Elephant Bar

Palomar College Transit Center (or Palomar College) is a North County Transit District transit hub in San Marcos, California. It consists of a bus station and a train station. The bus station (signed Palomar College Transit Center on site) serves as a terminus for all BREEZE bus lines that pass through San Marcos, and is located at the main entrance at Palomar College. Across the street from the bus depot is the two-platform SPRINTER Palomar College station.

Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. The largest of these by student population is the education center located in Escondido. In 2018, education centers in Rancho Bernardo and Fallbrook opened. The Rancho Bernardo Education Center is located on 27 acres at 11111 Rancho Bernardo Road, and the Fallbrook Education Center is located on 81 acres at 35090 Horse Ranch Creek Road. Other education sites are located at Camp Pendleton and at Ramona High School.

High Tech High North County, also known as HTHNC, is a charter school located in San Marcos, California. It is a part of the High Tech High organization. Opening in 2007, with its initial class consisting of only 150 freshmen, the school has since expanded, with more than five hundred and fifty students attending. Each year, there had been a new class added. In the 2008–2009 school year, it was sophomores, in the 2009–2010 school year it was juniors, and in the 2010–2011 school year it became seniors. It is one of only two High Tech High schools to be built from the ground up with the other being High Tech High Chula Vista. The school follows the same type of personalized, college preparatory, project-based learning characterized at other High Tech High schools.

St. Joseph Academy is a traditional Roman Catholic K–12 school located in San Marcos, CA. Its stated mission is "to transform human society through the most effective means possible, namely through training the youth in faith, reason, and virtue". The school is operated independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and offers a complete K-12 education. St. Joseph Academy has been named by the Catholic High School Honor Roll as one of the top 50 Catholic High Schools in the United States for three consecutive years and carries a 99% college matriculation rate. The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredited school and formally approved by the Diocese of San Diego.

San Marcos High School is a high school in the North County city of San Marcos, California. San Marcos High School is a member of the San Marcos Unified School District and serves students from San Marcos, Vista, and Carlsbad. Out of the 4 high schools in the district, it the largest in San Marcos Unified by student enrollment at more than 3000 in 2021. San Marcos High School also has a joint program with LCC High School nearby to serve students in the area.

San Marcos ( SAN MAR-kohs; Spanish for "St. Mark") is a city in the North County region of San Diego County, California. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 94,833. It is the site of California State University San Marcos and Palomar College. The city is bordered by Escondido to the east, Encinitas to the southwest, Carlsbad to the west, and Vista to the northwest. Lake San Marcos is an enclave, or county island, in the southwestern part of the city, within San Marcos' sphere of influence but technically an unincorporated community.

Lake San Marcos is a census-designated place (CDP) in the North County region of the San Diego metropolitan area. It is nominally independent of San Marcos proper, but functionally dependent on the city.

The University of Saint Katherine (USK) is a private, non-profit undergraduate and graduate university located in San Marcos, California. Founded by Frank J. Papatheofanis, MD, PhD it opened in 2011, and has grown each year in enrollment from its inaugural class of 11 in 2011 to 308 in 2022. The university's mission is to provide a balanced education in the liberal arts and sciences, founded and rooted in the life of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, although the school is not under the omophorion of any Orthodox bishop, and Orthodox students and faculty are in the minority at the school; the University accepts students of all faiths. Inquiry Seeking Wisdom is the current motto of the institution. The original motto "For Christ is our Life" was reserved for a new school of theology that is being formed.

San Marcos Civic Center station is a station on North County Transit District's SPRINTER hybrid rail line. It serves the heart of San Marcos, California. It is located at the intersection of San Marcos Boulevard and West Mission Road. A preview service stopped at San Marcos Civic Center on December 28, 2007, and regular service commenced March 9, 2008.

Double Peak is located south of San Marcos, California. The elevation at the summit is 1,646 ft (502 m), and approximately 1,000 feet (305 m) above the north foot of the mountain. Most trails leading to the summit of Double Peak are classified as "moderately strenuous." Double Peak is a popular hiking and biking area due to its many trails and convenient access points. On the north side, the mountain can be accessed by hikers and bikers through Discovery Lake Park, but this trailhead is closed to motorized vehicles. On the south side, the mountain can be accessed by vehicles through Double Peak Drive, extending from the neighborhood of San Elijo Hills. Both the North and the South access trails offer wide, partially paved surfaces. There is also a less-accessible rock and dirt trail which allows summiting the mountain from the East side. The Eastern trail has a steep incline, with rugged, staircase-like rock extrusions and at some points, loosely packed shale. The Eastern trail can only be accessed by following other trails along either the north or south face of the mountain, around to the eastern face of the mountain. Accessing the mountain from the north side, at Discovery Lake Park, a City of San Marcos information sign states that the length of the trail is 2.5 mi (4 km) from the park to the summit. On a clear day, the peak offers views of distant places such as Mexico, Downtown San Diego, San Clemente Island, Catalina Island, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Santa Ana Mountains, and the San Bernardino Mountains. A telescope is located at the peak for use by visitors.

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public university in San Marcos, California. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the California State University (CSU) system. CSUSM offers 43 bachelor's degree programs, 23 master's degree programs, an Ed.D. program, and 13 teaching credentials. The university has four colleges: the College of Business Administration; the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences; and the College of Education, Health and Human Services. In January 2021, the university had 979 faculty. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.

Buena Creek is a station in Vista, California that is served by North County Transit District's SPRINTER hybrid rail line. The station is located at 1923 Buena Creek Road. Although its mailing address lists Vista as the city, it is the only station along the entire line to be situated in an unincorporated portion of San Diego County. It consists of a single platform and track.