This is a great place to go for a walk or run. I started on the east side of Lakeside. The trail…read moreleads all the way to Santee and past The Lakeside Base Ball Park. What I really liked about the trail was that it was well maintained and the scenery was very nice. It's a great place to walk and talk. On the trail there are sections where there are small lakes and ponds with wild life to check out along the San Diego River. I observed a few benches a long the the trail. There's dirt parking on both ends and a lot more at the base ball field that I mentioned. Oh yes! I did spot a coyote on the trail, so be on alert if you bring a small pet or child.

Such a beautiful trail to walk in the early morning! The trail is well kept for bikes and bringing…read moreyour pets. You can look out to the lake as you walk along the trail. Although being right next to the lake there aren't many mosquitoes. Along the trail they have benches, informational signs, and dog poop bags!

This trail is relatively easy. Paved road all the way through with little to no incline. The dam…read morewas absolutely gorgeous Wish I had been here earlier in the fall season when the leaves started changing colors. Would definitely do it again for a nice stroll/ leisure exercise

This is one of my favorite places to hike in San Diego because, I truly enjoy seeing and hearing…read morewater . It has such a relaxed feel about it . Different level of trails here from easy family friendly to more challenging with incline . It's a great place to view nature with an easy nature stroll if you want to take it easy . Some benches are set up for taking a rest near the dam or down the paved path. Bicyclist , runners, walkers and hikers can come out to play and go home happy . I did notice also a few picnic benches setting near the damn parking lot as well a water fountain is available . Porta potty's available there as well . The visitor center has regular bathrooms and maps for the trails .

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!

I am a big fan of trails with stairs and this one has a large portion with stairs. It also has a…read moregood portion shaded. Lots of people including families and puppies were hiking the trail on the day I was there. Very fun and doable for anyone. If you are a tad out of shape, take your time and you will get it done. I was racing up the steps because I love it so much. I did this as park of a 3-peak challenge and parked at the Clairemont trailhead. Bring plenty of water and pack a snack for the summit. Please come out and creat your own experience.

At 1,369 ft, Pyles Peak is located near Cowles Mountain…read more There are a couple of ways to get to this hike, but I went through Cowles. I believe the other way is going to less trafficked route, the Barker Trail. At Cowles summit, if you follow the path near the antenna, it will lead you to Pyles Peak--a quieter 1.5+ mile out-and-back hike from Cowles summit. To get to Cowles summit you can either take the scenic route, which is a 1.5 mile hike to the summit or the service road, which is a 1 mile hike. There is a parking lot you can park in or street parking. There's restrooms at the entrance near the scenic side. There is not much shade so be aware of that. This hike is kept very clean. I just find it to be a little more on the boring side. This was the last hike I did for the five peak challenge! That could have influenced my feelings towards this hike.

Instead of following the traditional route of hiking up the front (south) side of Cowles Mountain,…read moreI started my trek from the end of the Mesa Service Road on the east side of Mission Trials Regional Park. The Mesa Trail actually had more shade to protect you from the heat and sunlight than if you started from the main trail head at the corner of Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road. The tough part began when you ascended west on the Cowles Service Road towards the summit of Cowles Mountain. It was nearly a mile stretch in which the incline became rather steep in a couple of spots. As soon as you pass the top of Cowles Mountain, you keep going west for a few hundred more yards before you see a sign that directs you to a trail towards Pyles Peak. From that point, it was another 1.5 miles of decline and incline before you reached the summit of Pyles Peak. About halfway into this part of the trek, there was a view point (i.e. Pyles View Peak) where you could branch off back east for maybe a 1/4 mile until the path ended in a cul de sac. At that location, you get a wonderful view looking back towards the top of Cowles Mountain. It's a nice rest stop and photo opportunity. There was about 3/4 mile left to hike before reaching Pyles Peak. A sign posted 1/4 mile from the summit warned hikers that this was a difficult climb. I actually didn't find it any worse than the ascent up the Cowles Service Road. The sign at the Pyles Peak summit indicated you were 1379 feet above sea level. After taking several pictures and eating some snacks, I started my journey back to where my vehicle was. In total, this hike took approximately 3.5 hours with breaks to cover about 6.5 miles.

