Here's something you might be interested in.
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
See more than 100 species of birds at Silverwood
Learn about birds and plants on this educational hike.
The sanctuary provides seats in the bird observation area.
There is something for every nature lover and even those who only want to get a bit of exercise at Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary. With a network of nearly 5 miles of trails, there are both easy walking paths through shady oak woodlands and more extensive paths through the chaparral where there are many wildflowers that bloom in late winter and spring. Hiking up to the ridgeline provides outstanding views of the surrounding mountains and out to the ocean. It is also a great place to learn about birds at the sanctuary’s observation area and nature center, which is to be expected since it is owned and operated by the San Diego Audubon Society. Tours are also available.
Silverwood trail to the observation area
From the parking area, start hiking southeast on the Harry Woodward Trail, named for the man who gave 85 of these acres as a gift to the Audubon Society to start Silverwood. This is an easy self-guided trip through chaparral with many shrubs identified with signs. Among those found here are holly-leaf cherry, mission manzanita, spice bush, buckwheat, and scrub oak, as well as other species making up the chaparral covering most of San Diego’s foothills. Currently this area is dominated by whitethorn ceanothus, a tall, but short-lived California lilac that forms dense thickets after a fire, a reminder that Silverwood was completely destroyed in the 2003 Cedar Fire. Fortunately, it has made a dramatic recovery.
Turn right at the Chaparral Trail to continue the self-guided tour where more chaparral shrubs are identified with signs, including chamise, chaparral yucca, sugar bush, and laurel sumac. Up ahead, across a bridge over an intermittent creek, is the bird observation area, a place to get acquainted with some of the more than 100 species of birds that visit or live in the sanctuary. Those likely to be seen include scrub jays, spotted towhees, hooded orioles, and California quail.
After exploring the bird observation area, return to the Chaparral Trail and continue east until the Spring Trail. Go right on the trail where it will soon be crossing an open grassy area with very few chaparral shrubs. In a normal rainfall year, this will be a marshy area, or cienaga, home to blue-eyed grass, Indian paintbrush, grasses, and rushes.
Silverwood trail map
Continuing on beyond the cienaga, the Spring Trail intersects with the Circuit Trail. Go left on the Circuit Trail, which continues up to the backbone of the ridge and crosses the “Big Rock Slab,” a large granite outcropping nearly devoid of plants, except for mosses, silver-leaf lotus, and a few dudleyas growing in the cracks. The Circuit Trail loops around the sanctuary, eventually returning to the entrance. As it does so, it will intersect with six other trails that could be explored if time permits. One highly recommended for outstanding views is the Howie Wier-Rady’s View Trail up to the sanctuary’s high point at 2100 feet. There is also a self-guiding Geology Trail that is compelling and informative.
Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary
Distance from downtown San Diego: 28 miles. Allow 35 minutes driving time (Lakeside). Take I-8 E to El Cajon and exit onto SR-67 and go north to Lakeside. Turn right (east) on Mapleview St. At the stop sign, turn left (north) on Ashwood St., which will become Wildcat Canyon Rd. Continue for 4.8 miles toward the Barona Casino to the Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary on the right.
Hiking length: 2-mile loop.
Difficulty: Moderate. Elevation gain/loss up to 1000 feet. Facilities and water available.
Hours open: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sundays only.
Here's something you might be interested in.
See more than 100 species of birds at Silverwood
Learn about birds and plants on this educational hike.
See more than 100 species of birds at Silverwood
Learn about birds and plants on this educational hike.
The sanctuary provides seats in the bird observation area.
There is something for every nature lover and even those who only want to get a bit of exercise at Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary. With a network of nearly 5 miles of trails, there are both easy walking paths through shady oak woodlands and more extensive paths through the chaparral where there are many wildflowers that bloom in late winter and spring. Hiking up to the ridgeline provides outstanding views of the surrounding mountains and out to the ocean. It is also a great place to learn about birds at the sanctuary’s observation area and nature center, which is to be expected since it is owned and operated by the San Diego Audubon Society. Tours are also available.
Silverwood trail to the observation area
From the parking area, start hiking southeast on the Harry Woodward Trail, named for the man who gave 85 of these acres as a gift to the Audubon Society to start Silverwood. This is an easy self-guided trip through chaparral with many shrubs identified with signs. Among those found here are holly-leaf cherry, mission manzanita, spice bush, buckwheat, and scrub oak, as well as other species making up the chaparral covering most of San Diego’s foothills. Currently this area is dominated by whitethorn ceanothus, a tall, but short-lived California lilac that forms dense thickets after a fire, a reminder that Silverwood was completely destroyed in the 2003 Cedar Fire. Fortunately, it has made a dramatic recovery.
Turn right at the Chaparral Trail to continue the self-guided tour where more chaparral shrubs are identified with signs, including chamise, chaparral yucca, sugar bush, and laurel sumac. Up ahead, across a bridge over an intermittent creek, is the bird observation area, a place to get acquainted with some of the more than 100 species of birds that visit or live in the sanctuary. Those likely to be seen include scrub jays, spotted towhees, hooded orioles, and California quail.
After exploring the bird observation area, return to the Chaparral Trail and continue east until the Spring Trail. Go right on the trail where it will soon be crossing an open grassy area with very few chaparral shrubs. In a normal rainfall year, this will be a marshy area, or cienaga, home to blue-eyed grass, Indian paintbrush, grasses, and rushes.
Silverwood trail map
Continuing on beyond the cienaga, the Spring Trail intersects with the Circuit Trail. Go left on the Circuit Trail, which continues up to the backbone of the ridge and crosses the “Big Rock Slab,” a large granite outcropping nearly devoid of plants, except for mosses, silver-leaf lotus, and a few dudleyas growing in the cracks. The Circuit Trail loops around the sanctuary, eventually returning to the entrance. As it does so, it will intersect with six other trails that could be explored if time permits. One highly recommended for outstanding views is the Howie Wier-Rady’s View Trail up to the sanctuary’s high point at 2100 feet. There is also a self-guiding Geology Trail that is compelling and informative.
Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary
Distance from downtown San Diego: 28 miles. Allow 35 minutes driving time (Lakeside). Take I-8 E to El Cajon and exit onto SR-67 and go north to Lakeside. Turn right (east) on Mapleview St. At the stop sign, turn left (north) on Ashwood St., which will become Wildcat Canyon Rd. Continue for 4.8 miles toward the Barona Casino to the Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary on the right.
Hiking length: 2-mile loop.
Difficulty: Moderate. Elevation gain/loss up to 1000 feet. Facilities and water available.
Hours open: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sundays only.
Comments