balboa park trails

Balboa Park is one of our favorite urban areas in San Diego. A few weeks ago while hanging out in the park, we were pleased to see the newly installed hike signage.

Now you don't need a special map or tip to find or enjoy the trails - just show up & follow the signs! But hey, if you still want one, the maps are online. And don't forget to follow the park on Twitter.

Happy hiking!

Cedar Creek Waterfall

Enjoying the spring weather in San Diego, last weekend we continued our quest to take on some of the hikes that are just too hot to do in the summer. We wanted something challenging, like a mountain, but pretty, ohh! like a waterfall. We decided to take on Cedar Creek, as it promised to offer one of the best waterfalls in San Diego. It was everything we were looking for!

• Trail: Ceder Creek trail (Ramona side)
  
• Location: Ramona
  
• Length: about 4 miles out & back
  
• Hike time: 3 hours
  
• Terrain: rocky, dusty path & some river crossing
  
• Path visibility: several rather worn trails all leading down to same place
  
• Difficulty: moderate because of the steep uphill hike up from falls
  
• Cost: free
  
• Highlight destination: waterfall
  
• Beware: bring lots of water, go in morning to avoid massive groups
  

Getting to the trail head in Ramona is apparently a little easier from San Diego than the traditional Julian starting point for this hike. The drive only took us an hour, then we easily found the trail head at a dead end amongst several houses who get Cedar Creek as their backyard.

We arrived around 10 a.m. on the trails, which seemed to be good timing as we had a chance to enjoy the waterfall a bit privately in between the onslaught of hikers who got a slightly later start than us. Just in our 3 hours on the trail we probably came across 30 or so other hikers (if not more).

The walk down to the waterfall took us about an hour. We had the little 2 lb. dog with us again & she did great (most of the hike!). The descent is a bit steep with loose dirt & rocks, making the trip down a bit dicey at times. The wildflowers were just beginning their springtime bloom and the surrounding peaks as we descended into the valley made for quite the postcard view.

We crossed running water, rock jumping, about 3 times to get to the waterfall. I like to point out that I crossed the San Diego River, but of course it really was just a shallow rushing creek of a thing so it wasn't that difficult.

It is easy to see why the Cedar Creek trail's waterfall is dubbed the best in San Diego. With its 100 foot falls, nature puts on quite a show for hikers. There was a large group of about 8 professional looking hikers there when we arrived, and they were stationed right in front of the waterfall. We took over a boulder off to the side of the falls and ate our lunch. By the time we were done eating, they were heading back up the trail so we spent a good 15 minutes at the primo spot in front of the falls enjoying it ourselves.

You can also climb up to the top of the waterfall (no jumping down though), but with the best view being the waterfall we didn't head up that way. There was a group of about 5 people near the top of the falls during our stop.

As with any waterfall hike, the hardest part is the trip back to the car. I thought it must have been a 90 degree incline, but my trusty hiking partner insists it was only about 30 degrees at most. Sure felt straight up! You didn't really notice the utility of the excellently placed look-out rocks at each plateau until you were headed way up - that's when you use each rock formation as a resting bench for a water break. (It was early March & we went through lots of water, so make sure you bring plenty.)

Our poor pooch had just about had enough of her hike about halfway up, as on our first major stop she literally fell over to rest when she realized we weren't going to be moving anymore. It was tragically precious & of course we decided to carry her most of the way back after that. Don't worry, we had plenty of water for her too. Needless to say, she slept like a rock that night.

The trip back up to the car only took a little extra time than our trip down, as the climb took just under 1.5 hours to return to the trail head.

Even with the big groups of other hikers, this is one of favorite hikes to date. The countryside was so peaceful, the waterfall so amazing and as always the company top-notch. Try to do this hike after a big rainy season or in the spring, as many reports online say the beautiful falls dry up to barely a trickle by August.

On the way home we detoured through Julian & of course rewarded ourselves with their famous Apple pie.

Tipped Off: Jerry Schad's Afoot & Afield in San Diego.

Two Harbors Catalina

The Catalina Islands just off the coast of California near Los Angeles might be one of the most relaxing tourist destinations in this area. Though their local economy is built around tourism (population less than 300), there just isn't much to do there other than enjoy the nature - be it through boating or hiking. We took this hike at Two Harbors Labor Day weekend on Aug. 30, 2008.

