Los penasquitos canyon preserve – info needed

[jimmyle]

I want to hike or bike this canyon since I live next to it now. I have several questions.

1. How long does it take to hike the trail for an average person?

2. If I decide to bike, can I ride in my Road Bike or do I need a Mountain Bike?

3. Where are the access points along Sorrento Valley Blvd and Calle Cristobal?

4. If you have biked or hiked this canyon, did you enjoy it?

[carli]

This is my (and my husband’s) favorite place to run. It’s also great for hikers and mountain bikers. There is such variety and so many trails, we’re constantly discovering new places and never get bored. Our favorite is the out and back trail (starting from the western parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd) over gently rolling hills to the eastern side of the preserve, where there’s a parking lot and a camping area. It’s almost 12 miles, but it’s a beautiful trail and you can just go any distance and turn around. It gets shadier the farther in you go, crossing a couple brooks.

We’ve seen amazing wildlife there, and to think that it’s hidden in the middle of so much residential and commercial development is hard to believe. We live in Del Mar so the closest parking lot for us is the lot on the south side of Sorrento Valley Blvd, about a mile east of Vista Sorrento Pkwy.

Here’s a link to the park info: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/penasq.shtml

Funny story – a couple years ago, someone in our running group told us that Los Penasquitos is one of Meb Keflezighi’s favorite runs (he’s the US silver medalist in the marathon ’04 Athens Olympics as well as NYC Marathon winner, etc). Sure enough, one day, we were loping along at our 10-min mile pace and there goes Meb, just whizzing by us on a hill. My husband said, “Hey, Meb!” and he turned around, stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes. Very cool. Enjoy!

[carli]

This is my (and my husband’s) favorite place to run. It’s also great for hikers and mountain bikers. There is such variety and so many trails, we’re constantly discovering new places and never get bored. Our favorite is the out and back trail (starting from the western parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd) over gently rolling hills to the eastern side of the preserve, where there’s a parking lot and a camping area. It’s almost 12 miles, but it’s a beautiful trail and you can just go any distance and turn around. It gets shadier the farther in you go, crossing a couple brooks.

We’ve seen amazing wildlife there, and to think that it’s hidden in the middle of so much residential and commercial development is hard to believe. We live in Del Mar so the closest parking lot for us is the lot on the south side of Sorrento Valley Blvd, about a mile east of Vista Sorrento Pkwy.

Here’s a link to the park info: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/penasq.shtml

Funny story – a couple years ago, someone in our running group told us that Los Penasquitos is one of Meb Keflezighi’s favorite runs (he’s the US silver medalist in the marathon ’04 Athens Olympics as well as NYC Marathon winner, etc). Sure enough, one day, we were loping along at our 10-min mile pace and there goes Meb, just whizzing by us on a hill. My husband said, “Hey, Meb!” and he turned around, stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes. Very cool. Enjoy!

[carli]

This is my (and my husband’s) favorite place to run. It’s also great for hikers and mountain bikers. There is such variety and so many trails, we’re constantly discovering new places and never get bored. Our favorite is the out and back trail (starting from the western parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd) over gently rolling hills to the eastern side of the preserve, where there’s a parking lot and a camping area. It’s almost 12 miles, but it’s a beautiful trail and you can just go any distance and turn around. It gets shadier the farther in you go, crossing a couple brooks.

We’ve seen amazing wildlife there, and to think that it’s hidden in the middle of so much residential and commercial development is hard to believe. We live in Del Mar so the closest parking lot for us is the lot on the south side of Sorrento Valley Blvd, about a mile east of Vista Sorrento Pkwy.

Here’s a link to the park info: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/penasq.shtml

Funny story – a couple years ago, someone in our running group told us that Los Penasquitos is one of Meb Keflezighi’s favorite runs (he’s the US silver medalist in the marathon ’04 Athens Olympics as well as NYC Marathon winner, etc). Sure enough, one day, we were loping along at our 10-min mile pace and there goes Meb, just whizzing by us on a hill. My husband said, “Hey, Meb!” and he turned around, stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes. Very cool. Enjoy!

[carli]

This is my (and my husband’s) favorite place to run. It’s also great for hikers and mountain bikers. There is such variety and so many trails, we’re constantly discovering new places and never get bored. Our favorite is the out and back trail (starting from the western parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd) over gently rolling hills to the eastern side of the preserve, where there’s a parking lot and a camping area. It’s almost 12 miles, but it’s a beautiful trail and you can just go any distance and turn around. It gets shadier the farther in you go, crossing a couple brooks.

We’ve seen amazing wildlife there, and to think that it’s hidden in the middle of so much residential and commercial development is hard to believe. We live in Del Mar so the closest parking lot for us is the lot on the south side of Sorrento Valley Blvd, about a mile east of Vista Sorrento Pkwy.

