view from cuyamaca peak hike

Hike Cuyamaca Peak

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.

Rating:

3.5 / 5

Distance:

6 miles (9.7 km)

Time:

2:30 hours

Difficulty:

Moderate

Climbing:

1670 ft (509 m)

Trail Condition:

Paved Fire Road

Challenges:

Climbing

People:

Moderate

Known For:

Great Views

Best Time:

Sunset

Dogs:

Leashed

Bathrooms:

Yes, in Parking Lot

Parking:

Fee

Trailhead:

Paso Picacho Campground, Julian, CA, 92036, USA

Park Website:

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Phone:

Hike Weather:

In this Guide:

→ Trail Maps
→ Gear Recommendations
→ Turn-by-Turn Directions
→ Hike Video

Cuyamaca Peak Hike Trail Maps

Google Maps trailhead:
Paso Picacho Campground, Julian, CA, 92036, USA

cuyamaca peak hike location — Cuyamaca Peak is about 1 hour east of downtown San Diego. Make a day of it and hike Stonewall Peak too.

cuyamaca peak hike 3d map — The hike is a straightforward out and back. This is also the easiest approach to the peak. The other side has a bigger elevation gain.

cuyamaca peak hike elevation — It's a steady uphill hike to Cuyamca Peak. Don't forget to take breaks. You can turn around and soak up the views while you catch your breath.

Interactive Map

Click Here To Load Map

Cuyamaca Peak Hike Map Downloads

hiking map on garmin fenix 3

If you have GPS device (I use this one by Garmin and I love it) for your hike, load the GPX file below into your device to navigate the hike. For help on loading the GPX file, read this article on converting and transferring to a Garmin GPS.

Also, don't rely on electronics as your sole means of navigation. There's a basic printable PDF map below, and I strongly picking up a good topo map too.

View a Printable PDF Hike Map Download the Hike GPX File

Gear for the Cuyamaca Peak Hike

camelback fourteener 24

The best hydration daypack out there. The CamelBak Fourteener has been perfect on hikes of all distances (including Mt Whitney and Cactus to Clouds). It's light, has plenty of room for snacks, extra layers, hiking gear, and comes with a 3 liter water bladder. I also like the raised sweat pads on the back that keep your back dry. It's the perfect blend of high-tech, durability, and simplicity. I've got hundreds of hours on it and still love it.

CamelBak Fourteener Reviews

recommended hiking boot

My favorite hiking boot of all time. The La Sportiva Synthesis (for women and men) are waterproof, super-light, have incredible grip, and won a Backpacker Magazine Editor's Choice Award (my review here). I've gone through a lot of boots and these are my favorite. They feel like comfortable sneakers with the protection of hiking boots.

La Sportiva Hiking Boot Reviews

Don't hike without this in your backpack. It's a GPS emergency beacon and can save your life (more on that here). On the trail, you're often out of cell phone range, and even something as simple as a twisted ankle could become a life and death situation. This beacon works where cell phones don't and is the size of a fist. Just press a button and help is on the way. Your life is worth every penny.

ACR GPS Beacon Reviews

Be prepared! My complete list of hiking gear and survival kit contents is here, check it out!

Help support this site by checking out REI outlet for great gear for a fraction of the full price.

Cuyamaca Peak Hike Directions

What to Expect

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

cuyamaca peak hike parking — 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.

water on the cuyamaca peak hike — 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.

cuyamaca peak hike campsite map — 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.

start of lookout fire road — 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.

start of cuyamaca peak hike — 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.

trees on cuyamaca peak hike — 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.

trail junctions on the cuyamaca peak hike — You’ll see some smaller trails spitting off to the sides. Stay on the paved Lookout Fire Road for the entire hike.

view of stonewall peak — 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.

trail split on cuyamaca peak hike — At about 1.5 miles there’s a bigger trail split. Again, stay on the paved trail the whole way up.

flowers on cuyamaca peak hike — The flowers and fauna are great here, especially in the spring.

pine trees on cuyamaca peak hike — 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.

cris hazzard on cuyamaca peak hike — After that wooded stretch, the road ends at the peak. Get your selfie!

buildings on cuyamaca peak hike — 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.

path on cuyamaca peak hike — The path is a little funky, but you’ll come out on a pile of rocks with incredible views to the west.

view from cuyamaca peak hike — The views from the peak are awesome. Get your shots, be careful, and go back down the way you came up.

Cuyamaca Peak Hike Video

Click Here To Load Video

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel here!

Hiking Stonewall Peak Trail

Hiking the Stonewall Peak Trail to the summit is one of my favorite hikes. At the top you’ll find a stone lookout with 360 views of the surrounding peaks. It’s one of the more unique summits out there and worth a visit.

The Modern Hiking Essentials

The 10 hiking essentials are the recommended key survival tools that hikers should bring with them on every hike. The original 10 essentials date back the 1930s. Here’s my take on the modern hiking essentials and how to use them.

About Hiking Guy (aka Cris Hazzard)

I’m Hiking Guy, aka Cris Hazzard. I like to get outdoors, walk, and then write about it. It wasn’t always like that though.

Hiking San Diego

In addition to ample sunshine, hiking San Diego offers hikes for everyone. From coastal hikes, to moonscape deserts, to big mountains, there’s tremendous variety. San Diego County’s 4,261 square miles are the most biologically diverse in California, with over 2,000 plant species, over 500 species of birds, and hundreds of species of reptiles and mammals.

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.