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

Barnett Ranch & Luelf Pond

In the past couple of years, San Diego County has opened two new flora- and fauna-rich open-space preserves just south of Ramona. Both are key links in the county’s Multiple Species Conservation Program, which aims to protect as much natural habitat as possible in the rural parts of inland San Diego County.

The larger preserve, Barnett Ranch, spreads across about 1000 acres of gently rolling grasslands and sage- and chaparral-covered slopes. The well-marked entrance and equestrian staging area for the preserve is located at the intersection of San Vicente Road and Deviney Lane (mile 14.4, according to the green mileage markers posted on San Vicente Road).

Sponsored
Sponsored

From the Barnett Ranch staging area, you can choose to hike (or run, bike, or ride a horse) on two out-and-back routes: the Rattlesnake Trail and the Valley View Trail, 2.5 miles round trip on either one. The Rattlesnake Trail is terrific — once you get beyond the initial half mile, which is simply a dirt path right alongside a rural driveway. You curve into a sensuously rounded vale, cross a freshwater marsh with verdant grasses and swaying cattails (and a nearby picnic table), and climb a bit more to a second picnic table next to some oaks singed by the 2003 Cedar Fire. On a visit during a tepid, cloud-flecked day last month, ravens and hawks glided on thermals, and mini-vortexes of heated air carved raspy-sounding grooves through the dry grasses, like ghosts dancing.

In comparison to Rattlesnake Trail, Valley View Trail seems inferior, as its destination is a pair of vantage points also occupied by steel pylons supporting a high-voltage powerline. You do get a view, though, of San Vicente Creek’s valley below, which is not-so-picturesquely dotted with various dwellings and ranching infrastructure.

Not far away from Barnett Ranch is a pint-sized (90-acre) preserve with an unpronounceable name: Luelf Pond. It’s also tough to find without explicit directions. From Dye Road, turn south on Southern Oak Road. Go one mile to Willow Oak Drive and turn right. Proceed 0.1 mile to what appears to be a cul-de-sac. Continue straight across that apparent dead-end to the narrow lane signed “Duck Pond.” Proceed another 0.15 mile to Luelf Pond (the duck pond) on the right and the signed Luelf Pond Open Space Preserve on the left. Park by the curbside and enjoy a fine stroll of about 2/3 mile (round trip) under a magnificent canopy of singed-but-surviving live oaks and post-Cedar-Fire pioneering vegetation. Note: those “pioneers” include plenty of poison oak in both bush and vine form.

The deeply shaded Luelf Pond Preserve stays cool nearly any time of day, but as summer heats up, you’d best visit Barnett Ranch when it opens at 8 a.m. or near its closing time, sunset.

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

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room

In the past couple of years, San Diego County has opened two new flora- and fauna-rich open-space preserves just south of Ramona. Both are key links in the county’s Multiple Species Conservation Program, which aims to protect as much natural habitat as possible in the rural parts of inland San Diego County.

The larger preserve, Barnett Ranch, spreads across about 1000 acres of gently rolling grasslands and sage- and chaparral-covered slopes. The well-marked entrance and equestrian staging area for the preserve is located at the intersection of San Vicente Road and Deviney Lane (mile 14.4, according to the green mileage markers posted on San Vicente Road).

Sponsored
Sponsored

From the Barnett Ranch staging area, you can choose to hike (or run, bike, or ride a horse) on two out-and-back routes: the Rattlesnake Trail and the Valley View Trail, 2.5 miles round trip on either one. The Rattlesnake Trail is terrific — once you get beyond the initial half mile, which is simply a dirt path right alongside a rural driveway. You curve into a sensuously rounded vale, cross a freshwater marsh with verdant grasses and swaying cattails (and a nearby picnic table), and climb a bit more to a second picnic table next to some oaks singed by the 2003 Cedar Fire. On a visit during a tepid, cloud-flecked day last month, ravens and hawks glided on thermals, and mini-vortexes of heated air carved raspy-sounding grooves through the dry grasses, like ghosts dancing.

In comparison to Rattlesnake Trail, Valley View Trail seems inferior, as its destination is a pair of vantage points also occupied by steel pylons supporting a high-voltage powerline. You do get a view, though, of San Vicente Creek’s valley below, which is not-so-picturesquely dotted with various dwellings and ranching infrastructure.

Not far away from Barnett Ranch is a pint-sized (90-acre) preserve with an unpronounceable name: Luelf Pond. It’s also tough to find without explicit directions. From Dye Road, turn south on Southern Oak Road. Go one mile to Willow Oak Drive and turn right. Proceed 0.1 mile to what appears to be a cul-de-sac. Continue straight across that apparent dead-end to the narrow lane signed “Duck Pond.” Proceed another 0.15 mile to Luelf Pond (the duck pond) on the right and the signed Luelf Pond Open Space Preserve on the left. Park by the curbside and enjoy a fine stroll of about 2/3 mile (round trip) under a magnificent canopy of singed-but-surviving live oaks and post-Cedar-Fire pioneering vegetation. Note: those “pioneers” include plenty of poison oak in both bush and vine form.

The deeply shaded Luelf Pond Preserve stays cool nearly any time of day, but as summer heats up, you’d best visit Barnett Ranch when it opens at 8 a.m. or near its closing time, sunset.

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

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
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.