5 Summer Hikes in San Diego with Coastal Views

San Diego is one of the most diverse places for spectacular views. We have beaches, coastal bluffs, grasslands, and mountains—all begging locals and visitors to lace up their hiking boots (or just sneakers) and explore its variety of landscapes. The next time you head out for a little exercise, or a break from screens, check out these trails with stunningly scenic views. 

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

0.5 to 1.5 Miles Out & Back

Torrey Pines is truly one of our most scenic places to walk and hike in San Diego. The wind-sculpted coastal bluffs produce dramatic views across its 2,000-acre reserve that protects one of the world’s rarest pine trees. The Beach Trail leads down to the pristine sands below, while the Guy Fleming Trail provides panoramic ocean vistas that stretch from La Jolla to Mexico on clear days. For an added scenic bonus, go at sunset.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Dogs: Not Allowed
• Details: Parking costs $15-$25 depending on the day you visit.

North and South Fortuna

8 Miles Out & Back

These more challenging hikes in Mission Trails Regional Park give you sweeping 360-degree views all the way to the ocean on clear days. And the less-traveled trails will give you a break from the crowds at Cowles Mountain (though you can get the same views from there if you want an easier hike). Try going early in the morning to catch sunrise views and avoid the heat.

• Difficulty: Challenging
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: Park for free at the Mission Trails Dam and follow the trail from the parking lot.

La Jolla Cove to Children’s Pool Walk

3 Miles Out & Back

This easy coastal walk has stunning ocean views and plenty of chances to watch the seals and sea lions down below. Start from La Jolla Cove and follow the path that winds along sandstone bluffs. Down below you can watch the ocean waves, surfers, sea lions, seals, and if you’re lucky, dolphins.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: Go early to find a parking spot in La Jolla Village.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

2 Miles Out & Back

It’s called Sunset Cliffs for a reason. This dramatic coastline features towering sandstone cliffs, hidden coves, and some of the most spectacular sunset views in the county. But even if you don’t go at sunset, the views can’t be beat. There are several winding paths to follow to various viewpoints along the way. Just remember to stay back from the unstable cliff edges.

• Difficulty: Moderate
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: Start at the Inn at Sunset Cliffs and follow the path down along the cliffs winding down through beautiful homes on your left and the ocean on your right.

Iron Mountain

6 Miles Out & Back

For a different type of view, head further to the desert for this challenging climb. Located in Poway, Iron Mountain offers a taste of San Diego’s inland desert landscape without the long drive to the true backcountry. The trail climbs steadily through sage scrub and chaparral, providing increasingly expansive views of the surrounding valleys and peaks. The summit offers incredible views stretching from the coast to the Palomar Mountains. Try going in the spring to see wildflowers, or winter when the weather is cooler. 

• Difficulty: Challenging
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: Free parking at the trailhead or along the street if the lot is full.

Bayside Walk at Embarcadero

5 Miles Out & Back

If you don’t want an official hiking trek, but more of a coastal walk with beautiful views, try the Embarcadero’s bayside walk that stretches from the Convention Center to the Maritime Museum. Along the way you’ll get postcard-perfect views of San Diego Bay, the Coronado Bridge, and the downtown skyline.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: Paid parking at the San Diego County Administration Building.

Annie’s Canyon Trail

3 Miles Out & Back

If you want views that make you feel like you’re on another planet (or maybe just in Utah), head to this spot in the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve. Annie’s Canyon Trail is a narrow slot canyon carved by thousands of years of erosion, giving you the chance to climb up along towering sandstone walls. The short but steep trail requires some climbing up ladders and you may have to wait in line when it’s crowded, but the unique views make it worth the effort.

• Distance: 3 miles out and back
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Dogs: Allowed but not recommended
• Details: Park at 150 Solana Point Cir, Solana Beach and follow the trail east to get to Annie’s Canyon. Don’t use Google Maps, you’ll avoid climbing a very steep hill along the highway.

Cedar Creek Falls

6 Miles Out & Back

Located in the Cleveland National Forest, Cedar Creek Falls requires a longer drive but delivers one of San Diego County’s most spectacular views. The challenging hike takes you through chaparral and oak woodlands before leading you to a stunning 80-foot waterfall that pools in a natural swimming hole. Just wait to go until after the summer since the temps can quickly rise. 

• Difficulty: Challenging
• Dogs: Allowed
• Details: It’s so popular that you need a permit. Reserve one here.

When Ben LeNail’s son Max drowned while crossing the San Diego River in Mission Trails Park, LeNail immediately vowed to build a bridge across the river in honor of his child.

