Lake Jennings is a man-made reservoir located in Lakeside. While its main purpose is to provide drinking water, Lake Jennings also provides a wide array of recreational opportunities including fishing, camping, boating, bird-watching, and most importantly, hiking. While the campground is open 7 days a week, the eastern side of the lake is only open Friday – Sunday, so you’ll need to plan accordingly if you want to do this route and go all the way around the lake. Continue reading Lake Jennings
Category Archives: Trail Write-Ups
Lake Hodges
Lake Hodges is one of San Diego’s many water reservoirs, created in 1918 when the San Dieguito River was dammed. In addition to storing water, Lake Hodges is an important habitat for resident and migratory birds. The hills surrounding the reservoir are primarily coastal sage scrub, and are also home to the coastal cactus wren, who nest in exclusively in prickly pear cactus. Continue reading Lake Hodges
Middle Peak (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Middle Peak is one of several promontories in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Along with Cuyamaca Peak to the south and North Peak to the north, Middle Peak is a landmark easily identified from many other popular trails in the county. Once covered in pine and oak trees, Middle Peak, like the rest of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, was hit hard by the 2003 Cedar Fire. Much of the mountain is now covered in ceanothus, and the charred remains of blackened trees line the slopes. Reforestation efforts are underway, but in the meantime, the lack of trees allows for some sweeping views of the surrounding area. Continue reading Middle Peak (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Famosa Slough
Famosa Slough is a 37 acre Marine Conservation Area which protects fragile wetland habitat near the point where the San Diego River meets the Pacific Ocean. While the surrounding area has been heavily developed, this small portion of wetland provides a peaceful patch of nature. The Slough is a popular spot for birdwatchers year-round, and a frequent stopover point for migrating birds in the winter. Over 190 species of birds have been spotted here. Continue reading Famosa Slough
Boulder Loop Trail (Daley Ranch)
Once threatened by development, Daley Ranch is now a 3058 acre habitat conservation area in northeastern Escondido. With over 20 miles of trails to explore, it is a popular spot for hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers. The Boulder Loop Trail is a scenic hike in the southwestern portion of the property with some decent hills to conquer. Continue reading Boulder Loop Trail (Daley Ranch)
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is a small pair of peaks just north of Silverset Park in Poway. The taller, western peak gets the “Twin Peaks” label on topographic maps and appears to be the more popular destination. The smaller peak, a short distance to the east, is an easy side trip worth visiting at least once. Overall its a relatively short hike (just over 2 miles round trip for both summits), but the steep, rugged terrain makes for a worthy climb. Continue reading Twin Peaks
Scripps Coastal Reserve – Biodiversity Trail
The Scripps Coastal Reserve is part of UC San Diego’s Natural Reserve System. The Scripps Reserve consists of almost 1000 acres, including an underwater marine portion, coastline area, and an upland cliff area known as “The Knoll.” The Knoll is home to the Biodiversity Trail – a short but very scenic interpretive loop tucked in amid the palace-like residences of La Jolla.
On a horrifically hot summer day, a short easy stroll on the coast sounded like a great choice, so we headed up to the Reserve. We were able to spot the entrance gate as we drove by, then had to continue a little ways up the street to park and walk back. The entrance is pretty subtle: a wrought iron gate with small sign sandwiched between two large houses.
Once through the gate, it was just a short stroll to the beginning of loop. There was a clipboard with a sign-in sheet at the informational kiosk to help the researchers track visitors, so we dutifully signed in. We decided we’d do the loop counter-clockwise and headed down the right fork.
There were periodic signs with information about the Reserve and the plants and animals that inhabit the area, which is a great way to learn about the local habitat. Being somewhat late in the summer, there weren’t any flowers to enjoy, and the landscape was dominated by chaparral broom and dry sage.
There was plenty of wildlife to enjoy, however. We spotted a rabbit enjoying a small patch of shade.
And there were numerous birds flying around and hopping through the bushes.
To the north was Black’s Canyon. Across the canyon we could see some enormous homes perched atop the sculpted cliffs. A paved path providing access to Black’s Beach ran down through the canyon.
Around .2 mile there was a small overlook along the edge of the cliffs. 
There were numerous signs warning us to stay back from the edge of the unstable cliffs, but even from a safe and conservative location we were able to get some beautiful views of the coastline and see Scripps Pier below.
The trail continued south along the cliff edge for a little way.
Then it soon turned inland again. We spotted a large Bladderpod plant with some Harlequin Bug nymphs crawling on it.
There were also large patches of Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus, because in San Diego, even the beach has cacti!
More birds entertained us with their songs.
Before long, we found ourselves approaching the start of the loop again. We thought we were done and started heading towards the gate when we spotted this beautiful little guy in the brush.
For such a short trail, we certainly got our fair share of wildlife, and definitely felt it was worth the trip.
