Crown-Jewel Canyon of Riverside County

Two-hundred-year-old oaks, tangles of ferns, nettles and wild grape, and quiet San Mateo Creek make the bottom of San Mateo Canyon in Riverside County a wild and delightful place. This section of the Santa Ana Mountains is steep canyon country, sculpted by seasonal streams.

San Mateo Canyon Wilderness, set aside by Congress in 1984, protects 40,000 acres of the Cleveland National Forest, including the headwaters and watershed of San Mateo Creek.

The canyon is the crown jewel of the Santa Ana Mountains, a relatively untouched wilderness of oaks, potreros, and cattail-lined ponds. It’s a haven for turtles and rabbits. The canyon drops from 3,500 feet to the coastal plain at Camp Pendleton.

This day hike plunges through the southern part of San Mateo Canyon, easily the wildest place in the Santa Ana Mountains. San Mateo Canyon Trail and other riding and hiking trails in the wilderness have been in use since the turn of the century.

You can journey almost as far down the canyon as you like in one day. It’s nine miles from Fisherman’s Camp to the Marine base, with a hundred ideal picnic spots along the way.

San Mateo Creek is low this spring, but the bottom of the canyon is still a pleasant place to visit. Bring along plenty of water; no drinking water is available along the trail.

Directions to trailhead: Take California 74 or Interstate 15 to Lake Elsinore. If you use California 74, you may stop at the Cleveland National Forest’s El Cariso Station, on California 74 about 20 miles east of Interstate 5. At the station you can purchase a Cleveland National Forest map and get the latest road and trail information. The dirt roads that lead to the San Mateo Canyon trailhead are suitable for most passenger cars with decent ground clearance. Some other dirt roads are axle busters; check with the Forest Service before you go out for a spin in the Santa Ana Mountains. El Cariso Station Visitor Center information: (714) 678-3700.

A free brochure describing mountain trails and recreation opportunities in the Santa Ana Mountains is available from the Trabuco Ranger District, 1147 6th St., Corona 91720; (714) 726-1811.

From Lake Elsinore, drive southeast on I-15 to Wildomar and exit on Clinton Keith Road. Proceed seven miles southwest to the Tenaja turnoff, forking right on Tenaja Road (7S01). You’ll pass Tenaja Fire Station and adjoining Tenaja Campground. Drive another three miles Tenja Road until it intersects Fire Road 7S02. Park here.

The hike: Walk down Fire Road 7S02 for 1 1/2 miles to Fisherman’s Camp, now abandoned. Cross the creek to the oak-shaded former campsite and begin hiking on a trail through ceanothus to a ridge offering a commanding view down San Mateo Canyon. The trail soon switchbacks down to the creek.

Along the creek, the trail is sometimes indistinct; if you lose the trail, simply continue down creek and you’re sure to find the path again in a short while. Because of the low water level, creek crossings are easily accomplished. About a mile after reaching the creek, you’ll come to a small potrero dotted with oaks and sycamore. Here Bluewater Creek flows into San Mateo Creek and the Bluewater Trail leads off three miles to the Clark Trail and Oak Flat. You can picnic under the oaks near the trail junction and return, or continue down the canyon.

Option: San Mateo Canyon to Lunch Rock. Continue down the creek on the San Mateo Canyon Trail, which follows the right side of the canyon, now and then dropping to wide sandy areas along bends in the creek. The boulders get bigger, the sunning spots nicer. One flat rock, popular with Orange County Sierra Clubbers, has been nicknamed “lunch rock.” A cluster of massive giant boulders forms pools and cascades in the creek. Even now, with very little water in the creek, it’s a nice place to linger.

Most hikers will want to call it a day here and return to the trailhead. If the weather isn’t too hot, well-conditioned walkers may continue along San Mateo Canyon Trail, which winds beneath ancient oaks and sycamores and along the cattail-lined creek. As you near the Clark Trail, San Mateo Canyon Trail uses part of an old mining road. Beyond the Clark Trail junction, San Mateo Canyon Trail soon peters out and the route down-canyon is trailless to Camp Pendleton, nine miles from Fisherman’s Camp.

Return the same way.

San Mateo Canyon Trail

Forest Road 7S01 to Fisherman’s Camp: three miles round trip; 300-foot drop in elevation.

Forest Road 7S01 to Lunch Rock: eight miles round trip; 400-foot drop in elevation.