Best of 2003: Best Peak Climb

Stonewall Peak Highway 79 at Paso Picacho
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
www.cuyamaca.statepark.org
760-765-0755

Stonewall offers a touch of vertigo for its visitors, tempered by the iron railings atop its summit block. The zigzagging, two-mile-long Stonewall Peak Trail starts opposite Highway 79 from Paso Picacho Campground and makes an ascent through an arboreal zone on the mountain's flank. On the last part of the trail, it breaks free for an airy climb over steps hewn in granite rock leading to the 5730-foot high point. Kids do well on this hike, though you'll need to help the small ones near the top.