This place is connected to the Mission Trails system. It appears to connect to all the trails on…read moreMission Trails. I saw plenty of trails for bikes and hikers. Obviously based on the name horses are allowed on certain parts of the trails. Lots of pretty sites on the trail and the water system here connects to the Old Misson Trail dam. I enjoyed this hike.

Great place ! Even when a lot of cars! Weekends! Week day! So nice! Lots of open back areas space…read moreto enjoy, without all the hoopla ! Nice little camp ground at entrance! Very laid back. Walk! Bike! Hike . Climb.

After spending the better part of the morning coming up with new and creative ways to say "No!" to…read morea Carlsbad timeshare peddler, Mrs. Picante and I really wanted to take a long hike, preferably away from hoards of people. We've all seen the photos of fellow Yelpers posing on Potato Chip Rock, but several reviews referred to how crowded the hike was. Since we were leaving at 11:00 AM, we saw that trailhead from the highway, but passed on it, having read that the Ellie Lane trail--the "secret backway" to the Iron Mountain trail, had a lot fewer people. Parking in the small free lot, we saw only three other cars.... definitely a contrast to the Potato Chip trailhead area and the Park N Ride south of Ellie Lane that also serves as staging for the Iron Mountain main trail. In summary: we were not disappointed! The hike starts relatively flat flanking a small ranch property and a few houses built into the hillside, but quickly turns into a zig-zagging scramble up a rocky trail through the aeons-old boulder field of the Poway hillsides. Recent rains had eroded the trail slightly in a few places, and the cool of December along with the sun tracking lower across the sky left the ground damp-- great, since it can get pretty hot and dusty here in the summer. Plenty of large boulder promontories presented photo ops with the ocean glimmering on the horizon... every bit as pretty as Potato Chip, though arguably not as unique as that eroded land feature. Steady uphill and a quick pace racing the sunset kept our hearts beating well. After a couple of miles, we came to Table Rock. Couldn't connect the drone, and probably not supposed to fly it here anyway, so we kept going. The trail got a little hard to find here, but we recovered it fairly quickly and kept moving towards Iron Mountain. A half mile of downhill brought us to a junction: right to head back towards the Park N Ride, and left to head up towards Iron Mountain. We opted for more uphill, and made it as far as the rock formation at the top, where a sign warns that raptor nesting in the rocks prohibits humans in the winter months. I assumed they didn't mean velociraptors; and besides, I like hawks and eagles and wouldn't want their little babies to jump off the nest ledge on my account. Besides, we were running out of daylight, and had to high tail it back down. On the way back we stayed in the main Iron Mountain trail until the last turn right back to Ellie Lane. We arrived with a little orange left in the sky, and only our truck in the lot. All told, we only passed two other hiking groups: a dad and his kids, and a lone fellow out exploring who was fresh in from Menlo Park. If you're looking for a fairly challenging hike, with plenty of photo ops on big granite boulders... and you'd rather not wait in line to take your picture on said rocks... this is a great place to enjoy some outside time!

This trailhead is located about a mile further north along Hwy 67 from the main staging area where…read morepretty much everyone starts their hike of Iron Mountain. That route is about a six-mile round trip whereas starting from this point makes the trek about 50% harder and longer. The parking lot was located across from a few houses along Ellie Lane, hence the trail name. Only three other vehicles were parked when I arrived. You start off pretty flat along the property line of these houses, but as you continue eastward and then veer north to begin the loop, the route becomes narrower, rockier, and steeper. The terrain was not for beginners. I only saw three sets of hikers during this part of my journey so it was definitely more isolating than the regular Iron Mountain trail. I didn't make a stop at Table Rock, but there were a few spots where you could get great photos of the boulders on the mountainside like when hiking Mt. Woodson. Ramona Viewpoint was another place where you could pause to admire the view of the landscape to the east. The trail had enough twists and climbing that the roughly three miles before reaching the junction with the main path to the Iron Mountain summit was a solid cardio workout. The ascent to the top was about 1.5 miles further which I had done on a few occasions in the past. There were so many more people on this leg including a couple of fools who were wearing flip flops despite the semi-muddy conditions in some spots. On the way back, you make a right turn northward about 1/4 mile before the main staging area to take the western portion of the Wild Horse Trail Loop back to the Ellie Lane trailhead. I really enjoyed the additional challenge and length of this trail. It felt like two hikes for the effort of one. I completed the circuit of nearly nine miles in about 3.5 hours. If there was a drawback, then it would be the lack of more trail markers. I made a couple of wrong turns and had to retrace my steps to stay on track according to the hiking app I was using. I would rate the difficulty level as moderate to hard.