• Trail: Two Harbors
  
• Location: Two Harbors on Catalina Island
  
• Length: varies
  
• Hike time: varies
  
• Terrain: peak with plenty of plateaus
  
• Path visibility: clearly marked dirt path
  
• Difficulty: moderate, increasing difficulty as you go up the coastal peak
  
• Cost: free, but hiking pass required
  
• Highlight destination: overlooking the two harbors for which the area gets its name
  
• Beware: buffalo said to be on the peak, but we didn't see any; bring lots of water
  

The only way to get to the Catalina Islands is by boat, be it your own or ferry from the mainland (okay, so there is a small airport but I can't be bothered with facts). This restricted access makes Catalina a great getaway destination. Even though it is 100% tourist, it's very laid back with actually very little to do other than enjoy nature.

While at Two Harbors, we knew we had to hike. Apparently buffalo roam the coastal peak we hiked, but we weren't lucky enough to see any. We're holding out for the next time.

This hike was much like our San Diego-based climbs on familiar terrain of steep inclines on a dirt path, but with the most extraordinary views of the two harbors (Isthmus Cove and Catalina Harbor). After walking along a long flat, wide dirt path for a bit, we started heading upward toward the peak. There was a nice area at the bend just overlooking Isthmus Cove with a bench to rest or just enjoy the view of the harbor below.

Moving from this resting spot, the hike seemed to really begin as we took on the peak. The incline increased rather steadily and gave us a bit of a workout.

The entire hike was really like a living postcard. What else is there to say? Can't wait to go back.

We found this video online of brothers who did a variation of the hike we did - and they saw a buffalo!



Tipped off: Catalina guides online mention hiking, but there aren't a lot of details out there.

Sunset Cliffs

Anytime someone from out of town comes to San Diego to visit, a must stop on showcasing this gorgeous coastal area is Sunset Cliffs. Though La Jolla Cove might receive more tourists, Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma is 20 times more spectacular. It isn't so much of an urban hike as it is a nice walk along some of the most breathtaking cliffs on this continent, but we still have to highlight it. We first took this hike together on July 17, 2008 - but have made it a staple in showing people the sights of San Diego.

• Trail: Sunset Cliffs
  
• Location: in Sunset Cliffs Park on Point Loma [map]
  
• Length: varies
  
• Hike time: varies
  
• Terrain: easy walk on road, but climbing down to explore the rocks & even some of the more hard-to-reach areas (skipping across the crashing waves) highly recommended
  
• Path visibility: clearly marked paved path, but encouraged to explore off the path
  
• Difficulty: easy up on the trail, but be careful down by the waves
  
• Cost: free
  
• Highlight destination: going off path at the waterline to explore the caves and private beaches
  
• Beware: stay back from the cliffs, wading across slippery rocks as waves come crashing in can be dangerous, & some vagrants in the less-traveled areas
  

Sunset Cliffs is one of those places that makes you wonder at how lucky San Diego is to have such amazing coastal places all in our backyard. Very true to it's name, Sunset Cliffs is a series of cliffs with the Pacific Ocean crashing hard against the rocks - but that intensity of nature provides such a serene and lovely backdrop to what can be a nice meandering hike.

The write-up that Jerry Schad gives it in his "Afoot & Afield in San Diego," understates this urban hike greatly. He calls the trail "neglected" and overwhelmingly informal, placing emphasis on that as opposed to the absolutely amazing vistas. As he mentions, you can bring everything from kids to dogs, but both should be watched carefully especially near the cliff edges and crashing waves.

The first thing we did after parking in the small lot at the park was to make our way down to the outcropping of cliffs. Even though there were several groups there, it seemed like each of us had our own private cliff to enjoy.

Moving closer to the water, it became a little game to see what marine wildlife we could encounter. In the tide pools on the cliffs, we saw many a crab scurrying, among other types of animals.

After spending a good deal of time oooh'ing an ahhhhh'ing, we continued to make our way down the coastline. The cliffs were just amazing and what views you have of the wildflowers, waves & surfers below. There were the most amazing rock formations even out in the ocean, a good distance from the main cliffs and coastline.

Then, we came to a staircase that led us down to the waterline. This is where the urban hike can start to get a little dangerous, as you'll have to scurry over wet rocks and timing your trek against the incoming waves, but this is the part that is most worth it.

Once down along the waterline, you can explore a series of caves. We found a fabulous little "private" locals-only type beach that had about 10 people (kids included) enjoying their secret little spot there far from the touristy areas of the city. There were lots of surfers and others out enjoying sport in the ocean too.

The only words of caution for this hike deal with safety of rock-hopping against such a powerful current to get to some of the more fun areas, and a note that we did see some vagrants in the harder to access areas.

Tipped off: No one in particular, just a local favorite. Schad does a very understated write up in Afoot & Afield in San Diego.

Tijuana River Estuary

In July of last year we decided to check out some of the trails at the Tijuana River Estuary. At the time we hadn't hiked in several months, and we were looking for something easy and flat and close to home. So after breakfast in Coronado, we headed down the Silver Strand to Imperial Beach.