That was in January 2021. Now, after more than four years of tireless effort, LeNail says he’s given up. He has issued a stop-work order on all activities for the Max Lenail Memorial Bridge. “I’m very sad. It’s like Max dying a second time, my tribute to him not coming to fruition,” LeNail reflects. “It’s a huge missed opportunity because it has universal support. Everybody wants it. I’m questioning myself, how I couldn’t get to the final stretch.”

But by all accounts, LeNail did everything right. The issue is that building in Mission Trails over the San Diego River requires a massive number of permits and studies on the impacts of the surrounding environment. LeNail was hoping a federal grant secured by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs would pay for much of that, but when President Trump took office, the funding was cut off.

“I’m, of course, looking back here and wondering if I did something wrong. I don’t think I did,” LeNail says. “I think I was totally taken by surprise. I knew that soft costs were going to increase as we were getting closer to obtaining the permits. But they increased very suddenly and dramatically. The spending went up dramatically in the last three months.”

Those costs covered studies needed for permits, and LeNail explains that he expects he’d need another $500,000 to do everything required.

“On top of that, literally on May 31st, the head of the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, Jennifer [Morrissey]—who’s wonderful—informed me that the state grant of $1.5 million that we have for the bridge is really earmarked for construction and should not be tapped for pre-construction activities,” LeNail adds.

On the same day, LeNail heard from Jacobs that “because of the Trump cuts to California education, healthcare, and public safety, she was not going to be able to make the federal grant happen.”

The news forced LeNail’s efforts to a halt. “Suddenly, we’re out of money. We don’t have any reserves to tap,” he says. “We’ve exhausted all avenues, and I have to idle my team. I have to have a sober assessment of the fact that maybe I took it as far as I could go, and I have to put a hard hold on it and turn it over to the San Diego authorities and say, ‘Now, if you want a bridge, you have to make it happen.’”

This was after LeNail raised $1 million, secured the state grant, spent 3,000 hours, and made 18 trips to San Diego from Palo Alto to work on the project. “A huge amount of intellectual, emotional, and practical investment, and without success,” he says. “That’s very hard.”

And all of that time spent working on the project means LeNail has been continually reliving the tragedy that ended his son’s life.

More than four years ago, LeNail’s son Max was five minutes away from wrapping up his run after climbing South Fortuna in Mission Trails. A massive hail storm began, and Max kept going, following the San Diego River Crossing trail, which he thought would lead him back to his car in the parking lot. But instead, he came to the rushing river and no bridge.

It’s unclear what happened next, but Max’s GPS watch shows that he hesitated at the side of the river, then decided to cross it. Usually, the river’s waterline is fairly low, but with the rains that winter, it was a rushing torrent. The next day, Max was found dead further downstream. He was almost 22 and about to graduate from Brown University, with plans to become a doctor.

Almost immediately, LeNail and Max’s mother Laurie Yoler committed to building the bridge. Despite living nearly 500 miles away, they became fixtures in the San Diego political scene, working to get the job done.

Councilman Raul Campillo, who represents the area that includes Mission Trails, says not all hope is lost.

“I think that, with a concerted effort, there’s really nothing [LeNail] and [Yoler] can’t get done. But right now, it is in a wait-and-see pattern,” he explains. “Whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do my best to get it done. I’m 100 percent behind this project. It’s not just for their family—it’s for the public safety of everyone who crosses the river right there, which is tens of thousands of people a year.”

Indeed, people wade across the river or walk on tip-toes along the rocks to try to cross on a daily basis. Campillo says just as the river increases the danger, it increases the complications of construction.

“As soon as you have two or more levels of government bureaucracy that have to sign off, it almost always compounds the problem,” he adds. “This is not unique to San Diego. We’re seeing this across the entire state. I just don’t understand how policymakers at other levels of government—especially on a public safety project like this—don’t take it more seriously and fast-track the process.”

For now, the path forward, Campillo says, is to convince state and federal agencies “to really get on board” and make the permitting process easier.

“It’s just really disappointing and yet not at all surprising that state and federal agencies are in the way and are just really not in any rush to make sure these approvals can get in place as costs escalate,” says. 

He adds that if involved parties are able to raise more funds, the project can push through. But that money will not likely come from the federal government. “With DOGE basically putting a stop on so much highly impactful scientific research, trying to get money for a bridge over the river—which is a really important public safety project, to be very clear—I think the hope of that is very, very low,” Campillo says.

Jacobs said in a statement that Max Lenail’s accidental drowning was tragic “and entirely preventable if we had the necessary safeguards in place. Mission Trails needs this pedestrian and bicycle bridge to ensure public safety and save lives … I’m disheartened that the Army Corps of Engineers’ stop-work order and their eligibility requirements for federal grants have prevented progress from being made on this project. My office will continue to explore ways to get this bridge built to benefit our entire community.”

