The hike to Cuyamaca Peak brings you to San Diego County's second highest point at 6,512 feet. It's only 20 feet lower than the highest peak, but much easier to hike. The views you get are incredible and make this hike worth your time.
Cuyamca Peak a great hike for a beginner – no tricky twists and turns. It’s also paved the entire way, but not open to cars.
You pronounce Cuyamaca as kwee-a-mack-a. I went ahead an mispronounced it in my video.
Cuymaca Peak is the only trail in the park that oastou can bring leashed dogs on.
You’ll see evidence of a forest fire on the lower slopes. In 2003, 90% of Cuyamaca park burnt down during California’s largest recorded wildfire, started by a lost hunter who made a signal fire.
The peak has great views, but lacks pristine nature. There are radio towers and small buildings. Don’t let that stop you from doing this hike. The views make it worth it.
On a clear day, you can see for 100 miles from the summit, including the Coronado Islands and Table Top Mountain in Mexico.
Cuymaca Peak is right next to Stonewall Peak, and both can be hiked in a day. Break your hikes up with a picnic in Paso Picacho Campground.
Cuyamaca Peak is in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and there’s an entry fee. If you have a California State Parks Pass, entry is free. There’s camping and other hikes in the park, so if you want to make a weekend of it, it’s an option.
Turn by Turn Directions
There’s plenty of parking. Make the right after the entrance gate for the main lot (not the campground on the left). The parking lot has bathrooms and picnic tables.You can also fill up your water bottles here. It gets hot in the summer, make sure you have plenty of water. You will sweat going up this climb.The Lookout Fire Road is the trail you want to take. It goes around the south side of the campground. This map makes it easier to understand the layout – the campground all looks the same. You can either cut through the park office and maintenance yard to get to the trailhead, or go just past campsite 69 to find another entrance to the trail.If you go through the park office and maintenance yard, this is the gate at the start of the trail. It’ll be on your right as you go through the lots. The Lookout Fire Road is marked on the post.If you start by campsite 69, there’s a bathroom and a hiking board close by. Make the right when you get on the paved road.Either way that you enter, follow the paved trail up the side of the mountain. You’ll see evidence of the forest fire on the lower slopes.You’ll see some smaller trails spitting off to the sides. Stay on the paved Lookout Fire Road for the entire hike.It’s a steep hike, but if you stop to catch your breath, turn around to take in the views of Stonewall Peak, directly behind you.At about 1.5 miles there’s a bigger trail split. Again, stay on the paved trail the whole way up.The flowers and fauna are great here, especially in the spring.When you’re almost at the top, you’ll notice more pine trees and sections that survived the fire. It gives you an idea of what the mountain looked like before the 2003 wildfire.After that wooded stretch, the road ends at the peak. Get your selfie!After you check out the views at the end of the road, go back down a little bit to these two buildings, and then go through the gap between them and head to the other side of the peak.The path is a little funky, but you’ll come out on a pile of rocks with incredible views to the west.The views from the peak are awesome. Get your shots, be careful, and go back down the way you came up.
A quick note. These directions are meant as a guide for the hike, and not a definitive source. Conditions change, and the information here can be different based on time of day, weather, season, etc. There can be small side trails that you might see but I missed. I have made every effort to include all the information you need to complete the hike successfully. I recommend using this guide in conjunction with a map, GPX file, common sense, and call to the ranger station or park office. If you do the hike and notice something has changed, please contact me and I will update the guide.
