Roam
Clear, late-autumn skies and cool temperatures inland beckon you to visit southwest Riverside County’s premier ecological showplace: Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. The leisurely half-day Punta Mesa loop hike will introduce you to virtually every …
Serene Dos Picos County Park, outside Ramona, nestles into East County’s sweet-smelling chaparral hillsides like a dewdrop caught in the hollow of a leaf. The name refers to two prominent mountain peaks nearby, though which …
Southern California abounds with duplicate place names such as Devil Canyon, Devil’s Canyon, Devil’s Peak, Devil’s Punchbowl, and the like. In the particular Devil Canyon described here, which lies at the northwest corner of the …
Sombrero Peak rises head and shoulders above the southern precincts of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, its summit overlooking a hundred-square-mile expanse of rock-strewn mountains and gorges, sun-baked valleys, and shimmering badlands. Conversely, the peak …
Several back roads, some paved and some unpaved, strike off in various directions from Ramona, each offering splendid bicycle touring that doesn’t have to include tangling with snarling traffic on major roads. Black Canyon Road …
The no-nonsense climb (2200 feet of elevation gain) to Bedford Peak, one of the principal summits along the Santa Ana Mountains’ “Main Divide,” is both physically demanding and scenically rewarding. The latter is especially true …
Tranquil Mine Canyon and its several tributaries slash deep into the Pinyon Mountains of central Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Day after day, year after year, the parched ravines and boulder-splintered hillsides lie open to the …
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses a broad range of parks and publicly owned open space areas, ranging from 10,000-acre-plus state parks to tiny parcels situated to protect unusual natural habitat, or to …
With summer’s heat subsiding throughout San Diego’s backcountry region, now’s the time to think about fat-tire-biking adventures on the back roads of the Cleveland National Forest. One great option is a looping ride of 25 …
Charmlee Wilderness Park (a.k.a. Charmlee Natural Area), 590 acres of meadow, oak woodland, sage scrub, and chaparral, was first opened to the public in 1981 as a unit of the Los Angeles County park system. …
Pyles Peak is just one bump in a series of several distinct high points stretching between Cowles Mountain and Fortuna Mountain in East County’s Mission Trails Regional Park. Collectively, the high points make up a …
The easygoing descent of the South Fork Trail doesn’t take much effort. You simply put one foot in front of the other and let gravity do the rest. The well-graded trail descends (or ascends if …
You’re new in San Diego — or maybe just new to walking and hiking — and you want to hit the local trails with other individuals. How do you get plugged into the hiking community …
Harry Griffen Park, quietly tucked away in the Grossmont Summit area where La Mesa and El Cajon adjoin, has for years remained one of East County’s well-kept secrets. As the largest park within La Mesa’s …
Long gone are the days when tourists traveled to Inspiration Point — high above Pasadena in the San Gabriel Mountains — by way of the Mount Lowe Railway. The railway, Southern California’s premier tourist attraction …
The Point Loma peninsula has a split personality. In the north, block upon block of houses spread over the peninsula’s broad spine. Military land and park space (Cabrillo National Monument) encompass the peninsula’s narrower south …