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

A short trail visits oak woodlands at Lake Wohlford near Escondido.

Serene Lake Wohlford lies near the headwaters of Escondido Creek, its mirroring surface reflecting the shaggy-with-chaparral, boulder-studded hillsides that confine it. As early as 1895, water impounded for the benefit of Escondido's farms and households began to collect behind a small dam here. The present, larger Wohlford Dam, completed in 1924, holds back a maximum 7100 acre feet of water -- not a lot, even by San Diego County standards. Much of the water that feeds Lake Wohlford today comes by way of the Escondido Canal, which originates at a point on the upper San Luis Rey River.

Lake Wohlford shoreline

Sponsored
Sponsored

So long has the reservoir existed here that its presence has become an integral part of the scenery. In this post-El Niño period, the lake brims, and no bathtub ring of muddy ground interposes itself between the water level and the luxuriant growth of hillside vegetation.

Hikers (or rather casual walkers) can explore a short section of the lake's south shoreline. A narrow trail, primarily used for fishing access, winds for about half a mile amid dense growths of chaparral and coast live oak. Leafy curtains of poison oak drape the oak limbs, lending a Tolkienesque flair to the scene. It's quiet here on weekdays and a bit noisy on weekends with boat traffic on the lake and car traffic along the far shore. You can sit on benches or lie on a large rock slab by the shore, all the while watching the rippling lake surface or the activities of birds. (I witnessed several hawks exploding into flight over the crown of an oak tree.)

To reach Wohlford's lakeside trail, drive 1.9 miles up Lake Wohlford Road from Valley Center Road and turn right on Oakvale Road. Drive 0.7 mile to a gated dirt access road on the left, open during the daylight, which leads to the shore of the lake. One segment of the shoreline trail goes 0.2 mile west, while the other segment winds north for about 0.3 mile.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in

Serene Lake Wohlford lies near the headwaters of Escondido Creek, its mirroring surface reflecting the shaggy-with-chaparral, boulder-studded hillsides that confine it. As early as 1895, water impounded for the benefit of Escondido's farms and households began to collect behind a small dam here. The present, larger Wohlford Dam, completed in 1924, holds back a maximum 7100 acre feet of water -- not a lot, even by San Diego County standards. Much of the water that feeds Lake Wohlford today comes by way of the Escondido Canal, which originates at a point on the upper San Luis Rey River.

Lake Wohlford shoreline

Sponsored
Sponsored

So long has the reservoir existed here that its presence has become an integral part of the scenery. In this post-El Niño period, the lake brims, and no bathtub ring of muddy ground interposes itself between the water level and the luxuriant growth of hillside vegetation.

Hikers (or rather casual walkers) can explore a short section of the lake's south shoreline. A narrow trail, primarily used for fishing access, winds for about half a mile amid dense growths of chaparral and coast live oak. Leafy curtains of poison oak drape the oak limbs, lending a Tolkienesque flair to the scene. It's quiet here on weekdays and a bit noisy on weekends with boat traffic on the lake and car traffic along the far shore. You can sit on benches or lie on a large rock slab by the shore, all the while watching the rippling lake surface or the activities of birds. (I witnessed several hawks exploding into flight over the crown of an oak tree.)

To reach Wohlford's lakeside trail, drive 1.9 miles up Lake Wohlford Road from Valley Center Road and turn right on Oakvale Road. Drive 0.7 mile to a gated dirt access road on the left, open during the daylight, which leads to the shore of the lake. One segment of the shoreline trail goes 0.2 mile west, while the other segment winds north for about 0.3 mile.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader