Roam
From a clearing just below the summit of Wooded Hill (the highest wooded promontory in the Laguna Mountains), a spacious panorama of two nations unfolds. The blue, south horizon lies somewhere in Mexico, and your …
A cool late afternoon or early evening in June is perfectly fine for exploring the aptly named Boulder Loop Trail in Daley Ranch -- Escondido's 3000-acre open space preserve. During the next six weeks, the …
San Antonio Canyon, a yawning gap in the towering San Gabriel Mountains, serves as the main gateway to the third highest mountain mass in Southern California -- Mount San Antonio, or Old Baldy. At 10,064 …
Civilized and gracious Kensington is one of the most interesting of San Diego's distinctive neighborhoods to tour -- especially by foot, on skates, or by bike. Kensington sprawls across nearly flat terrain, so skating and …
Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is a spacious Orange County preserve covering several thousand acres of natural landscape adjacent to Laguna Beach. Emerald Canyon, one of its finer natural features, carves its way down a three-mile …
Just south of today's city of Escondido a lazy river once ran, fed by tentacle-like tributaries that drew water from as far away as the desert-bordering mountains, several days journey to the east. On the …
Stonewall Peak's angular summit of white granitic rock is a conspicuous landmark throughout Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Although Stonewall stands some 800 feet lower than nearby Cuyamaca Peak, its central position and steep, south slope …
The classic grand tour of Malibu Creek State Park's backcountry includes upper Malibu Canyon and circles high above on the crest of the beautiful Santa Monicas -- L.A.'s coastal mountain range. Mountain bikers can look …
Boldly rising above the apple orchards of Julian, Volcan Mountain's oak- and pine-dotted slopes are swept by some of the freshest breezes found anywhere in San Diego County. Soughing through the trees like waves spending …
Often dry or merely trickling, Ortega Falls can come to life for days or for weeks following any significant winter storm. During the unusually wet years of 1997 and 2005, when the region received double …
A wild and scenic section of the Santa Margarita River, a part of the last undammed major watercourse in San Diego County, is open to visitation by self-propelled explorers, courtesy of the Fallbrook Public Utilities …
Don't let this season's lackluster bloom in the desert discourage you from seeking out spring wildflowers. Some of the most colorful and diverse displays of native flowers can be found right in our own urban …
The Bell View Regional Trail, for hikers, equestrians, and cyclists, starts as a "community trail" threading through the suburban-edge communities of Rancho Santa Margarita and Coto de Caza. It then assumes a wilder character as …
The Agua Tibia Wilderness covers an obscure section of Cleveland National Forest, just east of Temecula, straddling the San Diego-Riverside County line. Agua Tibia's pillowy, steeply plunging, chaparral-clad slopes look austere from a distance — …
From San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore, Highway 74 -- Ortega Highway -- snakes across the Santa Ana Mountains and the northernmost section of Cleveland National Forest. The roadway, completed in 1933, followed a turn-of-the-century …
Until about 30 years ago, the canyon of Agua Caliente Creek, in the Cleveland National Forest above Warner Springs, seldom saw the intrusion of humans. After the 2600-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail was routed through, it …