Along highway 79 you're driving through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. There are a lot of hiking trails. Here's a link to the Park website.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=667

Walkng around Cuyamaca Lake is beautiful. You might see Wild Turkeys, hawks, etc. You could even rent a boat for half a day and take the boys out fishing, making sure of course, you all had your lifejackets on.

http://tinyurl.com/7ynf5tm

Just a cautionary note.

The rattlesnake season seems to have started early and they are out. 2 weeks ago a young child was bite by a rattlesnake and is still in our San Diego childrens hospital.

There have been several other children bit../so without boots, just be extra carelful with the little ones. Be sure to always look under car too..they like it there.

um, yah...not into rattlesnakes. and if any kids are going to find one, it's mine. i'm not kidding when i say i have the most active and adventurous kids i've ever met. unless they are asleep, it's go go go.

maybe we'll just hit up poway in the morning on saturday for the market and then the steam train. then we can drive to julian for smith ranch. and then head back. without boots and proper hydration equipment, hiking may not be the best idea.

"Proper hydration equipment"? Bottled water won't do?

The child who was bitten was, like most kids who are bitten, in his own backyard. If his parents had an ounce of sense, he'd have had medical help considerably sooner than he did.

Don't you guys hike with camelbak packs or the like? Especially in your more desert like environs? Hiking with just a bottle of water can be a big mistake.

If you are walking along trails - and making noise - most snakes will just slither away. Just look ahead and make sure some big snake isn't sunning itself on the trail - and you step on it.

I have killed a rattler here in the hood (Mission Valley) - no big deal - just get the hoe. Normally the rattlers won't strike unless they are cornered or you distrub them - such as by stepping on them.

Uno Mas - Lake Cuyamaca is a big favorite of mine. Nothing like camping nearby and catching some fresh rainbow trout and having that pan fried for breakfast with some pancakes and eggs.

As for a backpack of water, mate - it's not as big of an area around here as you might find down under, nor as rugged. Most hikes are fairly well laid out and a bottle of water usually suffices, of course, until some dummy gets lost. Cuyamaca is very tame/easy to find your way around. It's not a big lake.

Come to think of it - while I like Julian and the beauty of getting up to say 4,500 feet - Lake Poway (10? minutes from the Choo Choo train) - has some fishing (no trout in the summer - too warm) - but it would be fun to walk around - or also rent a boat for half a day.

It's also not that big. I hiked halfway around it in under 30 minutes, to Hidden Cove - were the dang fish had stopped biting when I arrived. Did catch some nice "bows" another time though. Nothing like freshwater fish - that just came out of the water that day. Some of the saltwater/Tunas you have to let chill for a day or so - but not Rainbow Trout, etc. http://www.poway.org/index.aspx?page=624

Here is some more info on walking (easy hiking if you want to call it that around Julian.

Unless you make an effort to get away from the well marked trails - it's hard to really get in any trouble.

http://www.julianca.com/hiking_nature/index.htm

By the way - they have a cute restaurant at the main Lake Cuyamaca stop (right on the road heading down to Descanso - about 9? miles outside of the town of Julian) - reasonably priced with good food (the owners are/were from Austria) - and a nice view of the Lake.

http://www.lakecuyamaca.org/

Fooey - that doesn't take you right to the restaurant. Click on day use and it's at the bottom. Very cute - wood paneled place and very friendly - frequented by locals too. By the way - they have a cute restaurant at the main Cuyanmaca stop - reasonably priced with good food (the owners were from Austria?) - and a nice view of the Lake.

http://www.lakecuyamaca.org/

thanks for all the info tom!

Just saw the lake has a geocaching trail too. It's just under 2 miles and set up by the park itself so should be fairly easy. We love geocaching, but with toddlers they aren't all accessible.

And was part of the reason for going to the Smith Ranch in Julian to ride the old mining train? Haven't done that but bet the kids would love it. http://www.pioneerways.com/

rizzo, Julian and Cuyamaca State Park are not "desert regions". Plus, you have two pre-schoolers/toddlers and not much time, so how far were you thinking of going?

tom - yup...my kids love trains and i thought that place looked fun.

barbara - good to know. i had been looking at hiking the slots at anzo b.... no idea how to spell the 2nd word. that place appeared desert-y and not too far east from cuyamaca so i made an incorrect assumption.

tomsd - i wish we could pm on here....

anyway... we are staying at a residence inn. would you recommend the one on kearny mesa or the one in sorrento mesa? the kearny mesa one has better reviews online, but was wondering about the areas?

I hiked 7 miles on Sunday (temps in the 70s) and didn't finish a 16-oz. bottle of water!

rizzo - go ahead and email me if you need some more info: Tschiffsd@aol.com, and I will try to help. Actually - the drive down the grade from Julian to Anza Borrego Park is fun - rode a bicycle down it once while my wife was nice enough to trail behind in the car.

I don't think it's too much longer than half an hour?

fyi also: http://www.fostertravel.com/californias-anza-borrego-desert-state-park/

I will hsve to look but Kearny Mesa is an ok area - lots of good/inexpensive Asian restaurants around there (on Convoy St) - among others. Sorrento Mesa is further away from the central SD stuff - Zoo, Seaworld, Embacadero, Gaslamdp, etc.

If this is where you are staying - on Clairemont Blve by 163 - a very convenient location and there is even a In and Out Burger not too far south of there, as well as a Starbucks, etc. You might have to go down to Balboa for the In and Out Burger and there are other places heading both East and West on Clairemont Blve, as well as Convoy- a couple long blocks to the West.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/photo-tours.mi?marshaCode=SANKM&pageID=HWHOM&imageID=0

yup, that's the hotel. i did scope out the awesome asian dining options already. i love korean, hubby and son love japanese.

You could stay a week and if you ate every meal along Convoy - still not try them all. Convoy is just a mecca for Asian food. We love them all - including Tahi - and the Dumpling Inn is excellent for Chinese http://www.yelp.com/biz/dumpling-inn-san-diego , and across the little pakring lot - for Dim Sum - Jasmine is good. There also is a Korean Market between them.

So many good choices.