We had slowly been tackling small segments of the portion of the Coast to Crest Trail that runs through the San Pasqual Valley, and were down to the final leg. The segment that runs from the San Pasqual Staging Area just off of Highway 78 to the Ysabel Creek Staging Area a few miles away is at the eastern end of a 22-mile contiguous stretch of the Coast to Crest Trail. Hopefully someday, we’ll be able to continue east through the valley to connect with the Santa Ysabel truck trail near Boden Canyon. For now, we were just happy to check this one off the list. Continue reading San Pasqual to Ysabel Creek
Category Archives: Coast to Crest Trail
Ysabel Creek to Raptor Ridge
Someday the Coast to Crest Trail will run continuously from the summit of Volcan Mountain to the ocean, but for now the longest contiguous segment of the trail is the 22-mile span between Highway 78 and Santa Fe Valley. A 22-mile point-to-point hike makes for an awfully long day hike, so we’ve been tackling this section in smaller segments. Continue reading Ysabel Creek to Raptor Ridge
Old Coach to Raptor Ridge
This segment of the Coast to Crest trail through San Pasqual Valley picks up where our last hike, from Mule Hill to the Old Coach connector trail, left off. This segment starts off almost perfectly flat as it continues along the San Dieguito River, then ascends to the Raptor Ridge Viewpoint where you have fantastic views of the San Pasqual Valley below. As you can guess from the name, it is an excellent spot to view hawks soaring by as they hunt. Continue reading Old Coach to Raptor Ridge
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
Santa Fe Valley Trail
Someday the Coast to Crest Trail will span a full 71 miles from the San Dieguito Rivers’s headwaters on Volcan Mountain to the Del Mar coast. Currently, about 60 percent of the trail is complete, with the longest segment being the 22-mile section from Highway 78 to Santa Fe Valley. This hike covers the westernmost end of that 22-mile segment through the Santa Fe Valley. Continue reading Santa Fe Valley Trail
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
Del Dios Gorge
The Del Dios Gorge section of the Coast to Crest Trail holds both natural beauty and historical significance. The trail runs between the scenic San Dieguito River and the Del Dios Highway, just downstream of Lake Hodges. Remains of the historic Hodges Flume can be seen on the hillside above the highway, and the area is home to the C.W. Harris Site Archaeological District, where artifacts from over 9000 years of human habitation have been found. Continue reading Del Dios Gorge
Santa Ysabel East Preserve
The Santa Ysabel County Preserve is currently divided into two separate parcels known as Santa Ysabel West and Santa Ysabel East. While land is being acquired to connect the two parcels, for the time being the two still stand apart. We had previously explored all of the Santa Ysabel West Trails, and part of the larger Santa Ysabel East Preserve. We’d been waiting for cooler weather and a long weekend to take on the more ambitious end-to-end exploration of Santa Ysabel East. Today was the day. Continue reading Santa Ysabel East Preserve
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
San Dieguito Lagoon
Originating from a spring on Volcan Mountain in Julian, the waters of Santa Ysabel Creek combine with other streams and creeks to form the San Dieguito River. This watershed traverses a 55 mile corridor across the county, eventually flowing into the Pacific Ocean at the San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar. Eventually, the Coast to Crest Trail will span that full distance, but as of now it exists as a series of non-contiguous (but ever-growing) series of trail segments. Continue reading San Dieguito Lagoon