Here’s a link to the park info: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/penasq.shtml

Funny story – a couple years ago, someone in our running group told us that Los Penasquitos is one of Meb Keflezighi’s favorite runs (he’s the US silver medalist in the marathon ’04 Athens Olympics as well as NYC Marathon winner, etc). Sure enough, one day, we were loping along at our 10-min mile pace and there goes Meb, just whizzing by us on a hill. My husband said, “Hey, Meb!” and he turned around, stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes. Very cool. Enjoy!

[carli]

This is my (and my husband’s) favorite place to run. It’s also great for hikers and mountain bikers. There is such variety and so many trails, we’re constantly discovering new places and never get bored. Our favorite is the out and back trail (starting from the western parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd) over gently rolling hills to the eastern side of the preserve, where there’s a parking lot and a camping area. It’s almost 12 miles, but it’s a beautiful trail and you can just go any distance and turn around. It gets shadier the farther in you go, crossing a couple brooks.

We’ve seen amazing wildlife there, and to think that it’s hidden in the middle of so much residential and commercial development is hard to believe. We live in Del Mar so the closest parking lot for us is the lot on the south side of Sorrento Valley Blvd, about a mile east of Vista Sorrento Pkwy.

Here’s a link to the park info: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/penasq.shtml

Funny story – a couple years ago, someone in our running group told us that Los Penasquitos is one of Meb Keflezighi’s favorite runs (he’s the US silver medalist in the marathon ’04 Athens Olympics as well as NYC Marathon winner, etc). Sure enough, one day, we were loping along at our 10-min mile pace and there goes Meb, just whizzing by us on a hill. My husband said, “Hey, Meb!” and he turned around, stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes. Very cool. Enjoy!

[noone]

Between the parking lot at Sorrento Valley Blvd. to the parking lot at Black Mountain Rd. There are two main trails that follow the creek. One on the North side, and one on the South. Each trail is a little over 6 miles, so it would be a long day of hiking if you were to do a complete round trip. In addition to the main trails, there are lots of smaller single track trails. There are 5 places where you can usually cross the creek. 6 if you try crossing at the waterfall. Some of the bridges get washed out after heavy rains, so you can’t always count on them.

I would not recommend a road bike on the trails. None of the trails are paved, and parts are pretty rocky. Also note the “rules of the road” which a lot of people ignore. Bikes are not allowed on single track trails, unless marked otherwise (I see riders on them all the time though). Bikes must yield to pedestrians and equestrians (hardly ever see this happen). Pedestrians must yield to equestrians.

Carli mentioned the parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd. The other official access point along Calle Cristobal is a narrow hike/bike trail that you can access at the Camino Ruiz Park entrance. This park is at the East end of Calle Cristobal. There are a couple of steep spots along this trail, so be careful but it is awesome.

I’ve biked, hiked, run and geocached in the canyon for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it every time.

[noone]

Between the parking lot at Sorrento Valley Blvd. to the parking lot at Black Mountain Rd. There are two main trails that follow the creek. One on the North side, and one on the South. Each trail is a little over 6 miles, so it would be a long day of hiking if you were to do a complete round trip. In addition to the main trails, there are lots of smaller single track trails. There are 5 places where you can usually cross the creek. 6 if you try crossing at the waterfall. Some of the bridges get washed out after heavy rains, so you can’t always count on them.

I would not recommend a road bike on the trails. None of the trails are paved, and parts are pretty rocky. Also note the “rules of the road” which a lot of people ignore. Bikes are not allowed on single track trails, unless marked otherwise (I see riders on them all the time though). Bikes must yield to pedestrians and equestrians (hardly ever see this happen). Pedestrians must yield to equestrians.

Carli mentioned the parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd. The other official access point along Calle Cristobal is a narrow hike/bike trail that you can access at the Camino Ruiz Park entrance. This park is at the East end of Calle Cristobal. There are a couple of steep spots along this trail, so be careful but it is awesome.

I’ve biked, hiked, run and geocached in the canyon for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it every time.

[noone]

Between the parking lot at Sorrento Valley Blvd. to the parking lot at Black Mountain Rd. There are two main trails that follow the creek. One on the North side, and one on the South. Each trail is a little over 6 miles, so it would be a long day of hiking if you were to do a complete round trip. In addition to the main trails, there are lots of smaller single track trails. There are 5 places where you can usually cross the creek. 6 if you try crossing at the waterfall. Some of the bridges get washed out after heavy rains, so you can’t always count on them.

I would not recommend a road bike on the trails. None of the trails are paved, and parts are pretty rocky. Also note the “rules of the road” which a lot of people ignore. Bikes are not allowed on single track trails, unless marked otherwise (I see riders on them all the time though). Bikes must yield to pedestrians and equestrians (hardly ever see this happen). Pedestrians must yield to equestrians.

