Day Hike : Autumn Splendor Seen in Cuyamaca Rancho Park

More than 100 miles of hiking trails cross Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in eastern San Diego County. The park protects most of the Cuyamaca mountain range and offers fine fall hiking. “Leaf peekers,” as autumn tourists are called in New England, will enjoy viewing the brown, yellow and crimson leaves of the Cuyamaca high country.

Assuming average fitness, plan on about 2 1/2 hours on the trail for this hike. Afterward, you can drive 10 miles north of the state park to Julian, a town created when miners rushed to the Cuyamacas during an 1870 gold strike. Treat yourself to a big wedge of apple pie at the town’s annual apple harvest festival this weekend.

Unique Ecosystem

Plentiful rain and their location between coast and desert make the Cuyamacas a unique ecosystem. The 4,000- to 6,500-foot peaks host rich forests of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, fir and incense cedar as well as some wonderful specimens of live and black oak. In lower elevations, broad grasslands stretch toward the horizon. The Cuyamacas are a delight for bird watchers because desert, coastal, and mountain species are all found in the range.

At 6,512 feet, rounded Mt. Cuyamaca is the highest peak in the range, but Stonewall Peak is more prominent. “Old Stony” is about 1,000 feet lower, but its huge walls of granite and crown of stone make it stand out among neighboring peaks. The popular Stonewall Peak Trail will take you to the top of the 5,730-foot peak and give you grand views of the old Stonewall Mine site (a gold mine named after Gen. Stonewall Jackson of the Confederacy), Cuyamaca Valley and desert slopes to the east. An optional route lets you descend to Paso Picacho Campground via the California Riding and Hiking Trail and the Cold Stream Trail.

Getting to the Trail

Directions to trail head: From San Diego, drive east on Interstate 8. Exit on California 79 north. The state highway enters Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and climbs to a saddle between Cuyamaca and Stonewall peaks. Park near the entrance of Paso Picacho Campground. There’s a $2 state park day-use fee. The trail to Stonewall Peak begins just across the highway from the campground.

The Hike: From Paso Picacho Campground, the trail ascends moderately, then steeply through oak and boulder country. Thanks to a recent cold snap, the black oaks are wearing their fall colors.

The trail switchbacks up the west side of the mountain. You hike through a thick cluster of incense cedar and when you emerge from the spicy-smelling trees, views from the north unfold. Cuyamaca Reservoir is the most obvious geographical feature. Before a dam was built to create the reservoir, Cuyamaca Lake, as it was called, was a sometime affair. The Indians never trusted it as a dependable water source and the Spanish referred to it as la laguna que de seco , or “the lake that dries up.” During dry years, like this one, the cows enjoy more meadow than reservoir, and during wet years they have more reservoir than meadow.

Vegetation grows more sparse and granite outcroppings dominate the high slopes as the trail nears the top of Old Stony. One hundred feet from the summit, a guardrail and steps hacked into the granite help you reach the top. Far-reaching views to the east and west are not possible because a number of close-in mountains block your view. You can, however, orient yourself to Cuyamaca geography from atop Stonewall Peak. Major peaks, from north to south, are North, Middle and Cuyamaca peaks.

Stormy Weather

It’s exciting to be atop Stonewall Peak when a storm is brewing over the Cuyamacas, but wear your lightning rod. The peak has been known to catch a strike or two. Black clouds hurtle at high speeds toward the peak. Just as they are about to collide with the summit, an updraft catches them and they zoom over your head.

You may return the same way or try this option: Backtrack 100 yards on the Stonewall Peak Trail to an unsigned junction. From here, bear right, or north. The trail descends steeply at first, then levels off near 5,250-foot Little Stonewall Peak. It then descends moderately to the California Riding and Hiking Trail, a long trail that runs through San Diego and Riverside counties. This trail traverses the west side of the park. You travel for one mile on the California Riding and Hiking Trail, which is actually part of the Stonewall Peak Trail. It forks to the right and crosses California 79. Don’t take the fork, but continue half a mile down the Cold Stream Trail, paralleling the highway, back to Paso Picacho Campground.

Stonewall Peak Trail

Paso Picacho Campground to summit: four miles round-trip, 900 feet gain in elevation. Optional return via California Riding and Hiking Trail, Cold Stream Trail, 5.5 miles round trip.