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 walk along Santa Ysabel Creek near Ramona reveals the site of the never-built Pamo Valley Dam.

After flowing across the pristine, oak- and sycamore-dotted Pamo Valley north of Ramona, Santa Ysabel Creek cuts southwest down a steep gorge and finally emerges on the flatlands of San Pasqual Valley. In the '70s and '80s, environmentalists struggled and finally fought off a proposal to construct a large dam across the creek in the upper part of the gorge.This would have flooded the entire valley to a depth of as much as 150 feet and destroyed some of the finest oak-woodland habitat in Southern California. More recently, local water districts have turned to alternative methods of storing emergency water supplies around the county, and the Pamo Dam proposal seems, for the foreseeable future at least, moribund.

Part of the gorge lies on the westernmost edge of Cleveland National Forest and is included within the future San Dieguito River Park. An ill-maintained fire road, now evolving into a trail -- the Lower Santa Ysabel Road -- threads the wall of the gorge and will one day be incorporated into the river park's Coast to Crest Trail.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The eastern segment of this road is worth exploring on foot, especially in the early morning when long shadows fall across the trail and mist rises from the depths of the gorge below.

You'll need to obtain and post a National Forest Adventure Pass on your car for the privilege of parking. Call 619-673-6180 or 760-788-0250 for information. To get to the trailhead drive north on Pamo Road, a rural road accessible from Haverford Road or Elm Street just north of central Ramona. Pamo Road quickly dives downhill toward lush Pamo Valley. At the foot of the grade, turn left on the Orosco Truck Trail and park amid a grove of oaks within 200 yards. Do not cross Santa Ysabel Creek. On foot, head west (and briefly uphill) on the Lower Santa Ysabel Road, where you soon pass a gate designed to block vehicle traffic.

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Next Article

Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?

Long-stalled development sparks art exhibit, gets new life

After flowing across the pristine, oak- and sycamore-dotted Pamo Valley north of Ramona, Santa Ysabel Creek cuts southwest down a steep gorge and finally emerges on the flatlands of San Pasqual Valley. In the '70s and '80s, environmentalists struggled and finally fought off a proposal to construct a large dam across the creek in the upper part of the gorge.This would have flooded the entire valley to a depth of as much as 150 feet and destroyed some of the finest oak-woodland habitat in Southern California. More recently, local water districts have turned to alternative methods of storing emergency water supplies around the county, and the Pamo Dam proposal seems, for the foreseeable future at least, moribund.

Part of the gorge lies on the westernmost edge of Cleveland National Forest and is included within the future San Dieguito River Park. An ill-maintained fire road, now evolving into a trail -- the Lower Santa Ysabel Road -- threads the wall of the gorge and will one day be incorporated into the river park's Coast to Crest Trail.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The eastern segment of this road is worth exploring on foot, especially in the early morning when long shadows fall across the trail and mist rises from the depths of the gorge below.

You'll need to obtain and post a National Forest Adventure Pass on your car for the privilege of parking. Call 619-673-6180 or 760-788-0250 for information. To get to the trailhead drive north on Pamo Road, a rural road accessible from Haverford Road or Elm Street just north of central Ramona. Pamo Road quickly dives downhill toward lush Pamo Valley. At the foot of the grade, turn left on the Orosco Truck Trail and park amid a grove of oaks within 200 yards. Do not cross Santa Ysabel Creek. On foot, head west (and briefly uphill) on the Lower Santa Ysabel Road, where you soon pass a gate designed to block vehicle traffic.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

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

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Next Article

Colorado governor Polis’ days in La Jolla canyons

Why Kamala might not run for Calif. governor
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