LeNail is now making one last push to see if he can use the $1.5 million in state grants to help with the permits, even though he was told it has to be saved for construction.

“I’m making a sort of symbolic case to see if we can tap the state grant to get the permits,” he says. “Once issued, they’re valid for two years. The city told us they could maybe extend that to three years. Then we’d have to raise more money to build, but at least we’d have a two- to three-year window to do that. I would love that, if we could get the permits and show that we succeeded in that.”

In the meantime, LeNail adds, the danger is still there.

“I think a bridge is needed more than ever,” he emphasizes. “It’s a dangerous spot. It’s a popular spot. Any time I’ve been there, I’ve seen dozens of people crossing in a matter of minutes. I think there could very well be another fatality there sometime in the next three or four years.”

I’ll always remember one of my first times trail running in San Diego. I had just moved to the city and headed out to Los Penasquitos Canyon to run on the shady dirt trails there. I had heard warnings about rattlesnakes, so I had my guard up as I ran. Suddenly, a crashing sound came from the surrounding bushes and I jumped nearly three feet in the air—only to see that it wasn’t a rattlesnake. It was a deer. I watched as the deer pranced through the woods before continuing my run.

That was my first encounter with San Diego wildlife, and now I know there are many different types of wild animals to see on local trails. Here are a few of them.

Coyotes

Chances are, if you’re an avid hiker in San Diego, you may have come across a coyote along some of your favorite trails, especially in Mission Trails Regional Park. These canids are part of the dog family and can often be seen trotting solo at dawn or dusk in parks, in canyons, and even on neighborhood streets. While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact number of packs living among us, in urban areas like Vista, Carlsbad, and San Marcos, coyote densities can be higher, sometimes around 12 per square mile versus four in more wild areas. But don’t worry, wherever you spot them, coyotes tend to avoid humans—just don’t try to feed them. They’re curious creatures. 

Mule Deer

Around San Diego, deer can be spotted in places like Mission Trails and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and on canyon hikes in the Navajo neighborhood. If you’re hiking in the early morning or late evening, you’ll likely find them hanging out near water sources and grazing around creek edges. Mule deer are amazing jumpers, some even leaping around two feet high and 15 feet in distance. They also have a sense of smell 1,000 times stronger than people, so they’ll likely know you’re coming even before you spot them.

California Quail

These small birds—measuring 9 to 11 inches and weighing between 5 to 7 ounces—are fast movers and easy to miss. But if you spot one, you’ll know, because they have very distinctive topknots that look like commas hanging over their faces. In fact, these stylish buns are actually made not from a single feather, but six overlapping feathers. Look for them at Cabrillo National Monument, chilling on the ground or dashing across trails on foot, or listen for their “chi-ca-go!” call and watch trail edges or low shrubs for movement while hiking. Stay still to observe families of quails, called coveys, passing by.

Western Rattlesnake

Even though they usually want nothing to do with you, it’s important to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes on the trails and give them space. They may not always rattle, so keep your eyes open. Some researchers suggest that their lack of noise is due to people killing rattlesnakes when they find them—it’s believed that the snakes are evolving to not rattle. Around San Diego, they can often be spotted anywhere it’s hot and dry and have been seen in the local canyons around the Allied Gardens neighborhood and Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. 

Roadrunners

In the early mornings, locals can often spot roadrunners scavenging around hummingbird feeders or between shrubs in desert and chaparral terrain. And, as their name suggests, these birds are fast. They can sometimes run up to 20 mph—though they don’t make a “beep beep” sound as they pass by. It’s more of a “coo.” If you’re looking to spot them, residents have seen them in places like Mission Trails Regional Park, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and Lake Hodges.

Bobcats

While bobcats are rare in San Diego, they can sometimes be spotted in more remote parks and parts of the county such as Penasquitos Canyon Reserve, Scripps Ranch, and Serra Mesa. Most active at dawn and dusk, bobcats are excellent climbers and swimmers and often travel 3 to 7 miles at night to hunt and patrol. The cats are stealthy though, so if you do see one, count yourself lucky and keep your distance.

Horned Lizards

Found in dry, sandy areas, horned lizards look like teeny tiny dinosaurs and are tricky to spot because they are so good at camouflaging. If you move slowly and look carefully along rocky or dusty paths, you may have a chance of catching a glimpse of them. Torrey Pines or the aptly-named Horned Lizard Bypass in El Cajon are your best bet at seeing one in the wild. 

