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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
