Why you should visit California's largest city park right now (no, not Griffith)

1 month ago 20

The way is abbreviated but steep, and it smells of sage. A fewer 100 feet below, I spot moms with strollers connected a way beside the San Diego River. Above, I spot granite cliffs and perceive the hollers of unseen climbers.

“Rope!” says one.

“Hey,” says another. “There’s a ram’s horn down here!”

A climber tosses enactment adjacent Kwaay Paay Peak.

This is the Climbers Loop Trail astatine Kwaay Paay Peak, 1 of my caller favourite spots successful the biggest metropolis parkland that you’ve ne'er heard of: Mission Trails Regional Park successful San Diego.

No, this parkland is not downtown similar its much celebrated sibling, Balboa Park. But Mission Trails, 8 miles northeast of downtown and 15 miles from the beach, is the biggest city-owned parkland successful California. Along with the trickling stream and a dam that dates to the aboriginal Spanish missionary days, the scenery includes 65 miles of trails connected much than 8,000 acres of rugged mountains, hills and valleys.

It looks similar a steadfast portion of Arizona, and it covers much territory than Balboa Park, L.A.’s Griffith Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Irvine’s Great Park combined.

Also, it utilized to beryllium my backyard. Throughout my teen years, my household lived connected a cul-de-sac astatine the basal of Cowles Mountain, the highest acme successful the parkland and the city. The chaparral began 40 feet from my backmost door.

Almost arsenic often arsenic we loitered astatine the promenade and ogled the guitars astatine American Dream Music, my friends and I wandered the upland slopes, wading done the sagebrush and nosing astir the granite boulders, sidestepping coyote scat, and mostly walking that good enactment betwixt precocious jinks and delinquency.

Officially, the parkland was younger than we were, having been established successful 1974. But it contained specified heavy and evident history, adjacent the teenage maine could admit it.

For millennia earlier the Spanish showed up and built a dam to service their archetypal Alta California mission, the Kumeyaay lived successful these hills.

The Old Mission Dam dates to the aboriginal Spanish missionary days.

During World War I, the Army utilized the area, known arsenic Camp Elliott, for vessel and artillery training. During World War II, the Marines did the same, leaving plentifulness of ordnance down — including immoderate that exploded successful 1983, sidesplitting 2 boys. (Even now, aft assorted cleanup efforts, signs pass that unexploded shells “might inactive exist.” If you spot thing suspicious, study it and don’t interaction it.)

Once subject officials decided they didn’t request the land, section leaders stepped successful and began putting unneurotic a parkland successful the 1960s and ‘70s. The metropolis added Cowles Mountain successful 1974. The visitant halfway followed successful 1995. The Cedar occurrence of 2003 burned astir 2,800 acres, which person agelong since regrown.

The visitant halfway astatine Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego.

I had a large clip brushing up connected that past and wandering Mission Trails for 2 days this outpouring — my longest spell successful those hills since precocious school. Overnight I slept successful a compartment astatine Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, astir 2 miles eastbound of the park, wherever respective recycled-water lakes are surrounded by well-kept sportfishing spots, walking paths, playgrounds and a campground.

Also, I person to enactment that I was successful Mission Trails for much than 3 hours earlier I saw immoderate graffiti. I’m not definite that’s doable successful Griffith Park.

The Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, which includes cabins, is 2 miles from San Diego's Mission Trails Regional Park.

It’s improbable galore radical extracurricular San Diego County cognize this spot exists. But section hikers and birders crook retired successful force. Climbers similar Kwaay Paay Peak (elevation: 1,194 feet) and upland bikers, equestrians and anglers person their ain favourite parkland territories. You tin campy astatine Santee Lakes or, connected weekends, enactment up a structure successful the park’s Kumeyaay Lake campground.

Mission Trails has the highest highest successful the metropolis (Cowles Mountain astatine 1,591 feet). It has the compact Kumeyaay Lake and the larger Murray Reservoir (a.k.a. Lake Murray), which has fishing, kayaking and canoeing astir 3 miles southbound of the parkland visitant center.

But galore would accidental the park’s Main Street is Father Junipero Serra Trail, a paved way that runs alongside the San Diego River, mountains rising connected either side.

Father Junipero Serra Trail runs alongside a agelong of the San Diego River.

The long, level Father Junipero Serra Trail is simply a great, casual hike for beginners.

“I conscionable started coming successful the past fewer weeks,” hiker Sumeya Sayd, 23, told maine 1 time arsenic she stepped disconnected the Serra Trail. Like me, she had hiked Cowles Mountain arsenic a younker and overlooked the remainder of the park.

Now, inspired by a Muslim American Society radical chat, Sayd has been hiking the Serra and Climbers Loop trails much often and reasoning astir the Mission Trails five-peak situation — 5 peaks successful the park, each implicit 1,000 feet.

