With its ease of access and numerous beautiful trails, Mission Trails sees a LOT of hikers. While you’ll have a hard time finding any trail with complete solitude in the park, Mesa Trail in the eastern section isn’t as heavily traveled as some of the others. This hike combines the Mesa Service Road, Mesa Trail, and the Big Rock Trail for a nice little loop with a variety of habitats to explore. You can tack on a summit of Cowles Mountain if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, but on a warm day or if you’re just out for a quickie, this short hike is quite nice by itself. Continue reading Mesa Trail/Big Rock Trail Loop
Category Archives: Mission Trails
Kumeyaay Lake
Kumeyaay Lake in Mission Trails Regional Park was once a series of gravel pits along the San Diego River. After being mined out in the 1970’s, the area was restored and has since become an important nesting ground for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo. The lake is also open to recreational fishing, and lies immediately adjacent to the Kumeeyaay Lake Campground, open on weekends and certain holidays. Continue reading Kumeyaay Lake
Quarry Loop Trail (Mission Trails Regional Park)
The Quarry Loop in the southwest corner of Mission Trails Regional Park is a short but scenic trail with some surprisingly good views for such a short hike. From atop the ridge you can look west to the ocean and spot San Clemente and Catalina islands on the horizon, and to the southeast there are great views of the major Mission Trails peaks. Continue reading Quarry Loop Trail (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Rim Trail (Mission Trails Regional Park)
The western side of Mission Trails Regional Park contains an elaborate network of trails and utility roads that can be fashioned into any number of routes with varying amounts of elevation gain. You can explore low-lying valleys and river crossings or climb to hill tops to enjoy the views. This hike along the Rim Trail provides some great views of all 5 Mission Trail Peaks and the Suycott Valley below, as well as downtown San Diego in the west. Continue reading Rim Trail (Mission Trails Regional Park)
North Fortuna via Oak Canyon (Mission Trails Regional Park)
We love Mission Trails Regional Park for a variety of reasons. First of all, it’s close by and easy to get to. Second, it has a huge variety of interconnecting trails so you can make as long or as short of a hike as you have time for, and as easy or challenging of a hike as you can handle. The numerous trails also makes it hard to get bored – you can take different routes and constantly mix up your routine. Although we’d hiked North Fortuna Mountain before, we’d never gone up the backside near Highway 52. With recent rains filling up the San Diego River and adjacent creeks, we decided we’d head up Oak Canyon which has an idyllic creek flowing through it wet seasons, then follow the North Perimeter Trail adjacent to Highway 52 up to the summit of North Fortuna. Since it was a nice cool day, perfect for hiking with a dog, we were joined by the ever courageous Khan. Continue reading North Fortuna via Oak Canyon (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Pyles Peak (Mission Trails Regional Park)
While just about everyone has hiked Cowles Mountain, surprisingly few bother to continue on to Pyles Peak, the second highest peak in Mission Trails. Pyles Peak can only be accessed by first summiting Cowles then traveling another another 1.5 miles northwest. You’ll quickly leave the constant stream of hikers and trail runners behind on this trek and likely have the beautiful views all to yourself. Continue reading Pyles Peak (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Cowles Mountain (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Cowles Mountain is probably the most popular hiking destination in San Diego, and of the several possible routes to the peak, the trail starting at Golfcrest and Navajo is by far the most heavily used (check out our write-ups of alternate starting points Big Rock Park and Barker Way). This is not the hike to do if you are looking for some quiet solitude to commune with nature, as you will be sharing the trail with dozens of other hikers and runners (many of whom choose to disregard the “no amplified music” rule and broadcast their tunes for everyone to hear). Parking here can also be a significant challenge – at peak times its so busy that cars line the street as far as the eye can see. In fact, this trail is so popular that Mission Trails Regional Park has created the 5-Peak Challenge to encourage hikers to explore other areas of the park in the hopes of alleviating some of the parking issues. But despite the crowds, this is still a really beautiful hike with some of the best views within the city limits. It provides a great workout and is a choice spot for watching sunrise, sunset, or enjoying a full moon. Continue reading Cowles Mountain (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Cowles Mountain via Barker Way (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Cowles Mountain is the tallest point within the City of San Diego, and one of the most popular hikes in the county. There are several different routes up the mountain, the most popular being the southern route starting at Golfcrest and Navajo. Previously, we’d written up the route from Big Rock Park in Santee, and decided today we’d check out the eastern route from Barker Way. Continue reading Cowles Mountain via Barker Way (Mission Trails Regional Park)
South Fortuna Mountain (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Although South Fortuna is the smallest of Mission Trails’ five peaks, topping out at “only” 1094 feet in elevation, it is still a very popular choice for hikers seeking a workout. The main attraction of South Fortuna is the impressive set of wooden steps that leads up the peak’s western flank. Known by some as the “Stairway to Heaven,” this route travels unapologetically up the steep mountainside and is great for working those leg muscles. Continue reading South Fortuna Mountain (Mission Trails Regional Park)
Oak Grove Loop and Visitor Center Loop (Mission Trails Regional Park)
In 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)