Like its name implies, Horsethief Canyon was once used by thieves to corral stolen horses before heading for the Mexican border. These days the area has a less notorious reputation, and is more frequently visited by hikers than criminals. This hike travels along the western section of the Espinosa trail, through some stunning oak woodlands to the beautiful Pine Creek. As with most water sources in San Diego, you’ll want to do this hike in winter or early spring to maximize your chances of actually finding water. Also note that this is a “reverse” hike – you’ll be doing the easy downhill hike into the canyon at the start, and the more rigorous uphill climb out of the canyon comes at the end. Continue reading Horsethief Canyon→
People tend to get pretty excited about waterfalls, especially in San Diego where fresh water in any form is pretty rare. Kitchen Creek Falls isn’t the biggest or most impressive set of falls you’ll ever see, but this is still a fun little hike. It’s not as busy as some of the larger falls in the area (like Cedar Creek or Three Sisters), and if you head out early there’s a decent chance you’ll be able to have some time to yourself to enjoy the serenity of the creek. Like most waterfalls in San Diego, timing is everything. You’ll want to go during the wet season to ensure some flowing water. Continue reading Kitchen Creek Falls→
Pine Mountain is an unassuming peak near the the northern section of the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. The Pine Mountain Trail travels along the eastern flank of the mountain through dense chaparral, but does not ascend to the peak where a decent sized population of pine trees live (hence the name “Pine Mountain”). After traveling along the Pine Mountain trail and visiting a scenic overlook near Champagne Pass, this loop drops down to Indian Creek then returns to the highway through a lovely meadow. Continue reading Pine Mountain Loop→
Lake Morena is the highest and most remote of the County’s reservoirs. High above the lake looms Morena Butte, a three-peaked mountain topped with huge expanses of gorgeous granite slabs. The route up to the mountain begins at Lake Morena County Park, and travels 3 miles south along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) before turning off to climb to the summit. Continue reading Morena Butte→
Eagle Peak has been touted by many San Diego hikers as having some of the best views in the county. Rising just west of the Cuyamaca Mountains, Eagle Peak towers high above the surrounding Cedar Creek, Boulder Creek, and San Diego River Gorges, and does indeed offer some stunning views. However, this hike is somewhat overshadowed by the more popular Three Sisters Falls hike, which shares a common trailhead, so the chances are good that you can have this fantastic peak all to yourself. Continue reading Eagle Peak→
There are a lot of shorter hikes scattered throughout the county that are beautiful and scenic, but don’t always feel like they justify the amount of driving involved to get there. We decided that we’d hike both this trail and another nearby trail, as well as take a tour of the Palomar Mountain Observatory to make a decent half-day adventure worthy of the couple hours of driving involved. So after hiking the Observatory Trail, we headed over to the Fry Creek Campground just up the road to do this short little loop along the slopes above the campground. Continue reading Fry Creek Trail→
The top of Palomar Mountain is home to the Palomar Observatory. Three large telescopes, the 200-inch Hale telescope (which can be seen from many distant mountain tops), a 60-inch telescope, and the 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope are currently used for ongoing research. The Observatory has been in operation since the mid 1930’s, and has been involved in numerous discoveries, including the discoveries of dwarf planets Sedna and Eris, 178 supernovae, and 13 comets. Continue reading Observatory Trail→
It was yet another ridiculously hot weekend, so we decided we’d head up to the mountains to try and escape the worst of it. Perusing our “to-hike” list, we found this loop in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area that appeared to have a decent amount of tree cover to help keep us cool. Continue reading Agua Dulce Loop→
This year, the August full moon had the courtesy to not only occur on a Saturday, but at a very convenient time of approximately 7:20 in the evening. Not to be outdone, the sun was scheduled to set just a few minutes earlier. We knew we had to take advantage of this celestial concurrence and settled upon Garnet Peak as our vantage point. Garnet Peak offers beautiful panoramic views under even the most ordinary of circumstances, so we were confident the evening would not disappoint. Continue reading Garnet Peak→
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area are two of my favorite hiking spots in San Diego County. Not coincidentally, they happen to be right next to each other. Both of these areas feature long miles of accessible trails where one can find a quiet solitude that is hard to come by in much of the county. This nearly 13 mile hike connects both areas together in a long, but beautiful journey that showcases some of the best of each park. Continue reading Laguna to Cuyamaca→
