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

Hike along the Cowles Mountain crest to reach a seldom-visited viewpoint in Mission Trails Regional Park.

Pyles Peak is a prominent bump in the series of mountaintops stretching between Cowles Mountain in the south and Fortuna Mountain in the north. Collectively, these high points constitute the spine and centerpiece of the 5700-acre Mission Trails Regional Park, which lies between the cities of Santee and San Diego. Just north of Pyles Peak, there's a deep notch in the range, where Mission Gorge Road passes through, and farther north is an even deeper cleft -- Mission Gorge -- where the San Diego River spent millions of years carving its way clear through the steadily rising (in geologic time, of course) chain of peaks.

A somewhat long and tiring out-and-back trek can get to you the rocky summit of Pyles Peak, where you can enjoy a well-earned view in every direction. The total elevation gain and loss is substantial: 2000 vertical feet. For summer hiking it's best to get a very early start to take advantage of the cool marine-layer clouds, which may not "burn off" until 8 or 9 a.m. Be sure to take along plenty of drinking water.

Sponsored
Sponsored

First, climb to the summit of Cowles Mountain by way of the Cowles Mountain Trail. This very popular route starts at the corner of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive and crookedly ascends the southwest slope. (Note: This trail is undergoing badly needed maintenance this summer, and may be briefly closed.) At the edge of the service road, which passes just north of the Cowles summit, find and follow the signed trail leading north toward Pyles Peak. You leave about 98 percent of the hiker traffic behind as you begin a serene descent to a saddle just north of the Cowles summit.

From the saddle you rise again, bending around some switchback corners on the west slope to gain the ridgeline about midway between the Cowles summit and Pyles Peak. You pass a side-trail leading east to a rather modest view point, good for some privacy perhaps, but little else. The Pyles Peak trail continues north, a little to the west of the ridgeline, and gradually loses elevation. Chaparral-clad slopes fall away on your left to the curving streets and toylike houses of suburbia, which seem to lap at the foot of the mountain. On mornings when a low-elevation marine layer blankets the lowland and the suburban sprawl disappears, the distant, rumbling roar of traffic floats up and reminds you of your place amid the city.

Nearing Pyles Peak, you reach a saddle where the trail bends left and contours west. After another 0.1 mile you come to a junction. The trail straight ahead leads to a nearby dead-end and a fence that discourages further travel in that direction. The trail to the right heads straight up to the Pyles Peak summit, 0.2 mile away.

You've come 2.6 miles; backtrack on the same route to return.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

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

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad

Pyles Peak is a prominent bump in the series of mountaintops stretching between Cowles Mountain in the south and Fortuna Mountain in the north. Collectively, these high points constitute the spine and centerpiece of the 5700-acre Mission Trails Regional Park, which lies between the cities of Santee and San Diego. Just north of Pyles Peak, there's a deep notch in the range, where Mission Gorge Road passes through, and farther north is an even deeper cleft -- Mission Gorge -- where the San Diego River spent millions of years carving its way clear through the steadily rising (in geologic time, of course) chain of peaks.

A somewhat long and tiring out-and-back trek can get to you the rocky summit of Pyles Peak, where you can enjoy a well-earned view in every direction. The total elevation gain and loss is substantial: 2000 vertical feet. For summer hiking it's best to get a very early start to take advantage of the cool marine-layer clouds, which may not "burn off" until 8 or 9 a.m. Be sure to take along plenty of drinking water.

Sponsored
Sponsored

First, climb to the summit of Cowles Mountain by way of the Cowles Mountain Trail. This very popular route starts at the corner of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive and crookedly ascends the southwest slope. (Note: This trail is undergoing badly needed maintenance this summer, and may be briefly closed.) At the edge of the service road, which passes just north of the Cowles summit, find and follow the signed trail leading north toward Pyles Peak. You leave about 98 percent of the hiker traffic behind as you begin a serene descent to a saddle just north of the Cowles summit.

From the saddle you rise again, bending around some switchback corners on the west slope to gain the ridgeline about midway between the Cowles summit and Pyles Peak. You pass a side-trail leading east to a rather modest view point, good for some privacy perhaps, but little else. The Pyles Peak trail continues north, a little to the west of the ridgeline, and gradually loses elevation. Chaparral-clad slopes fall away on your left to the curving streets and toylike houses of suburbia, which seem to lap at the foot of the mountain. On mornings when a low-elevation marine layer blankets the lowland and the suburban sprawl disappears, the distant, rumbling roar of traffic floats up and reminds you of your place amid the city.

Nearing Pyles Peak, you reach a saddle where the trail bends left and contours west. After another 0.1 mile you come to a junction. The trail straight ahead leads to a nearby dead-end and a fence that discourages further travel in that direction. The trail to the right heads straight up to the Pyles Peak summit, 0.2 mile away.

You've come 2.6 miles; backtrack on the same route to return.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

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

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Next Article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

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.