Today, in addition to the coaster, there is shopping, great restaurants and an Olympic size fresh water pool called the Plunge at the site. The photograph to the right shows an aerial view of the Big Dipper roller coaster and some of the adjacent parks and bays in the background. In the 1950'es the city developed a once marshy river bed into a 5,000 acre aquatic park now called Mission Bay. Dredging created islands, beaches and a navigable inlet to the Pacific Ocean. Today this park is used for a variety of recreational activities such as picnics, fishing, swimming, sailing, water skiing, and other family activities.
Mission Bay is located just south of Pacific Beach and east of Mission Beach.