Category Archives: Dog Friendly

Batiquitos Lagoon

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Batiquitos Lagoon is one of the few remaining tidal wetlands in southern California. Located between Carlsbad and Encinitas, the Lagoon was chosen as a mitigation site in the 1980’s to offset development in San Pedro Harbor by the Port of Los Angeles. As a result, Batiquitos was dredged to remove accumulating silt and restore tidal flow to the Lagoon. Today Batiquitos Lagoon has been restored to a beautiful 610 acre preserve that is home to numerous fish, birds, plants, and mammals, and serves as a popular recreation spot for San Diegans looking for an easy, coastal stroll. Continue reading Batiquitos Lagoon

Walker Preserve Trail

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The Walker Preserve Trail is the most recently completed section of the San Diego River Trail. This section encompasses over 100 acres of mixed sage scrub, riparian and wetland habitat capable of supporting at least 3 federally protected bird species (the Southwestern willow flycatcher, the California gnatcatcher, and the least Bell’s viero). This area was once part of the Walker Family Dairy Farm, and until recently was off-limits to the public as it was used for sand mining. A combination of funding from the City of Santee and various grants were used to purchase the land and construct a beautiful riverside trail that was opened to the public in April 2015. Continue reading Walker Preserve Trail

El Cajon Mountain (“El Cap”)

El Cajon Mountain
El Cajon Mountain, or “El Cap” as its often referred to, is a major landmark in Eastern San Diego. The prominent granite ridge can be easily identified from many of southeastern San Diego’s trails and draws your attention as you drive east on Interstate 8. Located in the the County’s El Capitan Open Space Preserve, the trail up El Cajon Mountain is one of the most challenging in San Diego. It is often frequented by individuals training for adventures such as hiking Mount Whitney or competing in Iron Man triathlons, as well as ambitious day hikers. Continue reading El Cajon Mountain (“El Cap”)

Los Pinos Peak

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We first learned of Los Pinos Peak last winter when we hiked to Corte Madera Mountain. Not to be confused with the Los Pinos Peak located in the Santa Ana Mountains, San Diego’s Los Pinos and neighboring Corte Madera are offshoots of the beautiful Espinosa Trail in the southern reaches of the Cleveland National Forest. Many people combine the two destinations into a single 10-mile hike, but since we hadn’t had time for both on our first excursion, we finally made plans to get back out there and do the Los Pinos hike. Continue reading Los Pinos Peak

Oak Grove Loop and Visitor Center Loop (Mission Trails Regional Park)

20150214_DSC3568-EditOakGrove_VisLoopIn our many trips to Mission Trails over the years, we’d always overlooked the Oak Grove trail
due to its short length. Deciding it was high time to rectify this oversight, we leashed up one of the dogs and headed to the park for a short hike combining the Oak Grove and Visitor’s Center Loop trails. Continue reading Oak Grove Loop and Visitor Center Loop (Mission Trails Regional Park)

Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (West)

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Of the many canyon open spaces in the City of San Diego, Los Penasquitos is the largest. Stretching some 7 miles between the 805 and 15 freeways, the Preserve contains a wide array of interesting scenery to enjoy. It is home to grassy hillsides, chaparral covered slopes, enormous groves of Sycamore trees, and expansive stands of oaks. Penasquitos Creek, a year-round stream, runs through the center of the canyon and provides the Preserve’s most alluring feature: an easily accessible waterfall. Continue reading Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (West)

Oak Grove to High Point

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High Point, the top of Palomar Mountain, is home to one of the few fire lookout towers in San Diego that is still currently in use. The tower is staffed by volunteers from the Forest Fire Lookout Association during fire season. While the tower itself is only open to authorized personnel, you can still visit the peak and enjoy the fantastic views. Volunteers and less ambitious visitors make the journey via dirt road with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, but the fun route is a calf-busting 13 mile hike up the northeastern side of the mountain. Naturally, that’s the route we took. Continue reading Oak Grove to High Point

Cedar Creek Falls (via Ramona)

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** WARNING **

This is not an appropriate hike for hot weather!!

Temperatures in the river gorge frequently reach well over 100 degrees. While hiking out to the local swimming hole for a refreshing dip may seem like a good idea on a hot summer day, each year dozens of hikers regularly succumb to heat exhaustion while trying to hike back out to the trailhead. Several heat-related fatalities have occurred on this trail. In the summer, the waterfall does not flow, and the little water that is in the pool is usually stagnant and green with algae, so its really not worth risking your life for.

Do this hike in the winter or early spring.

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Cedar Creek Falls is an extremely popular hike, and for very good reason. The hike itself offers breathtaking views of the San Diego River Gorge and surrounding mountains, and the destination is an idyllic swimming hole at the base of an 80 foot waterfall. As there’s a considerable lack of freshwater playgrounds in San Diego, its easy to see why this uniquely beautiful spot gets so much attention. The drawback, however, is you will likely have to share this gem with others during your visit, especially if you go on a weekend. The swimming hole is often erroneously referred to as the Devil’s Punchbowl. The real Devil’s Punchbowl lies to the east on private property along Boulder Creek. Continue reading Cedar Creek Falls (via Ramona)

Monserate Mountain

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Monserate Mountain is one of a number of beautiful Preserves managed by the Fallbrook Land Conservancy. The trail takes a no-nonsense approach up the west side of the mountain through the typical mix of chaparral and coastal sage scrub, leading to panoramic vistas of Fallbrook’s avocado orchards, the Pacific Ocean, and surrounding mountains. Because the trail is steep and exposed, it is best enjoyed in the cooler temperatures of fall, winter, and spring. Continue reading Monserate Mountain

Noble Canyon

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The Noble Canyon trail is very popular among mountain bikers due to its challenging, technical descents and beautiful scenery. If you don’t mind dodging bikers, and can arrange a car at either end, it also makes for an epic 10 mile hike through a variety of ecosystems. The trail begins among the pines and meadows of Laguna Mountain, travels down through an oak-lined, riparian creekside, and then traverses an arid, rocky canyon down into Pine Valley. North to south is the preferred direction of travel, since its mostly downhill. Continue reading Noble Canyon