HIKE🥾👣🎒- RUFFIN Canyons -Exploratory Hike - Difficult - 8 miles Steep Hills

Ruffin Canyons Exploratory Hike - 1/21/26 - 9:00AM - 1:30PM

•Distance: 8 miles
•Elevation Gain: 1500 ft +
•Time: 4hrs+
•Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult at times
•Permit Required: No
•Parking: Parking on Street - Shawn Avenue
•Season: Year Round
•Trail Condition: River bed mostly with steep hills in places
•Cell Phone Reception: Very good

What to bring: Sturdy Shoes to walk on uneven River Bed, WATER, Hat Sunscreen, Snacks, cell phone and a change of shoes (most likely will get wet).

Ruffin Canyon is Serra Mesa’s natural open space. With more than 84 acres, it extends from the south end of Ruffin Road to Mission Valley. Its native plants provide an example of the Coastal Sage Scrub plant community.

The Shawn Avenue trailhead starts to the north side of the canyon and follows a wide section past a group of cattails before merging to the main section of Ruffin Canyon. Evergreen plants include lemonade berry, laurel sumac, toyon, and palms. Seasonal blooms include purple nightshade, wild cucumber, fuchsia-flowering gooseberry, agave, virgin’s bower, and black sage.

Please note the following:
Our organizers are not tour guides, we're not rangers. Going out with us is the same as going out with a few friends. Expect the same risks, take the same precautions.
As organizers, we will do our best to give accurate descriptions of the hikes we post.
If you're a beginning hiker, a hike's elevation and distance may not mean much to you. Likewise, difficulty ratings are subjective, and a hike that is "easy" to one person may be "moderate" to another.
"Err" on the side of Caution
You're much better off going on a hike that's too easy for you than a hike that's too hard or too dangerous for you. As you go on more hikes with us, you'll become more familiar with our ratings and our descriptions, and you'll learn more about your own limits.
Ultimately, it's up to you to keep yourself safe out there.
You're an adult. Hike within your abilities.