Roam-O-Rama
Flat Cat Canyon is the curious name given to a rugged gorge southwest of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitors' center and not far outside the town of Borrego Springs. Park rangers once found a …
Where can you go to do some fat-tire bicycle riding after the winter rains come? Certainly not on many of the county's backcountry dirt roads and trails, which turn slippery when wet. Instead, try out …
After flowing across the pristine, oak- and sycamore-dotted Pamo Valley north of Ramona, Santa Ysabel Creek cuts southwest down a steep gorge and finally emerges on the flatlands of San Pasqual Valley. In the '70s …
Stark and barren, yet glorious in their nakedness, Anza-Borrego's skeletal mountain ranges conceal more than they reveal to casual passersby. If you want to know them better, you must leave the security of the automotive …
Hike Cowles Mountain by late afternoon sunlight, and return by moonlight or flashlight. Trek past Smugglers Cave into the Valley of the Moon. Bike around Mission Bay. Watch birds at San Elijo Lagoon. Circumnavigate Middle …
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. …
Tranquil Mine Canyon and its several tributaries slash deep into the Pinyon Mountains of central Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Day after day, year after year, the parched ravines and boulder-splintered hillsides lie open to the …
With more than 20 miles of trails for self-propelled travelers, the 3058-acre Daley Ranch offers more than any casual visitor should try in a single day. This former cattle spread and dairy is now Escondido's …
Straddling the San Diego: Riverside County line, Rockhouse Canyon and the broad, sloping alluvial basin drained by it -- informally known as Rockhouse Valley -- constitute one of Southern California's truly forgotten places. Not much …
Winter is an often perfect time for watching the sun rise or set in San Diego. Picture yourself on a clear late afternoon, perched atop a seaside bluff or on one of the hills that …
Anza-Borrego's Coyote Canyon, northwest of Borrego Springs, sustains the only dependably year-round stream in San Diego County's desert quarter. Near the lower end of the canyon, soggy Lower Willows, along with its primary source of …
A long and leisurely ramble up the sinuous course of Harper Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park leads hikers to Harper Flat, a four-square-mile valley hidden from casual view by rock-strewn ridges and peaks. The …
Routes for cross-country skiing exist on rare occasions at higher elevations in the Cuyamaca Mountains.
Anza-Borrego's Fish Creek Wash is the gateway to a fascinating labyrinth of rugged canyons, twisted arroyos, and mud hills covering the desiccated area known as the Carrizo Badlands. Why the name Fish Creek for a …
Arising on the west slope of the Volcan Mountains, Santa Ysabel Creek slides through Santa Ysabel Valley and soon enters the Lake Sutherland reservoir, northeast of Ramona. Once below the dam, water in the creek …
The Bayside Trail, sweeping downward from the old lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument, offers an incomparable view of the city of San Diego and its watery environs. Amid the sweet,pungent sage scrub and chaparral vegetation, …