"Hilly" Hiking Near San Diego???
 

We have friends who come to San Diego several times a year. They are looking for what they call "mountain" hiking trails (they're from the midwest, so I translate "mountain" as "rather hilly") close to the city. Do you have any suggestions? Does Mission Trails have much change in elevation?

My initial reaction was to suggest the Cleveland National Forest, which has many hikes that would be classified as mountain hikes. Then I took a look at Mission Trails Park, which has a few hikes that they call "challenging". The Cowles Mountain Trail has an elevation gain of 933 ft. in 1.5 miles, which is substantial, and steeper than many "real" mountain trails. There is apparently a good panoramic view from the peak. Here's the link for the map. It's sort of cool. You can put your cursor on any trail and click to get detailed info about the trail.

http://www.mtrp.org/trail_map/trail_map.asp

If they want longer and higher trails, then the Cleveland National Forest is the place to go.

Cowles mountain, Torrey Pines State Park, Mission Trails Park, Cuyamaca Mountain or Borrego State Park..good time of year since its cool.

Cowles Mountain would be a fairly quick 1 to 1.5 hour hike up and down. I've been told by house guests that it's definitely a fun hike -- however, it's a very busy trail.

If you're looking for something a bit more rigorous (3-4 hours round trip), I suggest hiking Mount Woodson or Iron Mountain -- both are in Poway, CA - http://www.ci.poway.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=596

Have fun!!

I vote for Torre Pines.

I was thinking Mt. Woodson and Iron Mountain too. Definitely more than "rather hilly" though! :)

Thanks to you all for the suggestions. I have passed them along to my friends and will do the same with any others that get posted here.

They probably have a lot of trees where they are from, so Mount Laguna is also a great area for hiking, with trees and grassy meadows. Another forested area is Palomar Mountain.

I agree with others that Woodson and Iron Mountains are great for suburban day hikes. They are busy, though.

Thanks,

Derek
100peaks.com
(Climbing 100 peaks in San Diego and writing a book about it)