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

Travel the Stonewall Creek/Soapstone Grade loop in the Cuyamacas by foot, on a mountain bike, or on horseback.

The striped skunk stood defiantly in the middle of the trail, its tail held straight up and its beady eyes tracking my every move. I slunk by, circumscribing a 180-degree arc of 10-yard radius -- beyond, I reckoned, the animal's squirting range. Earlier, along Stonewall Creek, I'd watched nearly a dozen deer performing pogo-stick ballet in the surrounding underbrush. Their seemingly choreographed movements were designed to keep me in their sight and they a safe distance apart from me.

Mountain-lion scares notwithstanding, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park remains a fine place to observe wildlife -- hopefully from a secure position at the top of the food chain. In this part of San Diego's backcountry, it's important to hike with a friend or two as you enjoy some of San Diego County's finest natural areas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The 8-mile-long Stonewall Creek/ Soapstone Grade loop described here lies outside Cuyamaca Rancho's State Park's designated wilderness area and therefore is open to a wide variety of travelers: hikers, joggers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. Space to park your car for up to two hours is available near park headquarters, off Highway 79 (9 miles north of I-8 at Descanso), or for a longer time in turnouts along Highway 79 itself. Take along enough drinking water to last the trip.

Walk or pedal (equestrians must take a circuitous route) past the Cuyamaca school camp to the wide, graded Upper Green Valley Fire Road. After a short mile, stay left at Stonewall Creek Fire Road and start gaining elevation on its eroded, rock-strewn surface. As you ascend, the free-form live oaks that dominated the landscape earlier are replaced by vertically symmetrical Jeffrey pines. In the warm sunshine, pines of this variety exude a vanilla-like perfume. Water in the shallow Stonewall Creek bed is probably gone by now, but the creek will revive after the first substantial autumn rains.

After 2.2 miles on Stonewall Creek Fire Road, turn right (east) on the Soapstone Grade fire road. After skirting an open valley, with water in Cuyamaca Reservoir visible in the distance, the road pitches downward toward upper Green Valley and the headwaters of the Sweetwater River. Look for pieces of soapstone -- a creamy or beige metamorphic rock with a slippery feel -- strewn about on and beside the road. At the bottom, turn right on Upper Green Valley Fire Road, and complete the remaining 3 miles, gradually downhill almost the entire way.

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

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?

The striped skunk stood defiantly in the middle of the trail, its tail held straight up and its beady eyes tracking my every move. I slunk by, circumscribing a 180-degree arc of 10-yard radius -- beyond, I reckoned, the animal's squirting range. Earlier, along Stonewall Creek, I'd watched nearly a dozen deer performing pogo-stick ballet in the surrounding underbrush. Their seemingly choreographed movements were designed to keep me in their sight and they a safe distance apart from me.

Mountain-lion scares notwithstanding, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park remains a fine place to observe wildlife -- hopefully from a secure position at the top of the food chain. In this part of San Diego's backcountry, it's important to hike with a friend or two as you enjoy some of San Diego County's finest natural areas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The 8-mile-long Stonewall Creek/ Soapstone Grade loop described here lies outside Cuyamaca Rancho's State Park's designated wilderness area and therefore is open to a wide variety of travelers: hikers, joggers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. Space to park your car for up to two hours is available near park headquarters, off Highway 79 (9 miles north of I-8 at Descanso), or for a longer time in turnouts along Highway 79 itself. Take along enough drinking water to last the trip.

Walk or pedal (equestrians must take a circuitous route) past the Cuyamaca school camp to the wide, graded Upper Green Valley Fire Road. After a short mile, stay left at Stonewall Creek Fire Road and start gaining elevation on its eroded, rock-strewn surface. As you ascend, the free-form live oaks that dominated the landscape earlier are replaced by vertically symmetrical Jeffrey pines. In the warm sunshine, pines of this variety exude a vanilla-like perfume. Water in the shallow Stonewall Creek bed is probably gone by now, but the creek will revive after the first substantial autumn rains.

After 2.2 miles on Stonewall Creek Fire Road, turn right (east) on the Soapstone Grade fire road. After skirting an open valley, with water in Cuyamaca Reservoir visible in the distance, the road pitches downward toward upper Green Valley and the headwaters of the Sweetwater River. Look for pieces of soapstone -- a creamy or beige metamorphic rock with a slippery feel -- strewn about on and beside the road. At the bottom, turn right on Upper Green Valley Fire Road, and complete the remaining 3 miles, gradually downhill almost the entire way.

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

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
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.