You tin locomotion oregon pedal connected the Serra Trail, which stretches 2.6 miles and connects the parkland visitant halfway to the Old Mission Dam. (Ordinarily, there’s a lane unfastened to vehicular traffic, but due to the fact that of a sewage-line betterment project, cars volition beryllium banned until summertime of 2028.)

A dog-walker pauses astatine Old Mission Dam successful Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego.

“This is Desert Wishbone-bush,” I overheard Justin Daniel saying 1 time on the trail. Daniel, who held aloft a purple flower, was starring a radical of astir 15 radical from the California Native Plant Society.

Soon the radical moved connected to the California Buckwheat and Daniel added that “we person the astir autochthonal plants successful California for 1 county,” on with “more autochthonal bees than you tin shingle a instrumentality at.”

How municipality is this municipality park? Not very. No museums, nary zoos, nary restaurants. Still, its busiest way gets an estimated 780,000 hikers a year. That’s the way to the apical of Cowles Mountain from Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive.

When I lived successful the neighborhood, galore radical inactive called Cowles Mountain “S Mountain,” due to the fact that conscionable astir each autumn from the 1930s into the 1970s, San Diego State freshmen utilized lye and achromatic overgarment to marque a large S adjacent the top, 400 feet precocious and disposable for miles.

Now the S is agelong gone, but done the years I’ve seen ft postulation grow. I’ve hiked it solo, with my girl and with a person facing a profound loss. Even though the way to the apical from the Golfcrest trailhead is conscionable 1.5 miles, each clip it’s a spot much challenging than I expect — 950 feet of elevation gain, irregular steps, crumbling rocks. In the aged days, I utilized to get up and down successful 90 minutes. Nowadays, my knees kick and the circular travel takes 2 hours.

Fortunately, the presumption from the apical inactive hits maine similar a astonishment each time: the hills of Mexico to the south, the coastline to the west, the miles of undeveloped slopes and valleys to the north. In a cleanable hiker’s world, possibly determination would beryllium nary enactment of inferior towers slicing done the Fortuna Mountain information of Mission Trails and nary humming vigor towers atop Cowles Mountain. But this is simply a metropolis parkland aft all. In this immense expanse of nature, that’s casual to forget.

Cowles Mountain is the highest highest successful the park.

Where to hike

Mission Trails Regional Park has astir 65 miles of trails. Here are immoderate to try.

If you’re looking for an casual hike and you’re a newbie, commencement with the long, level 2.6-mile Father Junipero Serra Trail. Two different casual routes, good suited to kids, are the Kumeyaay Lake Nature Trail (1 mile astir the lake; afloat of birdsong successful the mornings) and the 1.5-mile Visitor Center Loop Trail.
For a longer, mostly level hike with ample shade, effort the park’s Oak Canyon Trail, wherever a small seasonal waterfall materializes among the stone formations adjacent the acold extremity of the 3.4-mile out-and-back route. That way has lone 240 feet of elevation gain; parkland rangers telephone it a “moderate” challenge.
It’s 1.5 miles to the apical of Cowles Mountain from the trailhead astatine Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road. If you commencement alternatively astatine Big Rock Park successful Santee, it’s a 2.5-mile ascent to the top. Rangers classify some routes arsenic difficult.
For a stiffer challenge, you tin effort climbing to the South Fortuna oregon North Fortuna peaks. (Distances vary, depending connected route). Also, there’s the brief, steep Climbers Loop Trail (rated difficult, with 400 feet of altitude summation successful a 1-mile circular trip).

Down the road, determination whitethorn beryllium caller challenges, due to the fact that the parkland is inactive growing. In the past year, Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation enforcement manager Jennifer Morrissey said, the parkland has added much than 100 acres done a brace of acquisitions astatine its bluish edges. Eventually the parkland whitethorn besides adhd a harmless river-crossing adjacent the visitant halfway — a anticipation rooted successful tragedy. In aboriginal 2021, 21-year-old trailrunner Max LeNail died successful a abrupt tempest portion trying to transverse the San Diego River adjacent the visitant center. His household is hoping to physique a footbridge successful his memory, but for now, the nearest crossing is respective miles away.

The Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve includes 10 cabins.

Where to stay

The Kumeyaay Lake Campground (2 Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego; [619] 668-2748) is portion of Mission Trails Regional Park. It includes 46 dry/primitive campsites, unfastened Friday and Saturday nightly only. No RV hookups. Rates statesman astatine $26 nightly.
Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve (9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee; [619] 596-3141) includes 290 RV spots, astir 12 tent-camping sites and 10 cabins. The RV and structure camping spots rent for $62-$111 nightly. Cabins spell for $137-$265. There’s plentifulness of sportfishing and boating, but nary swimming successful the recycled h2o of the lakes. The sphere has a abstraction acceptable speech for a lakefront edifice with ample deck, but 2 concessionaires person closed determination since 2021 and 2024. Preserve absorption has said different edifice volition unfastened soon.