Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Climber's Loop and Kumeyaay Lake trails in MTRP

Late-spring afternoons and early evenings in San Diego are often perfect for a bit of exercise after work or before an evening meal. The daylight period is now nearly as long as it gets, and cool air sweeping inland from the coast keeps things fairly cool -- at least through the month of June.

Close and convenient Mission Trails Regional Park offers a number of short hiking trails, including the two described below, that are good for mini-outings with a little exercise in mind. Be aware that access to both of these trails is restricted once the sun goes down, however.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Climbers Loop Trail was built (and is steadily being improved) by the rock climbers who practice their sport on the granitic crags of Mission Gorge, about one-half mile north of the park's visitors' center. The no-nonsense climb from the edge of Father Junípero Serra Trail (the paved roadway/bike trail through the gorge) first takes you expeditiously to the base of some crags known as Middle Earth. From that vantage, a downward gaze toward "lower earth," the San Diego River floodplain, reveals how high you have climbed. The next segment of the trail contours, roughly speaking (and very rough in its sketchy condition), over to the main Climbing Wall, where at least a few and sometimes many climbers cling to the rocks like human flies. After a final descent on the Climber's Trail, you reach the pavement of Father Junípero Serra Trail; follow it for 0.2 mile to get back to your starting point. The distance for the whole loop is one mile, and the elevation gain is about 400 feet.

The second mini-outing is a visit to Kumeyaay Lake, which occupies some former gravel pits that have been transformed into a first-class botanical and wildlife habitat over the past ten years. Park in the large day-use lot for Kumeyaay Lake on the south side of Father Junípero Serra Trail, near where that road intersects Mission Gorge Road on the east (Santee) side. Walk through Kumeyaay Campground and over to the shore of the lake, where you can follow short pathways that go either right or left around the lake. By late afternoon crickets and bullfrogs deliver musical sound effects, and waterfowl gliding across the lake surface kick up kinetic ripples for your viewing pleasure. Along the trail to the left you'll discover a small exhibit of Kumeyaay Indian traditional life, including a replica of an 'ewaa, a hut made of native plant materials.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024

Late-spring afternoons and early evenings in San Diego are often perfect for a bit of exercise after work or before an evening meal. The daylight period is now nearly as long as it gets, and cool air sweeping inland from the coast keeps things fairly cool -- at least through the month of June.

Close and convenient Mission Trails Regional Park offers a number of short hiking trails, including the two described below, that are good for mini-outings with a little exercise in mind. Be aware that access to both of these trails is restricted once the sun goes down, however.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Climbers Loop Trail was built (and is steadily being improved) by the rock climbers who practice their sport on the granitic crags of Mission Gorge, about one-half mile north of the park's visitors' center. The no-nonsense climb from the edge of Father Junípero Serra Trail (the paved roadway/bike trail through the gorge) first takes you expeditiously to the base of some crags known as Middle Earth. From that vantage, a downward gaze toward "lower earth," the San Diego River floodplain, reveals how high you have climbed. The next segment of the trail contours, roughly speaking (and very rough in its sketchy condition), over to the main Climbing Wall, where at least a few and sometimes many climbers cling to the rocks like human flies. After a final descent on the Climber's Trail, you reach the pavement of Father Junípero Serra Trail; follow it for 0.2 mile to get back to your starting point. The distance for the whole loop is one mile, and the elevation gain is about 400 feet.

The second mini-outing is a visit to Kumeyaay Lake, which occupies some former gravel pits that have been transformed into a first-class botanical and wildlife habitat over the past ten years. Park in the large day-use lot for Kumeyaay Lake on the south side of Father Junípero Serra Trail, near where that road intersects Mission Gorge Road on the east (Santee) side. Walk through Kumeyaay Campground and over to the shore of the lake, where you can follow short pathways that go either right or left around the lake. By late afternoon crickets and bullfrogs deliver musical sound effects, and waterfowl gliding across the lake surface kick up kinetic ripples for your viewing pleasure. Along the trail to the left you'll discover a small exhibit of Kumeyaay Indian traditional life, including a replica of an 'ewaa, a hut made of native plant materials.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.