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

Enjoy unobstructed, post-fire views from Stonewall Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.

Stonewall Peak's angular summit of white granitic rock is a conspicuous landmark throughout Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Although Stonewall stands some 800 feet lower than nearby Cuyamaca Peak, its central position and steep, south slope provide a more inclusive view of the park area itself.

Beginning across the highway from the entrance to Paso Picacho Campground (on Highway 79 about midway between Julian and Descanso), the 2.2-mile-long trail to Stonewall's top climbs steadily and moderately on a set of well-graded switchbacks. The former live-oak/black-oak forest and scattered pines and cedars that grew on the mountain's lower slopes prior to the 2003 Cedar Fire are mostly gone now. Pioneering shrubbery is making a comeback, but there's not yet enough of it to seriously block the view -- which expands incrementally the higher you go.

Sponsored
Sponsored

About halfway up the trail, a view opens to the north and east. Cuyamaca Reservoir lies to the north, its level and its extent varying according to the season and the year's precipitation. During the wettest years, the water surface floods a spacious meadow just above the main reservoir and covers a total of nearly 1000 acres.

When you reach the top of the switchback segments, turn right (south) toward the summit of the peak. Follow the trail as it knifes upward to the ridge top and farther to the base of the Stonewall's naked granite summit. A series of steps hewn in the rock and a guardrail are provided in the last, very steep hundred feet or so. The Stonewall hike is a great one for kids, but very small ones must be carefully guarded on the final climb up the steps.

On top, you won't see any ocean views (the main Cuyamaca Mountains ridgeline stands tall in the west), but the foreground panorama of the park's rolling topography is impressive enough. Late-season precipitation (the peak was dusted with snow as late as April 5) will ensure that the landscape below remains emerald-green for a few more weeks to come.

During spring and summer, swallows or swifts practically rake the summit during their high-speed maneuvers, and larger birds -- ravens, hawks, and even bald eagles -- may cruise by. Eagles, along with egrets, herons, and ospreys, are attracted to the shoreline of nearby Cuyamaca Reservoir, especially in winter.

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

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?

Stonewall Peak's angular summit of white granitic rock is a conspicuous landmark throughout Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Although Stonewall stands some 800 feet lower than nearby Cuyamaca Peak, its central position and steep, south slope provide a more inclusive view of the park area itself.

Beginning across the highway from the entrance to Paso Picacho Campground (on Highway 79 about midway between Julian and Descanso), the 2.2-mile-long trail to Stonewall's top climbs steadily and moderately on a set of well-graded switchbacks. The former live-oak/black-oak forest and scattered pines and cedars that grew on the mountain's lower slopes prior to the 2003 Cedar Fire are mostly gone now. Pioneering shrubbery is making a comeback, but there's not yet enough of it to seriously block the view -- which expands incrementally the higher you go.

Sponsored
Sponsored

About halfway up the trail, a view opens to the north and east. Cuyamaca Reservoir lies to the north, its level and its extent varying according to the season and the year's precipitation. During the wettest years, the water surface floods a spacious meadow just above the main reservoir and covers a total of nearly 1000 acres.

When you reach the top of the switchback segments, turn right (south) toward the summit of the peak. Follow the trail as it knifes upward to the ridge top and farther to the base of the Stonewall's naked granite summit. A series of steps hewn in the rock and a guardrail are provided in the last, very steep hundred feet or so. The Stonewall hike is a great one for kids, but very small ones must be carefully guarded on the final climb up the steps.

On top, you won't see any ocean views (the main Cuyamaca Mountains ridgeline stands tall in the west), but the foreground panorama of the park's rolling topography is impressive enough. Late-season precipitation (the peak was dusted with snow as late as April 5) will ensure that the landscape below remains emerald-green for a few more weeks to come.

During spring and summer, swallows or swifts practically rake the summit during their high-speed maneuvers, and larger birds -- ravens, hawks, and even bald eagles -- may cruise by. Eagles, along with egrets, herons, and ospreys, are attracted to the shoreline of nearby Cuyamaca Reservoir, especially in winter.

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

Gonzo Report: Half Hour Late lives up to their name at the Template

Deadhead-inflected band right at home in Ocean Beach
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
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.