Great Horned Owls

Great horned owls are usually more often heard than seen, but even the sound of them is very cool. They are one of the largest owls in the country—their wingspans can reach almost five feet—and can turn their heads almost 270 degrees. In San Diego, they can be seen in Los Penasquitos Canyon and Tecolote Canyon Natural Park. To spot them, check sycamore or eucalyptus trees; they like to perch in them and can sometimes be glimpsed roosting in shady branches during the day.

Gray Foxes

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, and Cuyamaca Mountains have all reported gray fox sightings. These foxes are smaller and harder to spot than coyotes, so count yourself lucky if you’ve seen one. They are most active at night and are hard to catch in action, but keep your eyes peeled around dense chaparral, including downed trees, boulders, and bushes that provide cover.

San Diego Day Hikers is one of the region’s most popular hiking groups on the social gathering website Meetup.com. But it has a pretty interesting past.

“The group started in the 1980s as a monthly hike, usually on the last Saturday, led by a professor from SDSU, and loosely affiliated with the Libertarian Party of San Diego,” says Philip Erdelsky, the group’s current leader. “Announcements were printed in the Libertarian Party newsletter, and also emailed to those who had email.”

Subscribers were mostly students and staff at SDSU, but Erdelsky took over the group in 1993. “I used email for the hike announcements, and in the late 1990s started posting the announcements on the Caltech Alumni server, which appeared on the then-new World Wide Web,” he says.

Fast forward to 2012, and Erdelsky decided to add the group to Meetup.com, calling it San Diego Day Hikers. Today, the group has nearly 22,000 members who join up for multiple hikes across the county every month. 

Typically around five to 25 people show up for hikes which are free to join. Erdelsky guides many of the hikes himself, using resources such as Schad’s Afoot & Afield in San Diego county.

Joining a local hiking group is a great way to get to know other people who share similar interests and can even help with finding new routes. Thankfully, there are plenty of hiking groups like San Diego Day Hikers to check out—most of which don’t require any membership or fees.

If you’re looking for a new crew to join, here are more San Diego hiking groups to check out:

San Diego Day Hikers

This group gathers for hikes throughout the San Diego region with easy to moderate routes. The group usually hikes on the last Saturday of each month, but also has weekday evening excursions occasionally. Recent hikes include a Mission Bay five-mile walk, an urban four-mile hike through Marian Bear Park, and the five-mile Engelmann Oak Loop at Daley Ranch in Escondido.

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UCSD Hiking

This group for the UCSD community has a discord channel where users plan hikes and other outings. To join, you must be a member of UCSD, either a student or staff. The group has around 2,850 members, and usually about 20 people turn out for hikes.

Recent hikes include the Santa Margarita River trail, Cowles Mountain, San Clemente Trail and the Potato Chip rock.

San Diego Happy Feet

This group on Facebook has around 2,000 members and plans monthly hikes, including big challenges such as El Cajon Mountain. Organizers say the group is very active with regular events. They mostly focus on hiking, but also organize backpacking, camping, snowboarding, skiing, running, cycling, kayaking, paddle boarding, and road trips events. Members can also create their own events and post them to the group.

Recent hikes include El Cajon Mountain, Mt McGinty, and Black Mountain via Nighthawk Trail. Hikes are usually organized on Saturdays and Sundays early morning at 6 a.m., but also weekday shorter evening hikes at 6 pm.

San Diego Sloth Hiking Team

This Facebook group is great for those worried about being too slow for a regular hiking group. They have nearly 7,000 members and plan regular outings on easier routes. They’ll also organize more challenging adventures such as hiking Mt. Baldy. 

“San Diego Sloth Hiking Team at Mt. Baldy. Started [the] hike at 3:30 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m.! Long day of hiking, laughs, a few curse words and a ton of beautiful views,” one user wrote on TikTok. Other hikes include Kitchen Creek Falls, Cedar Creek Falls in Ramona and Devils Backbone.

Canyoneer Hikes

For a guided experience, the San Diego Natural History Museum offers free guided hikes throughout the county led by volunteers. Hikes are organized every weekend, but are capped in size, so you need to sign up in advance. Priority registration is given to museum members, but if there’s still space then anyone can sign up.

People often join to explore the canyons near their homes that they’ve always been curious about but were hesitant to explore on their own, according to organizers. They also take treks into the desert to explore in groups.

“I sought the Canyoneers out because I was looking to do more desert hiking, but I didn’t feel comfortable going alone,” said Daniel, one of the Canyoneer leaders, on the group’s website. “It’s easy to get lost, there’s spotty cell phone coverage, I’d think ‘what if I got a flat tire?’ The Canyoneers offered the opportunity to explore new trails that I wouldn’t hike on my own.”

