A Walk in the Spring Flowers of Tecolote Canyon

Join a guided walk in Tecolote Open Space Park at the Mount Etna Park trailhead. Spring has brought out the flowers (and their pollinators) on many California native plants, some found only in the San Diego / North Baja region.
You will learn how to identify our most common native plants found in the coastal sage scrub and riparian habitats here as well as learn some of the uses the Kumeyaay native people made of the plants.
This is also the season to listen for and see many additional species of birds as San Diego’s coast is strategically located along the Pacific Flyway, a major migratory route for birds during Spring and Fall.

WALK DETAILS
Date: Sunday May 31, 9:00 AM
Meetup location: Mount Etna Park parking lot at the bathroom hut next to the drinking fountain at the top of the baseball fields. https://maps.app.goo.gl/cvvsAmL1cXPEP1Vr8
Length: 1.4 miles roundtrip
Duration: 1.5 to 2 hours depending on number of participants and Q&A
Terrain: After a short steep descent, a flat trail with sturdy bridge crossings over the stream

What to Bring: Water, sun protection, binoculars if you have them, wear good footwear and optionally long pants and long sleeves if you want to better protect yourself in the unlikely event of accidental poison oak plant encounters.

Disability notes: The top of the trailhead has a steep but short and fairly smooth descent. The rest of the trail to Balboa Ave and back is flat and comfortably wide with recently built high quality flat bridges over all stream crossings.
(Note: The optional hike extension (see below) is not recommended for the disabled as it requires crossing up and down into a dry streambed steep gully with no bridge plus ascending and descending a steep hill and crossing an active streambed by walking on rocks, and hiking up a steep, rutted and rocky final ascent to exit the canyon at Genesee Ave & Mount Chateau.)

Optional hike extension (unguided): At the trail’s intersection with Balboa Dr (at 0.7 miles in), participants can choose to depart from the trail guides and continue on to complete a longer trail loop that ends at the stoplight at Genesee Ave and Mount Chateau Dr trailhead and then walk the 6 street blocks down Mount Herbert back to the Mount Etna parking lot. (1.2 miles additional). Tecolote Canyon Natural Park Trail Map (pdf)

Cautions: Open space areas are home to rattlesnakes, poison oak, bees, rugged terrain and other hazards. Please be aware as you walk and have a safe and enjoyable visit to the park.