light and dark shades of gray bricks, highlighting the pillars of Olympic colors that periodically hug the path. The pillars are rectangular in shape and are stained in blue, red, green, yellow and orange, the colors of the Olympic rings. The colored pillars are stamped with images of athletes in action, such as a water polo player grasping a ball.
The most important element of the training center’s milieu is the athlete. As a visitor walks down the Olympic path, he or she can catch a glimpse of U.S. Olympic hopefuls as they kick a soccer ball or aim an arrow at a target. The center’s fields are seemingly flawless — not a single weed or brown blade of grass is visible from the path. From the path, a visitor can also observe a bit of the great outdoors. The training center is embraced by mountainous terrain, and the grounds house numerous examples of desert foliage. The center is not far from the sparkling blue waters of Lower Otay Lake.
The Copley Visitor Center is open daily, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for self-guided tours. The Copley Visitor Center also has guided public tours Tuesday through Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The Copley Visitor Center
2800 Olympic Parkway
Chula Vista, CA 91915