Directions:
From I-5, take the La Jolla Village Drive exit and head west on La Jolla Village Drive. Continue as La Jolla Village Drive turns into N Torrey Pines Road. Turn left onto La Jolla Shors Drive, then right onto La Jolla Farms Road. The entrance to the Reserve will be on the left after approximately .1 mile. Find parking on the street where you can. map
| Total Distance: | .5 mile |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Total Ascent: | Negligible |
| Dog Friendly?: | Dogs not allowed |
| Bike Friendly?: | Bikes not allowed |
| Facilities: | None |
| Fees/Permits: | None |
For more information, visit:
UC San Diego Natural Reserve System – Scripps Coastal ReserveView route or download GPX from CalTopo
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge – Par 4 Trail
Although we’ve been frequent visitors to the western portion of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge in Rancho San Diego, we’d never managed to make it over to the eastern side. In fact, for many years we had no idea there was another part of the refuge, as the main trailhead to the area lies a the end of a remote suburban cul-de-sac.
The Par 4 trailhead leads to a nice little loop trail that runs along the Sweetwater River near the Cottonwood Golf Course and along the hills just north of Steele Canyon High School. There’s a network of use trails running through the area so you can do some exploring. We ended up doing something of a figure-8 loop that seemed to incorporate most of the highlights of the area. Continue reading San Diego National Wildlife Refuge – Par 4 Trail
Lopez Canyon
Lopez Canyon is a small offshoot of western Los Penasquitos Canyon. The seasonal Lopez Creek runs through it, with an accompanying lush riparian habitat. Lopez Canyon is usually less busy than neighboring Penasquitos, so its a great alternative if you’re seeking a bit of quiet solitude, or you can combine the two trails if you’re looking for some extra mileage.
Starting from the western Penasquitos parking area, we passed through the gate at the trailhead, and followed the trail through the thick riparian brush.
In several hundred feet, we came to a “T” junction. We turned right, following the signs for Lopez Canyon. (Los Penasquitos Canyon lies to the left.)
The trail ran through an open grassy area for a short stretch before bending to the right and crossing over the dry creek. Thick tangles of willow, mule fat and other riparian vegetation grew along the creek bed.
On the far side of the creek, we found ourselves flanked by the dry, grassy slopes of the canyon wall on one side and the lush green of the creek on the other.
Abundant patches of Sacred datura, with its large trumpet-shaped white flowers lined the trail.
Around .65 miles we found ourselves passing through a field of enormous, dried flower stalks.
In the midst of this field we came to a “Y” junction in the trail. The right fork was an old dirt road (Lopez Road) leading up to another trailhead near an office park. If you’re looking for a slightly more challenging route, you can get a bit of climbing in by following this trail up to the canyon rim. We were more interested in scenery today, however, so turned left to continue along the creek.
We emerged from the field of dry stalks and continued along the narrow footpath.
As with just about all riparian areas, there was a considerable amount of poison oak along the trail.
Just shy of the 1 mile point, we crossed the dry creek bed again.
We were deep in the canyon now, and despite the fact that we could occasionally glimpse houses and buildings on the canyon rim above us, we felt blissfully secluded on the quiet canyon floor.
Tall Sycamore trees provided a leafy canopy overhead, and flowering buckwheat dotted the trailside.
Around 1.15 mile a side trail branched off to the right, leading up towards more office buildings above. We took the left fork to maintain our course along the creek.
At 1.3 miles we crossed the rocky creek bed again, the smooth river rock crunching loudly beneath our feet.
As we continued, the sound of snapping branches made us look up to the hillside on our left. A small herd of deer was grazing in the brush. Most of them ran off upon noticing us, but one doe hung around for a couple of minutes, staring back at us as we stared at her.
She finally wandered off to find the rest of her herd, and we continued on our way. More beautiful Sycamores awaited us.
At 1.5 miles, the trail we had been following led to an open, rocky expanse and disappeared. You can follow the rocky creek bed for awhile and pick up the trail again as it leads towards a bridge where Camino Santa Fe Road passes over the canyon. But as the sun was quickly burning off the cooling marine layer and the high humidity was sapping our energy, hiking along the exposed creekbed just to reach a road wasn’t sounding especially appealing to us. So, we decided to make this our turnaround point and headed back the way we had come.
Directions:
From 805-N, take exit 27B for Sorrento Valley Road. Turn left onto Vista Sorrento Parkway and continue for approximately 1 mile. Turn right onto Sorrento Valley Blvd. The trailhead will be on your right in just under 1 mile. map
| Total Distance: | 3 miles |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Total Ascent: | 110 feet |
| Dog Friendly?: | Leashed dogs allowed |
| Bike Friendly?: | Bikes allowed |
| Facilities: | Port-a-potty at trailhead; no water |
| Fees/Permits: | None |
For more information, visit:
View route or download GPX from CalTopo
City of San Diego Parks & Recreation: Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve
County of San Diego Parks & Recreation: Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve
Friends of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve
Trail Map
Airplane Monument & Arroyo Seco Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
On December 7, 1922, a twin-seat model biplane carrying Col. F.C. Marshall and Lt. C.L. Webber crashed into a ridge near Cuyamaca Peak. Despite extensive searches, the wreckage and pilots’ remains weren’t discovered until May the following year. A monument to the two men was built and today is an interesting bit of history residing in the western portion of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Continue reading Airplane Monument & Arroyo Seco Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)