Alltrails lists this as 'Horse thief Canyon', then I saw that I had this listing bookmarked on Yelp…read morefor sometime and noticed that they were the same thing! Distance: ~3.3mi., reverse out-and-back (you will be going uphill on the return trip) Difficulty: easy-intermediate-ish (~0.5mi ascent on your way out which can get the heart pumping!) Time: 1.5-2 hours Permit required?: No (according to permit site - https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/r5/passes-permits/?cid=stelprdb5208699&width=full) Sights of Interest: Mini waterfall and pool Parking is in a big dirt lot just off of Japatul Lyons Valley Rd.. Turn in at Forest Rt 16S04. No bathrooms, so bring some T.P.! There are three gates as you approach - two smaller ones and a large one leading to a service road. Take the gate with a sign marking the 'Epinosa Trail to Secret Canyon Trail'. You'll end up on the service road either way. Continue on the service road until you see a sign off to the right that says 'Trail'. This is where you'll begin the descent into Horse thief Canyon. Eventually it evens out into a nice shady area alongside a stream. Lots of vegetation and growth everywhere, so make sure to *bring the bug spray*! There's a stream crossing after which you'll come upon the pool! Lots of great places to hang out on and relax on boulders. Water is pretty clean for swimming too. Awesome place to bring your dogs to cool off after the dusty trail. Just remember to pack your trash out if you plan on picnic-ing down at the pool! Most of your journey is on the Epinosa Trail and supposedly the Secret Canyon Trail is just beyond the pool, but the trail doesn't seem to continue anywhere beyond it. Great trail either way that experiences very little foot traffic so the area is very well preserved and wild! FYI, apparently this area experiences an influx of illegal immigrants and smugglers, but I think that was in earlier years. It was pretty safe when I went and I only had my dog in tow. But, I like to live life on the edge, so if you are wary come with a group!

If you go during the week during normal business hours this trail is dead! It was our 2nd time here…read moreand there was only 1 car in the parking lot and we never even ran into the people. This is nice but also kind of scary especially since it's kind of in the middle of nowhere and you don't have great service but luckily I am alive today to write this review. The first time we went on this hike we missed the path and ended up just heading straight through on a dirt road so pay attention on your right hand side for a sign marked trail. This trail would have gotten more stars if it wasn't for the ridiculous amount of flies. I almost turned back because I couldn't stand them constantly flying in my face and in my ears. Maybe I am not an outdoorsy person if I cant handle that but it was hard to enjoy this hike when I was having to smack flies away the whole time. This is also one of those hikes that is fairly easy on the way down but tough on the way back because you have to go back up. I will say though that it was a really pretty hike and there is a creek at the bottom. We didn't go the whole way but did about a little over 3 miles of it. It's about a mile and a half to see the beginning of the creek. Maybe wearing bug spray might help with the flies?

It's a great river swim with the family…read more However be very careful.. I feel in a whole in Sept 5th,2022 and twisted both ankles. Which I'm still suffering pain from Two month in my injury. My family had lots of fun( I didn't since I was in pain but since it was 2hr drive I suck it up for them). My toddler love it.. we went when LA hit over 100* heat... it very nice in the water!! Many ppl with floating I do suggest to make sure everyone know how to swim as its now drag ppl down the stream..

I could see this being a 3 or 4 star hike depending on the season and weather conditions you do the…read morehike in. I hiked it on 2/24/19 and found the conditions to be ideal for my enjoyment! Location- it was only about a 30 minute drive for me since I spent the night after attending a party at a family member's house in El Cajon (suburb of San Diego); I jumped on the 8 East and as the elevation reached 3,000 ft I could begin seeing snow on the hills near the fwy and I got even more excited for this hike- took Exit 47 for Sunrise Hwy and the trailhead parking was about 2 miles away from the fwy and there was a large lot on the side of the hwy to park Trail- you access the trail by walking across the road and going to the right of the metal barrier...the snow was the deepest on this portion of the hike for about half a mile and the first part of the hike is where the trail is the narrowest with portions where you have to bend over and get low to continue past low branches; at about 3/4 of a mile you will get down to creek level and make a left to get to the waterfalls...I carefully climbed up to reach about 4 parts of the waterfall and it was flowing really well with all of the recent precipitation of this winter and it was a pleasant surprise to find this so close to the city of San Diego; it is about 2 miles RT and not anything too extreme in the way of incline and I loved having the trail/falls all to myself for the nearly 2 hrs I was there *I used microspikes just to be safe but I could see it being fine with just hiking shoes

This is a great place to trail run and mountain bike! There is the main fire road that goes all the…read moreway up to Crest. There are hiking trails that branch off from the fire road. I see rock climbers, but I'm not sure where they are climbing. This isn't as steep as Cowles mountain, but it's much more peaceful! The goal for trail runners is to make it all the way up to Crest. Don't forget to try and sprint Mike's hill!

McGinty Mountain is a beautiful hiking trail in San Diego County, California, near Jamul. On my…read moremorning hike, the ample shade on the way up made the experience pleasant. The trail features red soil, a variety of plant species, and stunning panoramic mountain views. There's a parking lot at the trailhead, and the trail is dog-friendly. This well-maintained mountain is part of an ecological preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. The trail is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km) out-and-back route, reaching a peak elevation of 2,185 feet.

A fun, short, but deceptively steep hike worth the view at the top. Fun when it's not too hot.read more