• Trail: Tijuana River Estuary (South)
  
• Location: Imperial Beach
  
• Length: Varies. We went about 2 miles out and back
  
• Hike time: 1.5 hours
  
• Terrain: flat and sandy
  
• Path visibility: unmarked but wide path
  
• Difficulty: easy
  
• Cost: free
  
• Highlight destination: mouth of the river, at the beach
  
• Beware: some mosquitoes, some muddy spots near water
  

There are two main sections of the Estuary, north and south. On the north side is the Visitor Center, which is open Wednesday through Sunday, as well as several shorter, popular trails. We chose the south side for our visit, and parked on Monument Road down by Border Field State Park. There is also parking at Sunset Ave., a little further inland.

Our original intention was to head on a short loop and then down to the South Beach Trail. As we walked north on the trail toward the river, though, we slowly realized that our hiatus from hiking had apparently caused our crack navigational skills to degrade -- we had started out further east than we had thought, so we missed the short loop and instead were on the trail to the wetlands that lie about a mile east of the beach. It was a quiet, lazy weekday morning, and we decided to just go with it. In the end, we were glad we did.

The path was a sandy trail, usually several feet wide though it narrowed as we got closer to the river, through high grasses, wildflowers, tall shrubs, cacti and a wonderful variety of marshy growth. There is a national wildlife refuge here, and there was wildlife aplenty. At the bottom of the food chain (or maybe the top, since they feasted on us a bit) were the mosquitoes, but we were lucky enough to see some beautiful blue herons and a red-tailed hawk, as well as a bunch of other waterfowl that we didn't recognize.

The other common sight in the air above the estuary were Seahawks. These were not of the feathered variety, however -- these were the mechanical, rotary wing H-60 Seahawk helicopters flown by the Navy at their Imperial Beach landing field. Even with the occasional thumping of rotors overhead, the scene by the river was very peaceful as the pilots practiced their landings and the birds in the water didn't even blink at their noisier metallic neighbors.

We walked along the river toward the ocean for about a quarter mile, admiring the ducks and herons, and even saw some good-sized fish jumping. As we walked on, the sandy path began to give way to mud, so we turned back and headed the way we came. Even with the mosquitoes, it was a very pleasant, meandering hike along the vibrant, southwestern corner of the U.S.

Tipped Off:Mainly through word of mouth, but we referred to Jerry Schad's Afoot & Afield in San Diego for the different trailhead options.

Love Valley Meadow

We spent Jan. 2, 2009 roaming around Palomar Mountain and took on two hikes. In the early afternoon we walked around Doane Pond and a pet-friendly road in Palomar Mountain State Park. After lunch, we headed down the mountain and stopped off at Love Valley Meadow in Cleveland National Forest for a quick hike before sunset.

• Trail: Love Valley Meadow
  
• Location: on Palomar Mountain, in Cleveland National Forest
  
• Length: 2 miles out and 2 miles back
  
• Hike time: 1.5 hours
  
• Terrain: nice, rambling country road
  
• Path visibility: very clearly marked road
  
• Difficulty: easy
  
• Cost: free
  
• Highlight destination: walking through the meadow
  
• Beware: there is not a formal parking lot, just a pull-off spot on highway 76
  

We had already had a great day hiking on Palomar Mountain in the state park, but after lunch we looked at the clock & though we might be able to get one more hike in before sunset.

We decided on picturesque Love Valley Meadow, on the fringe of Cleveland National Forest, as our departing hike on our way down the mountain back to the city.

The trail was really just a rambling country road, taking you a bit down the mountain into one of many of the higher (relatively speaking!) valleys.

Along the way we had plenty of spectacular views of Lake Henshaw in the valley below. Coincidentally, when we actually drove next to the lake after leaving Palomar Mountain we remarked how much bigger it looked close up.

There were plenty of sights to take in on this light hike. Looking over the ridge into the valley, you could see boulders standing out like headstones surrounded by greenery. The rocks themselves were just amazing, and I for one was happy to not have to scale rocks for once this week!

There seems to be a good deal of animal life in the valley. The official inhabitants were the cattle grazing in the meadow, but we also spotted what we decided were elk prints in the dirt.

After rounding Lake Henshaw, the road comes to a fork. Heading right will take you to a barn & grazing that livestock I just mentioned. We went left, to continue along in the meadow. This was by far my favorite part of the hike.

It was a nice rolling meadow, which inspired lots of conversation about the "olden days" before there were roads & malls everywhere. I might have made a little joke that Love Valley was far from Fashion Valley (my personal favorite mall in San Diego), but I'm not going to admit that here. It is easy to imagine what life was like 100 or more years ago when you are walking around this meadow.

