The park is within the city limits of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, next to the suburb of Playas de Tijuana in Mexico.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was concluded on February 2, 1848, officially ending the war between the United States and Mexico.

It provided that the new international border between the two countries be established by a joint United States and Mexican Boundary Survey.

During World War II it was base for Border Naval Outlying Landing Field[2][3][4][5] The park was closed to the public in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak.

[6] The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve contains much of Border Field State Park and is an important wildlife habitat.