Wilderness Basics Course

If you want more than just a regular hike to join, and are looking to boost your wilderness skills, you can check out the San Diego Sierra Club’s 10-week wilderness basics course. The course covers hiking, camping, and backpacking through 10 in-class lectures with four weekend outings.

Skills training includes selecting clothing, gear, and equipment; how to use a map and compass; physical conditioning; first aid and safety; food selection and preparation and water filtration; animal encounters; and sanitation. During the overnight outings, participants will have to supply their own equipment.

The course is offered each year from January to May with lectures at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights in Escondido at San Pasqual High School and in San Diego at the First United Methodist Church – Linder Hall in Mission Valley.

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Southern California offers those lucky enough to live here countless ways to entertain ourselves—plenty of beaches, more than 200 wineries, 120 golf courses, nine big-time professional sports teams, and four major theme parks. But it’s our wilderness that truly sets us apart. SoCal is where three distinct ecosystems—desert, mountains, and coast—collide, making our corner of America a dream for hikers and vagabonds. With over 1,100 miles of hiking paths, from challenging mountain treks to scenic waterfall hikes, desert scrambles, and shady forest walks, there’s no shortage of trails to blaze. So go! Take a hike!

Big Laguna Trail, Mount Laguna

Distance: 10-mile loop | Difficulty: Moderate | Elevation: 944 feet

Mount Laguna, San Diego’s natural playground, is just an hour away from the city center. With panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, Laguna provides enough immersion in nature to forget you’re 30 minutes from the nearest McDonald’s.

The Big Laguna Trail loops through the Laguna Meadows, past campgrounds, through woods teeming with jays and chickadees, and toward the mountain’s edge overlooking Sunset Highway, with plenty of views along the way, including the Laguna Observatory, which housed the world’s largest telescope until 1976, and a glimpse of Anza-Borrego Desert vistas to the north.

One of the more scenic stretches of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, it’s a must for San Diego locals looking for a fresh-air day trip. Shorten your journey by splitting off at the Sunset Trail or Meadow Spur Trail if you’re feeling a bit more leisurely. And, yes, dogs are welcome, so bring company.

Cactus To Clouds, Mount San Jacinto

Distance: 19.2 miles | Difficulty: Hard | Elevation: 10,000 feet

Cactus to Clouds on Mount San Jacinto is the most challenging hike on this list, with more elevation gain than any other trail in the United States. Legendary conservationist John Muir called San Jacinto Peak “the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this Earth”—and that was after he visited Yosemite. Once you summit it, you’ll understand why. Starting at the cactus-lined base, the trail climbs over 10,000 feet to the peak, offering breathtaking views of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley and an extra 50,000 steps to your Apple Watch.

This intense hike, which can take 10 or more hours, is not for the faint of heart. The weather conditions can be extreme—temperatures range from 10 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (and fluctuate significantly from base to summit), with icy conditions in the winter and scorching heat in the summer, so the best time to tackle this trail is in early fall or late spring.

The last tram down the mountain departs at 9:30 p.m., so make sure you start early and keep pace. If you’re unsure about your hiking ability, do yourself a favor and take the tram up to trek the Desert View Trail at the peak for a more manageable and equally beautiful experience, sans suffering.

Cooper Canyon Falls, Mount Wilson

Distance: 6.3-mile loop | Difficulty: Moderate | Elevation: 1,361 feet

Located just an hour northeast of Pasadena off the Angeles Crest Highway, this path (which connects to the Pacific Crest Trail) winds through lush pine and cedar forests, along Little Rock Creek and past Cooper Canyon Campground. Hikers can venture down to the base of the falls via rope line for a refreshing dip under waterfalls that feel like they belong in the Pacific Northwest.

To see the falls at their best, visit in spring or after a good rain—nothing is quite as disappointing as a trickle of water during a drought. But when conditions are right, the soothing sound of cascading water, the fresh scent of pine and cedar carried in the breeze, and the tranquility of the Angeles National Forest create a perfect detox for San Diegans looking to explore or Angelenos escaping the urban sprawl.

Mishe Mokwa Trail Loop, Malibu

Distance: 5.9-mile loop | Difficulty: Moderate | Elevation: 1,354 feet

The Mishe Mokwa Trail is an underrated gem through the Santa Monica Mountains. Don’t be fooled by its proximity to the city—it packs a punch with panoramic coastal views and some welcome seclusion, all just 25 minutes from Malibu. Thankfully, this trail was spared by the recent Palisades fires, which charred the surrounding areas—a miracle for the City of Angels.