cuyamaca rancho state park

Amazing day hike location with hundreds of miles of hiking - only an hour from San DiegoWe spend a fair bit of time in La Jolla visiting our daughter at UCSD and we just tried hiking at Cuyamaca for the first time in mid-March 2015. There has to be hundreds of miles of hiking. We tried a route up to the top of the Cuyamaca peak and absolutely loved it. The area suffered a major forest fire in 2003 and is still very much recovering but that actually makes for some amazing and completely unobstructed views on the hike up the mountain. You can see them any mountains, lakes, other trails along the hikeThe peak of Cuyamaca has got to provide the best view anywhere near San Diego. You can littererally see everthing on a clear day. Even though you are 40+ miles away you can see downtown San Diego, the hills of La Jolla, the ocean, and all of the mountains surrounding the state park. Absolutely amazing. This is not an easy hike. By the time we were done we had climbed over 1500 feet and hiked 9 miles. There are shorter routes but they are less scenic. There is actually a paved road that goes to the summit. I do not recommend it as there are much more hiker friendly and scenic routes. But if your goal is the summit quickly...We hiked for about 4 1/2 hours (we are relatively fast hikers but we stopped for lunch, views, etc.) and we only ran into 3 sets of hikers and a ranger so if you are looking for a quiet get-away, this might be it. We did run across one group of very giddy bird watchers (self proclaimed birding geeks). We hiked in mid-march and there was still some snow in the shady areas near the top of the mountain. Animals sighted: Deer, gecko (one was close to a foot long), lots of birdsDay parking fee $8. Hiking map (not very helpful) $2

My husband and I visited Cuyamaca Rancho State Park on February 1, 2015. The scenery getting to the park from San Diego was impressive. Once at the park we stopped at the Visitor Center and spoke to two volunteers there (Jo and Barb). They were so friendly and eager to give us information about the area, its history and wildlife. I learned that mountain lions can jump up to 16 feet! We had time to walk along the Nature Trail, and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. Saw some interesting birds. Love the unique vegetation and views! Very peaceful area.

There are no hook up here but they do have a dump station. The camp is clean and we thought the rangers did a great job. Very friendly and professional. This was our second time there in our 28 ft RV and we will be back for sure.

We stayed in Alpine and drove in to Cuyamaco Rancho State Park for a morning hike. We chose Stonewall Peak, which many other reviewers have also enjoyed. The trail is well maintained and has a mixture of sunny and shady spots. The elevation change is 900 feet and the trail is 2 miles each way. My husband and I found the hike very reasonable. It does get a little rocky and steep at the top, but there are railings and steps for the last bit. The views are beautiful and there is some information about what you are looking at. It could get windy, as you're just stading on an open boulder. From this viewpoint we could see trails up basically every peak around us. We would love to come back and explore more of the park. The lake is rather small, though they did appear to have boat rentals. Next time I would consider staying in Julian as it's about the same distance to the trails, and smells like pie.

One word: Beautiful! Unfortunately I didn't get to see a lot of the park, and that's the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five. But what I did get to experience was definitely worth the trip. I hiked the Stonewall Peak Trail and it was a gorgeous view and a moderately difficult hike. I consider myself somewhere between a novice and a moderate-level hiker and I really enjoyed it. Note: The trip to the top is obviously uphill and can be a bit intimidating if you're not mentally prepared to struggle a little. It's probably better to think of it as challenging so that when you walk to the bottom of trail, you won't look up and get psyched out. I wish I could've seen more of the beautiful trees, lake, and vistas, but I ran out of time. Anyway, I definitely recommend this park and I plan on going back.

