USS Midway Aircraft Carrier San Diego California

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier – San Diego California

The Trek Details

The Trek in a snapshot

Location

Downtown San Diego – San Diego, California

Managing Agency

Private ownership

Pets

Not allowed

Fees

Entrance fees

Restrooms

Yes. Many locations

Camping

Not allowed

Trail Condition

Self and tour guided experiences. Audio tours are available as well. I recommend you do an audio tour which has first hand accounts and great explanations and narrations. There are lots of steps and doorways where you need to step over the door seals.

Sights

Aircraft carrier museum, numerous aircraft on deck

Water Info

Bring a bottle of water if needed

Best Season

All

Distance

I walked about 1.5 miles

Time Required

2-3+ hours

Parking Elevation

17 ft

Summit Elevation

Depends on what you do

Elevation Difference

Depends on what you do

Trek Planner Maps

Trail Map

GPS Coordinates

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier: 32°42’49.67″N, 117°10’29.43″W

Experience. Discover. Explore.

The Trail

Follow along on our adventure then go out on your own!

Be a responsible explorer

The USS Midway once housed 4,500 crew on the 970ft aircraft carrier.   It was decommissioned in San Diego California in 1992 (after being commissioned in 1945) and opened as a museum in 2004 where it is still docked today.

The USS Midway is basically a giant museum.  I know what you are thinking.  Museums are boring and you can’t wait to get out of there.  Not true with the Midway museum.

From the entrance, right when you board the aircraft carrier, you are given the opportunity to receive headphones with a touchpad device.  This device provides valuable information regarding the Midway Aircraft Carrier and features stories of the sailors and others involved with the carrier.  I highly recommend you get one of these devices for you tour.

After you receive your audio tour device there are numerous activities in the vicinity such as talking with a veteran who was actually stationed on the carrier.  You can eat at the restaurant, check out the aircraft and helicopters and even ride in some flight simulators (at an extra cost).



USS Midway

Walking through the USS Midway you get a good sense of what life was like onboard.
Walking through the USS Midway you get a good sense of what life was like onboard.

The Midway has hundreds of large print numbers that you then input into your touchpad device so you can hear related information regarding that number.  So as you explore the carrier, make sure you listen to as many audio presentations as you can.  Most are a few minutes in length with the options to listen more, kind of like a bonus features.

Below deck you are able to walk around and see where the food was prepared, the crews sleeping quarters, the dentist office, mail room, mess hall, medical clinic, engineering rooms and more.  You could literally spend hours exploring all the exhibits and learning about the history and significance of this giant vessel.

Much of the carrier is closed off or reserved for special tours.

Many aircraft are on the carrier including helicopters and fighter jets
Many aircraft are on the carrier including helicopters and fighter jets

On the flight deck on top there are more than 29 restored aircraft to learn and explore.  There are several aircraft that you can actually climb aboard and check out from the inside.





Here are the aircraft listed on board the Midway:

  • EKA-3 Skywarrior
  • A-4 Skyhawk
  • H-34 Seabat
  • H-46 Sea Knight
  • T-2 Buckeye
  • F9F Panther
  • SBD Dauntless
  • F9F-8P Cougar
  • F/A-18 Hornet
  • F-8 Crusader
  • C-1 Trader
  • E-2 Hawkeye
  • SNJ Texan
  • A-6 Intruder
  • A-1 Skyraider
  • A-7 Corsair II
  • S-3 Viking
  • SH-2 Seasprite
  • SH-3 Seaking
  • F-4 Phantom II
  • F-14 Tomcat
  • RA-5 Vigilante
  • Huey Gunship
  • TBM Avenger
  • Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat
  • Vought F7U-3 Cutlass
  • Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless



USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Video

Personal Thoughts

Personal Thoughts

The USS Midway is a historic and important navel ship. I always enjoy learning about our military and the USS Midway does an excellent job of explaining and giving unique insight to the ship's history and its part in many military operations including WWII and even the Gulf War. This trek is very fun and exciting and perfect for families with children.

Related Posts
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x