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Apr 15, 2023 — Mission Trails Regional Park has a nice trail system heavily used by San Diego locals. While Cowles Mountain on the south side of the park is more popular, Kwaay Pay Peak and Fortuna Mountain are close seconds. It's unlikely you'll get parking within the small Old Mission Dam Trailhead lot, but Father Junipero Serra Road to the east is open for roadside parking. Note that just west of the trailhead the road is a one-way road and does not have legal roadside parking.
I started first up Kwaay Paay Peak, an out-and-back that's steeper than you'd expect for a city park. The peak has two trails you could use to reach its northern slope before merging and continuing to the summit. I took the western one since that was closer to the Old Mission Dam Trailhead. The wildflowers were lovely on my visit and the ascent tame until the last half mile, where it increased significantly. Stairs have been constructed to help prevent erosion. From Kwaay Paay Peak's summit I could see Mission Gorge, Fortuna Mountain, as well as South Fortuna Peak's cliffy face.
Back at the trailhead, I set out along the Oak Canyon Trail, which passes a historic dam and crosses over a bridge suspended above the San Diego River. The Oak Canyon Trail continues north along a flowing waterbed, some cute bridges and lush foliage making the trail a lovely walk. Following Oak Creek, the trail bends west and passes by a couple of small waterfalls and swimming holes. I took the Fortuna Saddle Trail when I reached a junction, which is just a dirt service road leading steeply to the saddle separating Fortuna Mountain from South Fortuna Mountain. I didn't have much interest in the unranked South Fortuna Mountain since it was just a road walk and the peak had negligible prominence. Instead, I just headed north along the Fortuna Mountain Trail, a wide trail leading somewhat steeply up to the ridgeline and to the summit. Some maps mark the first peak as the high point, but the ridgeline was pretty enough to justify hiking farther to the (what I think was taller) farther summit to the north. There were nice views, but the highway sounds were hard to ignore.
I decided to return the way I came rather than form a loop that would take me basically next to the highway. It seems that's the way many hikers choose to go, but being just a dirt road walk I didn't feel I was missing out. Plus, this allowed me to enjoy the sounds of Oak Creek instead of traffic. Overall a lovely city park outing, but I'd recommend going on a weekday.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
