Cuyamaca Pines and Plants
Details
Join us in the “mountains” next Sunday as we beat the heat at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. I want to go check out Wooded Hill Nature Trail. Off of Sunrise Highway, near Mt. Laguna. This hike will be about 3-4 miles total. The pace will be a stroll, nothing too fast, as it will likely be warm. Enjoy the sound of the breeze blowing through the tops of the grey and coulter pines as we walk past the group campground, moving generally Northwest, and towards Big Laguna Lake.
Being up at 5,000 – 6,000 feet helps to keep these trails a little cooler than those lower down the mountains. We might see Dark-eyed juncos, Red-shouldered/tailed? hawks, grey squirrel, California ground squirrel, chipmunks, Western fence lizards, horned lizards, rattlesnakes, maybe a Mariposa lily or two, Indian paintbrush, cobweb thistle, California Black Oak, etc.
We’ll meet at the trailhead at 10 am and start from there as a group. There is plenty of parking there on the dirt road, but you may need an Adventure Pass because it is National Forest land. Day passes to park around Cleveland National Forest are cheap, only $5, and can be purchased here:
https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/74407
The hike should take around 3 hours. If it's really hot we might just do 2. Bring some food to eat as we will stop for a little snack break. And definitely bring water because there likely isn’t any at this trail.
Looking forward to meeting up with some like-minded folks and/or those looking to try something new. Message me below if you have any questions.
Kevin
*location of trailhead/parking:
Cuyamaca Pines and Plants