OT: on-foot outdoor activities/destinations near san diego

[wallymann]

are there interesting trails or sights at these locations?


palomar mountain
hellhole canyon
san bernadino natl forest
joshua tree natl park
cleveland natl forest


other suggestions for on-foot outdoor sights and activities?

[Gsinill]

You don't have it on your list, but I really liked the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park which is about 1h 45m NE of San Diego.
When I lived in SD, I took a lot of visiting friends out there and everybody really enjoyed it.

[ptourkin]

There's a nice observation deck up on Palomar and some historical stuff regarding Nate Harrison, a freedmen who lived up there and gave his name to best way to climb the mountain on a bike, the 11 mile, 4,600 ft in elevation road-bikable dirt road (we descend South Grade after.)

The Laguna Meadows Recreation area in the Cleveland NF has some nice trails and views, also on top of one of our funnest climbs, Mt. Laguna.

[texbike]

Fantastic timing! We're doing our Summer family vacation in San Diego this year and I'm excited to see the suggestions for the area. We're staying in PB and outside of a day trip to Disney and Legoland, we'll be spending the rest of the time soaking up the outdoor activities in the area.

Texbike

[Ken Robb]

Torrey Pines State Park just north of the golf course has spectacular hikes. I can't recommend desert hikes during the Summer. Palomar Mtn. State park is nice and you can see the observatory while you are up there. The 5,000 ft. altitude offsets the heat (95F +/- ) at the bottom.

Big Laguna Park has some nice alpine meadows to hike or mtn. bike.

[shovelhd]

The Zoo
Gaslight District
LaJolla