Hike Bernardo Mountain San Dieguito River Park, CA

Apr 19, 2024 — Bernardo Mountain, located near Escondido in northern San Diego County, is part of the San Dieguito River Park and includes a well-maintained trail to its summit via the Bernardo Mountain Summit Trail, a spur from the Coast to Crest Trail. Local preservation efforts have been important for protecting the mountain from development to ensure the mountain remains accessible to the public, while also maintaining the health of the San Dieguito River watershed.

For some reason I decided to just spend the day hiking little lumps around the San Diego County suburbs. Bernardo Mountain was the best of them, and I'm writing up a trip report for it mostly as a reminder to my future self to not spend my hiking days booping around city bumps. The summit normally seems to be reached as part of a longer hike using the Coast to Crest Trail farther below, but starting there required following a highway for a bit from the trailhead. Deterred since I just wanted to be a bit disconnected from the city, I decided to start a bit higher up from a residential access point off La Calma Road. In hindsight I think I should have just done the full hike so I could hike along the San Dieguito River a bit, as well as extend the hike a bit, and I would recommend checking out the various trails in the area if you're a local.

I hiked past a locked gate and followed the many signs warning not to leave the public easement, until a singletrack trail led down into a forested creek drainage and then up to the San Bernardo Summit Trail. I shared the trail with a bunch of other hikers/bikers along the way as it ascended the north side of San Bernardo Mountain. I passed a fenced-in cylindrical storage tank shortly before the summit switchbacks. Generally the views were just of suburbia, but the summit had a nice overlook toward Lake Hodges below.