The many trees, all shaped in such a way that just invites you to either sit on the elephant trunk like branches that swoop down or have a picnic beneath one of the many tall oaks, were also notable. Coming to our own personal turnaround point, a crest where the lake beneath was once again revealed, we had a nice view as the last bits of sunlight streamed through the trees.

Love Valley makes me think of of summer, but in reading up on it I get the impression that it might be too hot and too many bugs to really enjoy it during those months. Everything I've read said Love Valley is to be enjoyed best during the spring - when the meadow is green, the lake is full after a winter of rain and snow, & the flowers are just starting to bloom. There was also a note about the cool evenings keeping away the crawly things in there somewhere.

After our short hike there, though, I can't help but feel that whenever you go to Love Valley Meadow, you will have a wonderful time. Take your time, a book, a picnic, whatever - but definitely take a friend.


Tipped off: Schad's Afoot & Afield San Diego County.

Doane Pond in Palomar Mountain State Park

After the new year, we wanted to continue our holiday ritual of tackling more difficult hikes outside of the city. We searched what is now simply known as "the book" & decided we'd head out to Palomar Mountain for a nice mountain hike. It turned out to be a beautiful day full of lots of surprises (some good, some not!) and two separate hikes (see Love Valley Meadow hike here).

• Trail: Doane Pond and fire access road
  
• Location: Palomar Mountain State Park
  
• Length: 1 mile out and 1 mile back
  
• Hike time: 1.5 hours
  
• Terrain: snowy!
  
• Path visibility: very clearly marked road
  
• Difficulty: easy
  
• Cost: $6 to enter the park for the day
  
• Highlight destination: seeing snow in San Diego, followed by the view from the mountains
  
• Beware: dogs are NOT allowed on any of the formal trails in Palomar Mountain State Park, and snow greatly reduces visibility or normally well-marked trails
  

We headed out to the mountains late in the morning on Jan. 2, 2009, amidst a heavy fog in San Diego. We had thought it would burn off by 11 a.m., but by noon we still saw patches of it. The drive to Palomar Mountain is a long one, but it got more & more gorgeous with every mile. We say this all the time when we go out on our little adventures, but we couldn't help ourselves yet again: We can't believe this is still San Diego!

Palomar Mountain State Park is nestled in high atop the Palomar Mountains, at more than 5,000 feet above sea level (possibly more but I lost count). To get there, we took highway 76 to S6 (also called South Grade Road), then following signs to Palomar Mountain State Park.

We were so surprised to see patches of snow along the drive up the mountain, then even more happily surprised once in the park to find most of the land was still blanketed with it. The roads were winding, but very easy to travel in any type of vehicle.

A not-so-fun surprise was the park's dog policy. After a long drive we were very surprised to get up to the gate & hear a park ranger tell us that dogs were not allowed on any of the trails. Luckily, they did have "legal" areas for dogs, such as walking around Doane Pond and a nearby fire access road up the mountain, but we would have been quite disappointed had we not been allowed to enter the park or take the dog out of the car at all. They gave us a special flier explaining where dogs were allowed (with map), and rational for their pet policy. Bottom line with Palomar Mountain is to just leave the pets at home so you can explore anything that you want to.

Because of the dog policy, we had to postpone our plan to hike on several of the formal trails mentioned by Schad in his book. In the end, we were happy with that decision anyway since the trails were covered in snow & it would have been very easy for us to get off course.

We walked around the beautifully frozen Doane Pond. Have I mentioned it was near 60 degrees that afternoon? After walking around the pond, we headed about 50 yards up from the pond's parking lot to a fire access road. Pets were allowed on that road, which went up the mountain with spectacular views for about 1 mile before reaching the turnaround point of the park boundary.

When we started up the snow-covered road, I was feeling pretty negative about the entire excursion and mad at myself for not calling ahead to ask about dogs. That frustration easily wore off with every step through the (sometimes as much as) 7 inches of undisturbed snow and beautiful lookout points into the valley below.

Whether I talked myself into it, I really think we had a much better hike experience up the fire access road then we would have trying to follow a formal trail in the snow.

And the views! Oh. The views.

So in the end, we had a hike full of surprises - some good like snow in San Diego, some bad like not knowing the park's dog policy - but it was an amazing & refreshing hike.

After the hike, we went down the mountain a few miles to an outpost where we had lunch at Mother's Kitchen, a quaint vegetarian restaurant.


Tipped off: Read about Palomar hikes in Schad's Afoot & Afield San Diego County, but had to forge a different trail because of their dog on the trails policy.