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

Explore the flowering slopes of Agua Tibia Wilderness, east of Temecula, at its seasonal best.

The Agua Tibia Wilderness covers an obscure section of Cleveland National Forest, just east of Temecula, straddling the San Diego-Riverside County line. Agua Tibia's pillowy, steeply plunging, chaparral-clad slopes look austere from a distance — and they are without question not a great place to visit on a hot day in summer or fall. This month, however, the weather remains on the cool side, and the slopes are greening and flowering in response to the somewhat anemic but significant recent rains.

Agua Tibia's only convenient entry point lies along Highway 79, ten miles east of Interstate 15. On the right (south side) of the road you'll find the Dripping Springs Fire Station, the currently closed (reopening in June) Dripping Springs Campground, and a trailhead parking lot for Agua Tibia Wilderness visitors. A National Forest Adventure Pass must be posted on your car here. Entry is free. A camping permit from the forest service is required for overnight stays in the wilderness area. Even if you're hiking for only a few hours, it's critically important that you carry plenty of drinking water. Early spring temperatures can easily reach into the 80s here. Call Cleveland National Forest, 760-788-0250, for more particulars.

Sponsored
Sponsored

After walking south through the campground, you hop across Arroyo Seco Creek on stones, pick up the Dripping Springs Trail, and begin a switchbacking ascent through sage-scrub and chaparral vegetation, liberally sprinkled with a dozen or two kinds of wildflowers. After only 0.1 mile, there's a trail junction. Choose either way: the Wild Horse Trail, on the left, gains elevation relatively slowly. The Dripping Springs Trail, ahead, begins a steady and very crooked ascent of Agua Tibia Mountain's north flank. The "mountain" is actually the westward extension of the long ridge commonly known as Palomar Mountain.

The 20-mile-round-trip hike to the crest and back on Wild Horse Trail and its extension, Crosley Trail, is obviously too far for casual hikers. Perhaps better (and highly recommended if the air is transparently clear) is the shorter, steeper summit climb on Dripping Springs Trail -- 14 miles round trip. Don't let this distance deter you; just climb as far as you like. The higher you go, the better the view. At two to three miles up, you're treated to a spectacular northern vista of Southern California's highest mountains -- San Antonio (Old Baldy), San Gorgonio, and San Jacinto -- each wearing a snowcap well into the spring season.

At 4.5 miles, the trail descends a little and you'll spot the white dome of the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory gleaming on a ridge about nine miles southeast. Many hikers turn back at this point. The pine- and oak-fringed summit ridge of Agua Tibia Mountain lies in view ahead -- fair game for energetic day hikers and backpackers.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

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

The Agua Tibia Wilderness covers an obscure section of Cleveland National Forest, just east of Temecula, straddling the San Diego-Riverside County line. Agua Tibia's pillowy, steeply plunging, chaparral-clad slopes look austere from a distance — and they are without question not a great place to visit on a hot day in summer or fall. This month, however, the weather remains on the cool side, and the slopes are greening and flowering in response to the somewhat anemic but significant recent rains.

Agua Tibia's only convenient entry point lies along Highway 79, ten miles east of Interstate 15. On the right (south side) of the road you'll find the Dripping Springs Fire Station, the currently closed (reopening in June) Dripping Springs Campground, and a trailhead parking lot for Agua Tibia Wilderness visitors. A National Forest Adventure Pass must be posted on your car here. Entry is free. A camping permit from the forest service is required for overnight stays in the wilderness area. Even if you're hiking for only a few hours, it's critically important that you carry plenty of drinking water. Early spring temperatures can easily reach into the 80s here. Call Cleveland National Forest, 760-788-0250, for more particulars.

Sponsored
Sponsored

After walking south through the campground, you hop across Arroyo Seco Creek on stones, pick up the Dripping Springs Trail, and begin a switchbacking ascent through sage-scrub and chaparral vegetation, liberally sprinkled with a dozen or two kinds of wildflowers. After only 0.1 mile, there's a trail junction. Choose either way: the Wild Horse Trail, on the left, gains elevation relatively slowly. The Dripping Springs Trail, ahead, begins a steady and very crooked ascent of Agua Tibia Mountain's north flank. The "mountain" is actually the westward extension of the long ridge commonly known as Palomar Mountain.

The 20-mile-round-trip hike to the crest and back on Wild Horse Trail and its extension, Crosley Trail, is obviously too far for casual hikers. Perhaps better (and highly recommended if the air is transparently clear) is the shorter, steeper summit climb on Dripping Springs Trail -- 14 miles round trip. Don't let this distance deter you; just climb as far as you like. The higher you go, the better the view. At two to three miles up, you're treated to a spectacular northern vista of Southern California's highest mountains -- San Antonio (Old Baldy), San Gorgonio, and San Jacinto -- each wearing a snowcap well into the spring season.

At 4.5 miles, the trail descends a little and you'll spot the white dome of the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory gleaming on a ridge about nine miles southeast. Many hikers turn back at this point. The pine- and oak-fringed summit ridge of Agua Tibia Mountain lies in view ahead -- fair game for energetic day hikers and backpackers.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

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

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
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.