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

Rise through the morning mist to bag Sycuan Peak, near Alpine and Jamul.

Sycuan Peak, midway between the inland communities of Alpine and Jamul, rises 2801 feet above sea level and overlooks miles of thinly populated valleys and hills. As part of a countywide effort to preserve native sage-scrub and chaparral habitats, much of the mountain's higher slopes are being managed as a California Department of Fish and Game ecological reserve. Hikers are welcome to try the single trail that darts up Sycuan's south slope. You'll waste no time in climbing a vertical 800 feet over the one-mile length of this trail.

May and June mornings here often start with a thick layer of stratus clouds hugging the coast and extending inland to as far as Jamul and Alpine. On such mornings you may have the pleasure of punching through these soupy, flat-lying clouds as you climb, emerging on top in full sunshine.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Find the trailhead by following Lyons Valley Road east from Highway 94 in Jamul. Your car ascends gradually at first, then labors as the main road becomes the straight-but-steep Skyline Truck Trail. (The old, curvy Lyons Valley Road branches right and later returns to Skyline Truck Trail, a worthy alternate route for sightseeing.) Beyond the first summit on Skyline Truck Trail, make a left on Lawson Valley Road. Wind about on this road for 2.5 miles, observing the mix of older ranch properties and the newer estate-style housing that's popping up nearly everywhere out beyond the county's suburbs. At a point 100 feet past the 2.5-mile marker on Lawson Valley Road, note the rough road ascending on the left side. Park wherever the road shoulder is wide enough to accommodate the width of your car, and head on foot up this rough road.

The low-growing chaparral vegetation hereabouts allows unobstructed views that get more panoramic as you are ascending on the old road. At one spot the roadbed becomes severely eroded, but you can bypass that nasty section on the right side. If you find yourself immersed in the early-morning cloud cover and there's nothing to see, just take pleasure in the distant, plaintive cries of peacocks rising from somewhere down below. Nearing Sycuan's summit, the ineffably fragrant scent of Cleveland sage suffuses the air. You may find some still-flowering specimens of this grayish plant right alongside the trail.

An airway beacon stood just west of the summit in the 1950s, when the peak was labeled on maps as "Sequan Peak." Disused electrical lines installed to serve this facility still climb to the summit. A visual survey from the topmost boulder on Sycuan Peak reveals nearby Loveland Reservoir in the northeast, Lyons Peak looming in the southeast, and (when the mists clear) a big chunk of the urban area to the west.

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

Larry Turner – the man who would be San Diego's mayor

Ex-Marine, cop answers the personal questions

Sycuan Peak, midway between the inland communities of Alpine and Jamul, rises 2801 feet above sea level and overlooks miles of thinly populated valleys and hills. As part of a countywide effort to preserve native sage-scrub and chaparral habitats, much of the mountain's higher slopes are being managed as a California Department of Fish and Game ecological reserve. Hikers are welcome to try the single trail that darts up Sycuan's south slope. You'll waste no time in climbing a vertical 800 feet over the one-mile length of this trail.

May and June mornings here often start with a thick layer of stratus clouds hugging the coast and extending inland to as far as Jamul and Alpine. On such mornings you may have the pleasure of punching through these soupy, flat-lying clouds as you climb, emerging on top in full sunshine.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Find the trailhead by following Lyons Valley Road east from Highway 94 in Jamul. Your car ascends gradually at first, then labors as the main road becomes the straight-but-steep Skyline Truck Trail. (The old, curvy Lyons Valley Road branches right and later returns to Skyline Truck Trail, a worthy alternate route for sightseeing.) Beyond the first summit on Skyline Truck Trail, make a left on Lawson Valley Road. Wind about on this road for 2.5 miles, observing the mix of older ranch properties and the newer estate-style housing that's popping up nearly everywhere out beyond the county's suburbs. At a point 100 feet past the 2.5-mile marker on Lawson Valley Road, note the rough road ascending on the left side. Park wherever the road shoulder is wide enough to accommodate the width of your car, and head on foot up this rough road.

The low-growing chaparral vegetation hereabouts allows unobstructed views that get more panoramic as you are ascending on the old road. At one spot the roadbed becomes severely eroded, but you can bypass that nasty section on the right side. If you find yourself immersed in the early-morning cloud cover and there's nothing to see, just take pleasure in the distant, plaintive cries of peacocks rising from somewhere down below. Nearing Sycuan's summit, the ineffably fragrant scent of Cleveland sage suffuses the air. You may find some still-flowering specimens of this grayish plant right alongside the trail.

An airway beacon stood just west of the summit in the 1950s, when the peak was labeled on maps as "Sequan Peak." Disused electrical lines installed to serve this facility still climb to the summit. A visual survey from the topmost boulder on Sycuan Peak reveals nearby Loveland Reservoir in the northeast, Lyons Peak looming in the southeast, and (when the mists clear) a big chunk of the urban area to the west.

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

Happy accidents on the Bob Ross soundtrack

Jason Lee and Dave Klein craft new sounds for a classic show
Next Article

Recalling a nighttime firefight in my Rolando condo complex

This was years ago, but I still freeze when I hear anything that sounds like gunfire
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