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

Secret Canyon Trail

The ambitiously constructed Secret Canyon Trail, circuitously nosing its way down the canyon walls of Pine Valley Creek for 14 miles, traverses nearly the entire length of the Pine Creek Wilderness in Cleveland National Forest. Vehicles are banned from the area, so the trail bears only the footprints of boots and running shoes, the imprints of horseshoes, and the occasional discarded piece of litter of across-the-border origin. The migration of illegal aliens traveling northward though the wilderness area is not taking place at the level it used to be. Still, it is a good idea to travel in groups for safety here or anywhere else near the international border.

Begin your exploration at the Horsethief Trailhead at mile 16.4 on Lyons Valley Road. This is 1.5 miles south of Japatul Road and about ten miles southeast of Alpine. You’ll need a National Forest Adventure Pass ($5 daily, $30 yearly) to merely park at the trailhead. A wilderness permit is required for overnight backpacking into the wilderness area ahead. Call 619-445-6235 for more information.

From the trailhead parking lot walk north past a gate for about 300 yards, and then veer right through a pipe gate and follow what is known as the Espinosa Trail. A fast, 400-foot elevation loss takes you to oak-lined Horsethief Canyon, where you bend right and follow the canyon’s trickling brook toward Pine Valley Creek. At 1.5 miles, you cross the creek (you’ll get your feet wet in this post-rainy season) and pick up the eastward-ascending Espinosa Trail on the far bank. Walk a short distance up that slope and then veer left on the Secret Canyon Trail, which may or may not be designated by a trail sign.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Now you traverse, with little elevation gain, the dry, east canyon wall of Pine Valley Creek, reaching after some 30 minutes the oak-draped-ravine-with-trickling-stream called Secret Canyon. Lou Stein’s San Diego County Place Names notes that “This folk-type name designation in Descanso district implies a site that is not readily accessible.” And so it was before the trail was pushed through here in 1992.

You might want to turn back where you first strike Secret Canyon’s creek, retracing your steps to the trailhead. Or, if the spirit moves you, you can spend another 40 minutes following the trail north toward the canyon’s uppermost reach.

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.

Secret Canyon Trail
Explore the south end of the Secret Canyon Trail, in the Pine Creek Wilderness near Jamul.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 40 miles
Hiking length: 4+ miles
Difficulty: Moderate

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

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About doTERRA

Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class

The ambitiously constructed Secret Canyon Trail, circuitously nosing its way down the canyon walls of Pine Valley Creek for 14 miles, traverses nearly the entire length of the Pine Creek Wilderness in Cleveland National Forest. Vehicles are banned from the area, so the trail bears only the footprints of boots and running shoes, the imprints of horseshoes, and the occasional discarded piece of litter of across-the-border origin. The migration of illegal aliens traveling northward though the wilderness area is not taking place at the level it used to be. Still, it is a good idea to travel in groups for safety here or anywhere else near the international border.

Begin your exploration at the Horsethief Trailhead at mile 16.4 on Lyons Valley Road. This is 1.5 miles south of Japatul Road and about ten miles southeast of Alpine. You’ll need a National Forest Adventure Pass ($5 daily, $30 yearly) to merely park at the trailhead. A wilderness permit is required for overnight backpacking into the wilderness area ahead. Call 619-445-6235 for more information.

From the trailhead parking lot walk north past a gate for about 300 yards, and then veer right through a pipe gate and follow what is known as the Espinosa Trail. A fast, 400-foot elevation loss takes you to oak-lined Horsethief Canyon, where you bend right and follow the canyon’s trickling brook toward Pine Valley Creek. At 1.5 miles, you cross the creek (you’ll get your feet wet in this post-rainy season) and pick up the eastward-ascending Espinosa Trail on the far bank. Walk a short distance up that slope and then veer left on the Secret Canyon Trail, which may or may not be designated by a trail sign.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Now you traverse, with little elevation gain, the dry, east canyon wall of Pine Valley Creek, reaching after some 30 minutes the oak-draped-ravine-with-trickling-stream called Secret Canyon. Lou Stein’s San Diego County Place Names notes that “This folk-type name designation in Descanso district implies a site that is not readily accessible.” And so it was before the trail was pushed through here in 1992.

You might want to turn back where you first strike Secret Canyon’s creek, retracing your steps to the trailhead. Or, if the spirit moves you, you can spend another 40 minutes following the trail north toward the canyon’s uppermost reach.

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.

Secret Canyon Trail
Explore the south end of the Secret Canyon Trail, in the Pine Creek Wilderness near Jamul.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 40 miles
Hiking length: 4+ miles
Difficulty: Moderate

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

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024
Next Article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
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