Meadows and pine forests can be hard to come by in San Diego County, but the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area is one spot where there’s plenty of both. This loop takes the Big Laguna Trail around the edge of the expansive Laguna Meadow and Big Laguna Lake, passing in and out of mature pine trees. Continue reading Laguna Meadow Loop
Category Archives: 6-10 miles
Mule Hill Trail to Old Coach
History buffs will enjoy this easy hike along the Coast to Crest Trail which passes Mule Hill, site of an historic battle in 1846. A number of interpretive signs along the trail tell the story of a group of US soldiers surrounded by enemies after the Battle of San Pasqual. In addition to Mule Hill, the trail passes the Sikes Adobe Farmstead, one of the area’s oldest adobe homes. Continue reading Mule Hill Trail to Old Coach
Oakzanita Peak Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
One of my favorite things about Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is its extensive, interconnected network of trails that lets you make hikes as long or as short as you like. If you just want to bag a peak, you can do it as a quick out and back. If you want to do a long, meandering route that includes a peak, you can do that too. We had previously hiked Oakzanita Peak as a simple out and back, and found it to have outstanding views with considerably fewer people than the more popular Stonewall Peak. We decided to revisit Oakzanita but make a longer hike out of it and ended up with this 9.2 mile loop. Continue reading Oakzanita Peak Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (East)
Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, with its long, looping trail system, year-round creek, and easily accessible waterfall, is a highly popular hiking destination. In addition to all of its many natural attractions, it is also home to the historic Rancho Penasquitos Adobe Ranch House. The Ranch House has a long history as a private residence and bunkhouse for ranch hands. You can incorporate a tour of the Ranch House into your hike if you like, or maybe just stop by to visit some of the barnyard animals that live on the grounds. Even if you bypass the Ranch House, the eastern half of Penasquitos Canyon offers a scenic and interesting hike along Penasquitos Creek to a small but scenic waterfall. Continue reading Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (East)
West Mesa Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
One of the things we love about Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is the fact that its numerous miles of interconnecting fire roads and single track trails can be combined into so many different hikes. This loop along the West Mesa Trail overlaps a portion of the Airplane Monument/Arroyo Seco Loop, but begins at the West Mesa trailhead and travels south towards the monument. Continue reading West Mesa Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Indian Creek Loop
The Laguna Mountain area is one of our favorite hiking destinations in San Diego because it has so many interconnecting trails that can be combined into different hikes. The Indian Creek Loop combines segments of several different trails (Noble Canyon, Indian Creek, and the PCT) which we’ve explored before into an 8.7 mile loop with a wonderful variety of landscapes to enjoy. Continue reading Indian Creek Loop
Dyar Spring/Juaquapin Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is home to an extensive network of trails that can be cobbled together into any number of different hikes. This loop combines several of those trails (Harvey Moore, Dyar Spring, Juaquapin, and the East Side Trail) to visit a variety of different habitats including chaparral hillsides, grassy meadows, and riparian stream sides. There is plenty of opportunity to spot wildlife as well – turkey and deer are quite common, and the occasional coyote might be spotted if you’re quiet. Continue reading Dyar Spring/Juaquapin Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)
Hellhole Canyon Preserve
Hellhole Canyon County Preserve in Valley Center is much nicer than the name might imply, at least in winter and spring. The Preserve is closed during the month of August due to heat (and is also closed Tuesday – Thursday, so keep that in mind when making your plans). It is a ruggedly beautiful spot with a mix of riparian, oak woodland, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub. Continue reading Hellhole Canyon Preserve
Lake Hodges West
The longest completed segment of the Coast to Crest Trail is a 22-mile segment from Santa Fe Valley to Highway 78. We had already hiked a portion along the North Shore Lake Hodges Trail from I-15 to Del Dios Community Park, and the segment through Del Dios Gorge from Santa Fe Valley to Rattlesnake Viewpoint near the Lake Hodges Dam. This left us with a gaping hole in the middle of these two sections along the western shore of Lake Hodges we had not yet completed. Continue reading Lake Hodges West
Sunset Trail/Big Laguna Loop
The Meadows Information Kiosk trailhead in Mount Laguna is the starting point for a number of great hikes. It’s an easy access point for the many interconnecting spurs of the Big Laguna Trail, so it’s highly popular with hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers. It’s also the starting point for the somewhat quieter Sunset Trail, a hiker-only trail that travels through dense forest and along some ridges, which as the name implies, provide some lovely west-facing views well-suited for watching sunset. Continue reading Sunset Trail/Big Laguna Loop