Carli mentioned the parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd. The other official access point along Calle Cristobal is a narrow hike/bike trail that you can access at the Camino Ruiz Park entrance. This park is at the East end of Calle Cristobal. There are a couple of steep spots along this trail, so be careful but it is awesome.

I’ve biked, hiked, run and geocached in the canyon for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it every time.

[noone]

Between the parking lot at Sorrento Valley Blvd. to the parking lot at Black Mountain Rd. There are two main trails that follow the creek. One on the North side, and one on the South. Each trail is a little over 6 miles, so it would be a long day of hiking if you were to do a complete round trip. In addition to the main trails, there are lots of smaller single track trails. There are 5 places where you can usually cross the creek. 6 if you try crossing at the waterfall. Some of the bridges get washed out after heavy rains, so you can’t always count on them.

I would not recommend a road bike on the trails. None of the trails are paved, and parts are pretty rocky. Also note the “rules of the road” which a lot of people ignore. Bikes are not allowed on single track trails, unless marked otherwise (I see riders on them all the time though). Bikes must yield to pedestrians and equestrians (hardly ever see this happen). Pedestrians must yield to equestrians.

Carli mentioned the parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd. The other official access point along Calle Cristobal is a narrow hike/bike trail that you can access at the Camino Ruiz Park entrance. This park is at the East end of Calle Cristobal. There are a couple of steep spots along this trail, so be careful but it is awesome.

I’ve biked, hiked, run and geocached in the canyon for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it every time.

[noone]

Between the parking lot at Sorrento Valley Blvd. to the parking lot at Black Mountain Rd. There are two main trails that follow the creek. One on the North side, and one on the South. Each trail is a little over 6 miles, so it would be a long day of hiking if you were to do a complete round trip. In addition to the main trails, there are lots of smaller single track trails. There are 5 places where you can usually cross the creek. 6 if you try crossing at the waterfall. Some of the bridges get washed out after heavy rains, so you can’t always count on them.

I would not recommend a road bike on the trails. None of the trails are paved, and parts are pretty rocky. Also note the “rules of the road” which a lot of people ignore. Bikes are not allowed on single track trails, unless marked otherwise (I see riders on them all the time though). Bikes must yield to pedestrians and equestrians (hardly ever see this happen). Pedestrians must yield to equestrians.

Carli mentioned the parking lot on Sorrento Valley Blvd. The other official access point along Calle Cristobal is a narrow hike/bike trail that you can access at the Camino Ruiz Park entrance. This park is at the East end of Calle Cristobal. There are a couple of steep spots along this trail, so be careful but it is awesome.

I’ve biked, hiked, run and geocached in the canyon for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it every time.

[ucodegen]

@jimmyle
1. How long does it take to hike the trail for an average person?
Depends upon from where to where. Are you going one way? Where are you starting? Going from the parking lot off of Sorrento Valley Blvd up to the Black Mountain Road and back, you are probably looking at 6 hours unless you really like to hoof-it.

2. If I decide to bike, can I ride in my Road Bike or do I need a Mountain Bike?
Has to be a Mountain Bike. You are on dirt, some of it soft, some rocky. You’ll destroy the tires and rims on a road bike.

3. Where are the access points along Sorrento Valley Blvd and Calle Cristobal?
There are ‘informal’ drop down points, but there are also formal.

[ucodegen]

@jimmyle
1. How long does it take to hike the trail for an average person?
Depends upon from where to where. Are you going one way? Where are you starting? Going from the parking lot off of Sorrento Valley Blvd up to the Black Mountain Road and back, you are probably looking at 6 hours unless you really like to hoof-it.

2. If I decide to bike, can I ride in my Road Bike or do I need a Mountain Bike?
Has to be a Mountain Bike. You are on dirt, some of it soft, some rocky. You’ll destroy the tires and rims on a road bike.

3. Where are the access points along Sorrento Valley Blvd and Calle Cristobal?
There are ‘informal’ drop down points, but there are also formal.

Left side(west side) off of Camino Ruiz Park, just after the entrance. As noted earlier, there are some very steep part of the trail, I would not recommend trying to ride up it, riding down is a little tricky. You have to carefully camp out on the brakes and there are many low branches etc. I wonder who the heck laid out this part of the trail. It really needs to be redone. At the bottom you can head down towards the Sorrento Valley Blvd entrance or up to the Black Mountain.

Sorrento Valley Road. There is a steep up then steep down after going under Sorrento Valley-Calle Cristobal. Then there is a short segment of trail heading down and the longer part of it heading up towards Black Mountain.

From the Black Mountain Road parking lot, you can head down towards Sorrento Valley or up under the 15 towards Penasquitos/Poway. If you park at Canyonside Community Park, it is harder to go up the canyon, but you can travel down the north side of the canyon. From the Black Mountain Road Parking lot, you can easily go both ways.