I arrived around 9 AM on a Saturday morning and found plenty of street parking. At the entrance,…read morethere are two route options: one is a steeper climb, while the other is a slightly longer, but flatter path, adding about 0.1 miles to the hike. Both routes eventually merge before leading to the summit at 1194'. The hike is somewhat strenuous, featuring stairs and little to no shade, but the views are absolutely stunning. It's a popular trail, but not as crowded as some of the others in the area. The total distance is about 2.4 miles and takes roughly an hour to complete. If you're tackling the Five Peak Challenge, I recommend starting with this hike.

A short but STEEP trail. You'll definitely feel your quadriceps and calves burn! Careful when…read morereaching their steps, they differ in height so make sure you do not trip. I enjoy hiking Kwaay Paay peak, the view at the top is definitely worth it and you'll definitelly find the trail pillar at the top. There is a bench to sit at the top. I recommend hiking this early in the morning or else you'll have the San Diego sun staring right at you. Hike takes about an hour on average for me. Remember to take plenty of water depending at what time you choose to hike the trail. Also keep an eye out of wildlife, I saw a deer last time I was out there!

It had been over a decade since I've done this hike -- mostly because dogs are prohibited on this…read moretrail (and usually I like to take my dogs hiking) -- but this week I decided to do it again. The short of it: - The first mile is pretty uninteresting as it is on a fire road. - Then you hit an open dirt plateau, walk straight across to the open path on the opposite side. - The remaining 1.3 miles is really fun -- lots of scrambling up boulders, and then a little challenging rope climb through a chimney to get to the peak where there are fantastic views Things to know: Cell service is spotty up there, so if you are going to use Google Maps to find the trailhead,, start to navigate while you are still in a populated area with cell service. Finding the entrance to the chimney can be tricky. There were three of us that were close to it, but it took us about 10 minutes to find it. To make it easy for the rest of you to find: download the What3Words app in advance, and when you get to the point that you are actively looking for the chimney, put in the words "dreadful.joining.tilts" and hit Navigate / Compass Mode...this should guide you to the exact entrance of the chimney. (( Side note, if you are not familiar with What3Words, watch this cool 5 minute TedTalk by its founder: https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_sheldrick_a_precise_three_word_address_for_every_place_on_earth )) There are lots of holly-like shrubbery on the second half of the trail. Long pants aren't required, but they can definitely help you avoid abrasion. It gets hot there: the high was supposed to be 60 degrees in that area yesterday, but it felt like it was in the 70s when we were doing the hike. This is definitely a hike to do when the weather is cold in San Diego proper. Download the All-Trails trailmap in advance: the latter 1.3mi is not well-marked, and having that GPS accessible trailmap sped up our hike by letting us know if we were getting off the beaten path. For a meal afterwards, I recommend Panchos: we went to Panchos Mexican on Jamacha Rd....huge serving sizes, and very tasty.

Hiked this back in early March. I liked that there were very few people on the trail. It is steep…read morefrom the beginning but not too difficult. Small area to park by the start of the trail which is a yellow gate. Once you get close to the peak there is not much of a trail and you need to pick a path over boulders. I made my way around to the back of the peak on the west side and found the rope. There are some rock and some wooden make-shift steps to help you get up to the top with the cave. Sadly, maybe because I was alone with no one to assist and maybe not strong enough I did not make it up...bummer. It is just under 5 miles and will take 2-3 hrs most likely.