We live in San Diego and this trip was about an hours drive from home. It is far enough away yet close enough for comfort. Do not forget the key to your cargo box key, but if you do, well we had someone kind enough to drive out and bring them to us. So instead of three kids and two adults we had six kids and four adults hanging out with us. The kids are getting older so we had 2 four Year olds, a six year old, a seven year old and 2 nine year olds. We were in tent only spot # 76. It had awesome shade. All shade, all day, which was a plus for the heat. The days were in the high 70s and the evenings were in the mid 50s. The kids loved all the tree trunks available to climb. I love the ability to hang my hammock. Spot 78 was right next to us and was located at a trail head so a lot of people coming by that site but were just fine at ours. The park has a lot of sloping sections and sites, our site had a spot big enough and leveled enough for our 6 person REI tent. There are several nice and easy hikes for the kids to enjoy. The hikes also helped to explain what happens during a forest fire. Most of the hikes at one point would have been shaded, but since the local fires many are just now starting to grow back. There is water available in the park. There are also pay showers, so bring a roll of quarters. Firewood and ice are available for sale at the rangers station. Half of the group only stayed one day but we stayed Friday trough Monday. Of course the campground was packed on Friday and Saturday nights but Sunday night was really, really quiet, which afforded my kid the ability to wander the park a bit and yell as much as they wanted without disturbing others. As my youngest put it best camping trip ever, and we camp a lot. She will say that about our next trip too. The town of Julian is a short drive away, about 4 miles down the curvy road. A great place to get pie, apples, wine and beer.On our way out we picnicked at Green Valley campground day use area. The water falls were not flowing this time of year, might be because of the drought California is experiencing. We cruised the campground for our next trip, a lot of good sites some with boulder for climbing and climbing trees too. Both parks have the same amenities.Reserve your spot online through Reserve America or be prepared to pay with cash or checks, no credit cards. If your are trying to get away from cell coverage I am sorry to say there is cell coverage, or if you need to stay connected, there is cell coverage.

Laid back and rustic. Water in lake, boats to rent, fishing available. Drought does make a difference. Close to Julian, quaint mining town. Drive thru Laguna Mountain gives more open space and beautiful views. Hiking and camping available.

We have camped here 7 times in three years. Each Spring and Fall. Campground is nice. Bathrooms are good (for a campground). Showers are OK. Rangers do an OK job of monitoring out of control partiers...it is nice to be in the mountains without hearing loud blaring music 24/7. Rangers are responsive once you establish contact. Stonewall Peak is a "must do." 2 miles up. Easy-moderate.

Decided to go camping for first time in 15+ years; being a somewhat last minute decision, our options were very limited, and after searching SoCal campgrounds on ReserveAmerica, we ended up at Cuyamaca/Green Valley Campground by default - a bit of a drive from home, especially in Friday afternoon traffic during the recent wildfires. However, couldn't have been happier with the Park, area and campground in general. Lots of meadows, trees, hiking trails, birds (including wild turkeys), and the stream & "falls" a short hike away; clean flush restrooms and showers. Pleasant weather at 4000 ft. altitude, even during the heat wave.Our particular campsite wasn't the greatest, as it lacked shade and did not have its own water spigot. But most of the sites were very nice, and reasonably separated from one another (as well as a public campgound can be expected). The Rangers were also very friendly and helpful. Wood and ice were sold at the entry station. Definitely plan on going back with a little more advance planning next time.

Been camping at Paso a Picacho for 3 years. What's nice is the campground has great scenery and hiking (the 2003 fire burned surrounding area). Most of the time, it's quiet. Sometimes you do get serious partiers. However, rangers patrol morning, afternoon and early evening. They don't hesitate to talk with unruly/loud/obtrusive campers. They will follow up on any issues you report. Hiking Stonewall Peak is a must. 2 miles up switchbacks, but killer views await you on top. Bring water on warm days. Lower campground has waterfall; great for hot days.

There are some great hikes in Cuyamaca but unfortunately we don't usually get to enjoy them because of California State Parks no-dogs policy. Since we rarely hike without the dogs we always end up driving past Cuyamaca and hiking in Cleveland National Forest. Maybe the state parks wouldn't be under such a budget crunch if they were more inviting. Cuyamaca did open their door to Geocaching lately so we can always dream. The only other down side is that since almost the entire area burned recently most of the beautiful forest and shade has gone from lots of the area. Still some great hikes and great scenery.