From Cara Way, off of 15, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up North.

From Creekside Elementary, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up. I have not yet traveled further up the trail from this point. From what I see of the satellite, it may be hard to navigate due to fading trails and branching in the trail.

4. If you have biked or hiked this canyon, did you enjoy it?
Did both, I now prefer biking it. Walking it seems sooo sloooww. I wish I could go in there when there is more water, the falls would be nice to look at with more water. The problem is that the part of the canyon below the falls is nearly at the level of the stream.. so it gets flooded after a rain

[ucodegen]

@jimmyle
1. How long does it take to hike the trail for an average person?
Depends upon from where to where. Are you going one way? Where are you starting? Going from the parking lot off of Sorrento Valley Blvd up to the Black Mountain Road and back, you are probably looking at 6 hours unless you really like to hoof-it.

2. If I decide to bike, can I ride in my Road Bike or do I need a Mountain Bike?
Has to be a Mountain Bike. You are on dirt, some of it soft, some rocky. You’ll destroy the tires and rims on a road bike.

3. Where are the access points along Sorrento Valley Blvd and Calle Cristobal?
There are ‘informal’ drop down points, but there are also formal.

Left side(west side) off of Camino Ruiz Park, just after the entrance. As noted earlier, there are some very steep part of the trail, I would not recommend trying to ride up it, riding down is a little tricky. You have to carefully camp out on the brakes and there are many low branches etc. I wonder who the heck laid out this part of the trail. It really needs to be redone. At the bottom you can head down towards the Sorrento Valley Blvd entrance or up to the Black Mountain.

Sorrento Valley Road. There is a steep up then steep down after going under Sorrento Valley-Calle Cristobal. Then there is a short segment of trail heading down and the longer part of it heading up towards Black Mountain.

From the Black Mountain Road parking lot, you can head down towards Sorrento Valley or up under the 15 towards Penasquitos/Poway. If you park at Canyonside Community Park, it is harder to go up the canyon, but you can travel down the north side of the canyon. From the Black Mountain Road Parking lot, you can easily go both ways.

From Cara Way, off of 15, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up North.

From Creekside Elementary, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up. I have not yet traveled further up the trail from this point. From what I see of the satellite, it may be hard to navigate due to fading trails and branching in the trail.

4. If you have biked or hiked this canyon, did you enjoy it?
Did both, I now prefer biking it. Walking it seems sooo sloooww. I wish I could go in there when there is more water, the falls would be nice to look at with more water. The problem is that the part of the canyon below the falls is nearly at the level of the stream.. so it gets flooded after a rain

[ucodegen]

@jimmyle
1. How long does it take to hike the trail for an average person?
Depends upon from where to where. Are you going one way? Where are you starting? Going from the parking lot off of Sorrento Valley Blvd up to the Black Mountain Road and back, you are probably looking at 6 hours unless you really like to hoof-it.

2. If I decide to bike, can I ride in my Road Bike or do I need a Mountain Bike?
Has to be a Mountain Bike. You are on dirt, some of it soft, some rocky. You’ll destroy the tires and rims on a road bike.

3. Where are the access points along Sorrento Valley Blvd and Calle Cristobal?
There are ‘informal’ drop down points, but there are also formal.

Left side(west side) off of Camino Ruiz Park, just after the entrance. As noted earlier, there are some very steep part of the trail, I would not recommend trying to ride up it, riding down is a little tricky. You have to carefully camp out on the brakes and there are many low branches etc. I wonder who the heck laid out this part of the trail. It really needs to be redone. At the bottom you can head down towards the Sorrento Valley Blvd entrance or up to the Black Mountain.

Sorrento Valley Road. There is a steep up then steep down after going under Sorrento Valley-Calle Cristobal. Then there is a short segment of trail heading down and the longer part of it heading up towards Black Mountain.

From the Black Mountain Road parking lot, you can head down towards Sorrento Valley or up under the 15 towards Penasquitos/Poway. If you park at Canyonside Community Park, it is harder to go up the canyon, but you can travel down the north side of the canyon. From the Black Mountain Road Parking lot, you can easily go both ways.

From Cara Way, off of 15, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up North.

From Creekside Elementary, you can head down towards Black Mountain or further up. I have not yet traveled further up the trail from this point. From what I see of the satellite, it may be hard to navigate due to fading trails and branching in the trail.

4. If you have biked or hiked this canyon, did you enjoy it?
Did both, I now prefer biking it. Walking it seems sooo sloooww. I wish I could go in there when there is more water, the falls would be nice to look at with more water. The problem is that the part of the canyon below the falls is nearly at the level of the stream.. so it gets flooded after a rain

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