Native San Diegan, but never been here. From the start this trail is all incline, rocky, dirt, some…read morenative plants/shrubs and yucca but no shade. I saw no animals or even bugs... came December 2020. It's about 1.5 miles uphill with descent elevation and 2.5 down. I had to take a couple breaks due to the elevation I think...as I live near sea level and I'm fairly in shape, but more of a Hiit workout, sprints, weightlifting type, so endurance isn't my strong suite... but the top is worth the struggle. On a clear day you can see the ocean and such a beautiful sunset. Note the top is very windy and cold. I'd say it's great for moderate hiker, and I wouldn't bring a pet but I've seen dogs up there. Pros: - nature!! -free workout -some parking but limited - steep but not crazy difficult - more of a locals only location Cons: - rough dirt/rocky rode to get there -limited parking - no bathroom, trash or water stations

Spectacular views at the summit especially when facing North. Easy to access from Tavern Rd exit on…read morethe I-8. It's about 3 miles RT on red-clay dirt and very loose rocks. Although Alltrails lists it as intermediate, I was breathless climbing this thing. I would describe it as intermediate-difficult. I mean, the doughnut holes in the morning probably didn't help and it was after Christmas Day indulgences, but the terrain was still very rocky and the incline was CONSTANT, making the ascent a little more difficult than normal. It was the ultimate thigh burner! A great workout! I took about 2 hours to finish, but did spend a lot of time at the top. Had the summit all to myself! Breath-taking! Parking is on a truck trail and the trail head is only marked by a simple metal gate. According to Afoot and Afield a **Wilderness Pass is technically required**, however I got away without one (didn't realize I needed one). Again, the terrain is quite rocky on the clay dirt ascent, so do not bring your kids! They'll likely fall flat on their faces trying to navigate over the rocks. As a note-- the truck road is a dirt one, but well graded with some humps every so often to prevent speeding. Parking near the trailhead is still quite secluded and a draw for thieves, so make sure to hide your belongings before you head out!

Really enjoyed this inner city hike. Then easy access to get back home via the 52 freeway. There's…read morea running water stream on the hike and a bathroom near the entrance, as well as some tables for picnics.

This former military testing base might be the quietest trail I've been on during a weekday. It's…read morenestled in between residential neighborhoods. There are a handful of dogs walking leashed and unleashed and a handful of people running the trails. I couldn't find a parking lot or street parking so I entered through the side via one of the residential neighborhoods. Not sure how deep it goes but I got to about a hour in before we turned back. Trails are super clean. Some shade with some big trees but it's mostly shrubs and tall grass. All in all...It's 3 stars for lack of parking and very few signage. As a BIPOC I got a few odd stares as I was parking but on the trail I got more smiles.

Nice walking trail, dogs allowed, must be on leash. It is next to a church. I did not find a…read moreparking lot. Will definitely return with my pup.

This review is for Blue Sky Canyon Trail which was a ~5.3 miles round trip that took ~2.5 hours to…read morecomplete. Blue Sky Ecological Reserve is a popular and well maintained hiking spot that takes you to Lake Poway and Lake Ramona; located near Poway, California. Trail was mostly flat and slightly rocky near the beginning. The trail will eventually become an incline towards the top as you get closer to Lake Poway. Stunning views of the lake as you loop around it! No restrooms at the trailhead. However, there are restrooms at Lake Poway. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/FzeUhB761RU

This was a pleasant hike that was north of the more famous Mount Woodson Trail (aka Potato Chip…read moreRock) in Poway. You can actually choose your own adventure about 0.6 mile in with a less strenuous trek that headed south to Lake Poway or a tougher path east and then north that ascended to Lake Ramona. I chose the latter as it was only a round trip of about five miles. There were several switchbacks during the climb towards the summit. The hardest part came just short of Lake Ramona when the dirt became a black top pavement. The footing became better, but the steepness and stiff, swirling breezes made it a challenge. Once you reached the top, the reward was a beautiful view of the lake. There were a few folks who had arrived earlier, and they were armed with fishing poles. I had no idea how they were going to cast their lines because large boulders blocked the way down to the water. It took me exactly two hours from start to finish which included a little rest time at the peak to appreciate the view of the serene water. A bonus of the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve was that the parking lot at the trailhead was very well maintained. If this trail was longer, then I likely would have rated it with five stars.