We just got back from camping at the Green Valley campsite in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. We didn't realize the campsite was not associated with Lake Cuyamaca (about a 15 minute drive from Green Valley but just a few miles from the other campground Pico Pichaco). It worked out just fine since the drive between the two was beautiful and we got to see lots of wildlife. There are several large meadow areas where you can see LOTS of deer each evening around 7:00 pm. We also got to see a HUGE group of wild turkeys (20 or more. We unfortunately didn't catch anything at the lake but it made for a good day anyway. We originally reserved campsite #38 but ended up moving to #59. #38 was right behind the bathrooms and didn't have much shade at all. It didn't really have a good flat spot for our tent either. Since we got there Sunday afternoon, most of the spots were empty so we asked if we could relocate. #59 is close to the bathroom but not right next to it where you can see it (we like that). It has TWO flat areas where you can put tents. We have an 8-man tent and had no problems finding level ground. Best of all was that this site is SHADED. It can get HOT up there in the summer and you will want a campsite with some cover. There was lots of room around the fire pit and the table was not too far away which made it convenient at dinner time. Some of the sites are more spread out with the fire pit fairly far from the picnic tables. The campground was quite and very peaceful. There were lots of ground squirrels, mountain jays, and crows that would visit our site. We accidentally left some food out the first night and were woken up by an entire family of racoons pilaging through our stuff. We should have know better. Just a reminder that they WILL find anything you leave out so lock any foodstuffs up at night in your car. The campsites were clean. The bathrooms were decent and had showers you could use with quarters. One of the days, we went down to the Falls. Since it was already August, the Falls didn't have much water "falling" over them but our son still had a great time playing on the rocks in in the creek. The rocks are REALLY slippery so be careful and bring water socks if you can for added traction. One of the families we ran into said they saw a mountain lion there earlier in the day so watch your kids carefully and don't let them wander off. Overall this was a nice place to camp. It certainly wasn't Mammoth (we went there earlier in the summer) and I think we even like Palomar better but overall it was a nice camping spot.

We took a trip out to SD recently and spent an afternoon hiking up to Stonewall Peak at Cuyamaca. We parked for the day at Paso Picacho and walked across the road to the mountain...SO BEAUTIFUL! While we were driving in, I saw some smoke behind another mountain and immediately thought it was fire...my husband was skeptical at first but then quickly realized there was a wildfire mountains away. We hiked up to Stonewall Peak and watched the fire spread, fire planes and helicopters circle...first one for both of us. We found out that night they'd deemed it the Chariot Fire. So unfortunate that happened, but even with the smoke, the 360 degree views from the top of the peak were GORGEOUS! We would absolutely spend a few dollars to park in the campground again and hike back up there. On our way back down the mountain, my husband stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a big snake crossing in front of us (and that was before I pointed out the rattle at the end of the tail...) so just watch your step :) It left us completely alone and never even rattled, so it was just a cool experience for us. We'd definitely recommend it :)

What a great place to take our kids camping! We have four kids, from age 13 down to 6. We camp a few times a year and were looking for a new spot. Cuyamaca was a beautiful getaway.A bit of a drive for us, but not far from San Diego, Green Valley Campground at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park feels like you have gone far away. At about 4000 ft there are a lot more trees than closer to the ocean and the climate was much cooler.When we first arrived, the Ranger was super nice and helpful. We bought our firewood right there for $6/bundle. Also, trail maps are available for $2.As we drove around the campground, we noticed MOST of the sites were private with lots of trees and shade. It is a rolling hill type of campground with loop roads all around. We stayed on site 81, which was at the end of the road. It was a pretty good site, but had shade in the morning and sun at noon. It was also hard to find a flat spot for the tent. As we observed other sites, it seems to be the topography of this campground in general. Not very flat sights.We took a hike and found a wonderful river to play around. Large rocks and waterfalls and a place to jump in a pool. Even for Memorial weekend, it didn't feel overcrowded. There were several hikes to choose from and all different distances.The bathrooms were pretty good for a campground. It did run out of TP some of the time, but we always bring some with us. The showers were 2 minutes for a quarter. I showered at peak time and had plenty of hot water. I think it was pretty clean and well maintained for a busy weekend.Overall, this was a really great place to camp and I would highly recommend it.

I recently had my first "legit" camping experience at Cuyamaca State Park, in the Paso Pichacho campground. It's a great site for people who are new to camping that may want to ease into it, as it has running taps, restrooms, and even warm showers (bring quarters). There are also some camp spots within the grounds where the car parking spot is paved, so your car doesn't even have to go "off-road" for a second. Firewood is available for purchase, too.There are many hikes, of which I did two, both of which are very doable (just bring plenty of water, especially for Cuyamaca Peak), with several great views along the way (Stonewall peak had the better view, I thought). Make sure to bring a camera!You'll have to bring your own food, and be aware that you are in nature, even at the campground itself, so don't leave food out unattended, or else you'll get ants and other pests.Also, while in the area, stop by the nearby town of Julian, CA for some amazing pies!