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.
Like many hikes in the Laguna area, this one involves a lot of junctions as it incorporates a number of different spur trails. If you’re not super familiar with the trail system there already, you might want to consider picking up this new Laguna Mountain Recreation Area Trail Map to help guide you.
After some recent storms, we’d been itching to get out to the Lagunas and check out the snow. Of course our schedules are never as cooperative as we’d like them to be, so by the time we were able to get out there there was barely any snow left. Still, any day hiking is a good day, so we were undeterred when we arrived and found clear ground. We parked along the Sunrise Highway and found the trailhead on the western side of the road.
The trail paralleled the highway for a couple hundred feet before reaching a “Y” junction where we went left.
The trail led through some sparse stands of pines. We’d been hoping we might still find a bit of snow, but mostly what we found was mud.
Around .12 miles we came upon another “Y” junction. The Sunset Trail, another excellent hike, led off to the left. We took the right fork heading towards the Big Laguna Trail.
We made our way through the mud to the next “Y” junction at .37 miles, where we began the loop portion of the hike. We took the right fork here, setting off along the #7 spur of the Big Laguna Trail.
The trail led downhill, passing alongside some densely populated pine trees. Along the shady slope we finally found a little bit of remaining snow!
We continued downhill towards the southern edge of the Laguna Meadow. Around .75 mile we came to another junction where the trail passed through a wire fence. We passed through the gate and turned right.
The trail followed the course of the fence across the meadow.
At 1 mile we came to a “T” junction and turned left.
We made our way along the edge of the meadow and back into the trees.
Around 1.38 miles we came to another “T” junction where the Gatos Ravine Spur branched off on the right. We continued straight to stay along the meadow.
As we passed through a well-shaded, north-facing slope, we finally encountered a worthy patch of snow.
Around 1.7 miles we came to another “Y” junction and turned left.
The snow disappeared as we left the protective slope. The trail took us northeast through the trees on the edge of the meadow.
Around 2.25 miles we found another “T” junction at a break in the fence. The branch on the right led towards Little Laguna Lake and the Laguna and El Prado Campgrounds. We continued straight, following the fence line across the meadow.
On the far side of the meadow, we found a little wooden bridge to assist in crossing a particularly soggy area. There was a “T” junction on the far side of the bridge. Once again the right fork led towards Little Laguna Lake (forming a loop with the trail at the last junction). We turned left, heading towards Big Laguna Lake.
We rounded the bend and found another “Y” junction just around the corner. The left fork was unmarked, but you can take either fork as the converge again in a short distance. We took the right fork since it had a trail marker and appeared to be the “official” trail.
The trail led us through the trees, where we found a few more remaining patches of snow.
Around 2.6 miles we came to another “Y” junction. We could see the edge of Big Laguna Lake in the distance. If you’ve had enough or are just looking for a shorter loop, you can take the left fork here to cut across the south end of Big Laguna Lake. We chose the right fork to take the long way around the lake.
As excited as we were to see all the water in the lake, the numerous birds we saw swimming in the water appeared even happier.
The trail took us along the edge of a hillside, giving us a nice view of the lake spreading out on our left.
Continuing on, the view to our left changed as we reached the end of the lake. A dry, golden meadow took its place.
Around 3.5 miles we passed a turn-off on the right which led back to the El Prado Group Campground. We stayed left, continuing on the Big Laguna Trail.
As we reached the northern end of the meadow, we found a “T” junction around 4.25 miles. There were a great deal of fallen trees in the area, providing some nice seating. Since this is roughly the halfway point, it makes a good spot to sit down for a few minutes, have a snack, and enjoy a break.
After lounging for a bit, we then took the left fork leading west across the edge of the Laguna Meadow.
Looking south now, we had an awesome view of the northern meadow spread out before us and Big Laguna Lake beyond.
We reached the edge of the meadow and once again were in the transition zone between open grasslands and dense pine trees.
The trail turned south, and around 4.6 there was another “Y” junction where the Sunset Trail branched off to the right. We stayed left on the Big Laguna Trail.
From here we had a long, relatively straight stretch along the meadow’s edge.
We spied a Turkey Vulture and a Red-Tailed Hawk soaring above us, but they were too far away to get any decent pictures. We did manage to get a shot of a photogenic little robin who was chirping at us.
We came to the lake once again, and were able to get some better shots of the ducks enjoying the water.
Around 6.25 miles we reached the southern edge of Big Laguna Lake. There was a “T” junction here where another spur trail came in from the left. We continued straight.
The trail curved around eastward. Around 6.45 miles we spotted a flat slab of granite on our left with a few water-filled morteros in it.
We continued on as the trail led us around a small pond known as Water of the Woods.
Around 6.65 miles we came to a “Y” junction where the Sunset Trail ran to the right. We turned left, where the Sunset and Big Laguna Trails merge briefly.
We crossed a short earthen dam along the edge of the pond.
On the south side of the pond, we came to another “T” junction where the Sunset Trail split off to the right. You could take that trail for a slightly longer return trek, but we stayed to the left along the Big Laguna Trail.
This junction was also a good spot to enjoy the views of the Water of the Woods and surrounding meadow.
We followed the trail south along the edge of Laguna Meadow.
At 7 miles we came to a “Y” junction and took the right fork leading back towards the Sunrise Highway.
We passed through another gate and spotted a small snowman someone had made.
From here the trail led uphill back towards our starting point.
Around 7.55 miles we came to the “Y” junction where we had begun the loop portion of our hike. We took the right fork here and retraced our route back to the car.
Directions:
From I-8 east take the Sunrise Highway exit and turn left onto Sunrise Highway (S1). Follow Sunrise Highway for approximately 5.5 miles to the Meadows Information Center trailhead where you can park on either side of the road, just past mile marker 19. The trail head is on the west side of the highway. map
| Total Distance: | 7.9 miles |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
| Total Ascent: | 590 feet |
| Dog Friendly?: | Leashed dogs allowed |
| Bike Friendly?: | Bikes allowed |
| Facilities: | Port-a-potty at trailhead; No water |
| Fees/Permits: | Adventure Pass required |
For more information, visit:
View route or download GPX from CalTopo
Beautiful hike with not-too-strenuous of inclines. You could choose to take a shorter route back to the cars at multiple points throughout the hike. Some of the forks weren’t super clearly marked so having the app was handy. There is a fair amount of parking at the trailhead but I believe you need an adventure pass to park there which can be bought at the local convenience stores. Looked like a great trail to take dogs. I would highly recommend!