Top 10 San Diego Hikes
San Diego has wonderful opportunities for hiking. This is our guide to the Top 10 San Diego Hikes. The focus is on family-friendly hikes that are near the coast.
Jump Ahead To
Overview
San Diego County is huge with entire mountain and desert regions. Fun Diego Family has many guides to hikes in those area. However, the focus on our Top 10 San Diego Hikes is on the best hikes for visitors to the major tourist areas within the city of San Diego.
With the exception of Coronado (right by downtown San Diego), all these hikes are within the city limit. In addition, every hike is near downtown or the ocean. Every visitor staying in the city of San Diego should be able to find a hike right by their hotel.
All these hikes are fairly easy. For visitors looking for more of a challenge we suggest looking at Mission Trails Regional Park and Black Mountain Open Space Park. Both parks are in the city of San Diego and have extensive trails that have some nice elevation gain. We have full guides to both parks.
Top 10 San Diego Hikes
These hikes are ordered by how close they are to the downtown/airport area. The final hikes are in La Jolla about 10 miles north of downtown.
There are links to a detailed guide to each hike that are based on personal experience and include photos we took along the way. We have done all these hikes ourselves, although for some of the longer ones we have done them as bike rides.
In many cases these hikes are also perfect for jogging or bike riding. We have indicated where that is the case.
Downtown San Diego
This 6-mile hike goes along the San Diego Harbor area and into the nearby Barrio Logan neighborhood. Barrio Logan is a center of the Mexican-American community. The downtown San Diego portion goes down Broadway and through the popular Gaslamp Quarter.
To make this a shorter 3-mile hike just focused on downtown, simply continue on 5th Avenue until it meets the convention center and Petco Park at the end of the Gaslamp.
Liberty Station and Harbor Island
Liberty Station and Harbor Island are right by the airport. There are many great walks in the area. This is also a great place for jogging or bike riding.
We have an 8-mile bike ride we do from Liberty Station to downtown and back. There are bike rental places at Liberty Station and on Harbor Island. For walking simply follow this route and shorten it as necessary.
Coronado
The “island of Coronado sits right across San Diego Bay from downtown. A ferry links downtown and Coronado and makes a popular way to combine a hike/bike ride. When completed, the 24-mile Bayshore Bikeway will use the ferry to complete the loop.
The loop around the island is a fun 5-mile walk that is completely flat. This is great for jogging and bike riding and is part of a longer 20-mile bike ride down Coronado’s Silver Strand.
If you want to do this as a bike ride there are rental places in downtown Coronado across from the Hotel del Coronado and across town at the Coronado Ferry Landing.
Mission Bay/Mission Beach
The Mission Bay area is great for walking, jogging and bike riding. A dedicated boardwalk/bike lane runs along the beach from Mission Beach to Pacific Beach. There is also the 12-mile Mission Bay bike trail, most of it on a paved dedicated sidewalk.
There are many options in this area, but our favorite is this 8-mile loop that goes through both the bay side and the ocean.
As a hike, the distance can be cut in half by starting at Belmont Park, walking up the boardwalk, turning inland at Pacific Beach Drive and heading back along the bay at the Catamaran Resort. Of course, it can be done in reverse starting from the Catamaran.
For bike riding there are rental shops throughout the area.
Balboa Park
Balboa Park has all kinds of great hiking opportunities. The park has mapped out many trails. However, the actual marking system is confusing and poorly marked.
Our favorite hike is probably what is labeled as the 3-mile hike 31. This goes through the heart of Balboa Park’s museum section built for the 1915 Panama California Exposition.
Seven Bridges Hike is a longer 6-7 mile walk that includes most of Central Balboa Park as well as the Hillcrest neighborhood.
Sunset Cliffs
Sunset Cliffs is a classic 3-mile beach hike that goes along the cliffs above the ocean from Ocean Beach south along Point Loma to the 50-acre section of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.
Along this walk there are opportunities to go down to the beach. During low tide this is a good area for exploring tide pools.
NOTE: Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is going under some major improvement and parts may be closed for construction.
Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument is where the Spanish explorers discovered San Diego. There are only two hiking trails in the park. The Bayside Trail is 2 miles out-and-back several hundred feet below the visitor’s center. It provides great views of Coronado and downtown San Diego.
On the ocean side there is a short trail that runs along the Point Loma Tide Pools.
Note this is a National Monument and there is an admission charge for vehicles, bikes and pedestrians. Check here for the latest price.
La Jolla Village
There are lots of hiking opportunities in La Jolla. We have created this 5-mile loop that takes in both the heart of the village, as well as the rock beach area and La Jolla Cove.
There is also the dedicated Bird Rock Bike Path that runs several blocks inland through a residential neighborhood. This is a short trail used more by locals, however, it is one our favorites.
Torrey Pines
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve has over 8-miles of dedicated hiking trails. We have done a full guide to this area with multiple hiking suggestions. These hikes range from short loop trails of less than a mile, to much longer hikes with some decent elevation gains heading down to the ocean.
UCSD Stuart Collection
The UCSD Stuart Collection features outdoor art exhibitions spread across the campus of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD). Our 5-mile loop hike goes by all 20 exhibits.
Conclusion and Resources
Our Top 10 San Diego Hikes list just scratches the surface. For visitors looking to go further inland we suggest looking at Mission Trails Regional Park and/or Black Mountain Open Space Park. Both parks are within San Diego city limits and have mountains to hike, rare for a city!
Beyond the city limits there are all kinds of hiking opportunities in the surrounding great San Diego area. This includes the coastal North County area home to Legoland and the San Diego Safari Park.
Inland the mountains rise to over 6,000 feet before dropping to sea level as you reach the desert section of east county San Diego. This provides all kinds of options for every hiking level.
Fun Diego Family is continuing to document hikes as we do them. However, serious hikers may want to check out one of the books on the region which highlight hundreds of hikes.
Some of our favorites include:
Afoot and Afield: San Diego County
For years this book from the late Jerry Schad was the bible for hiking San Diego County. Since Schad’s passing in 2011 other authors have helped with regular updates
50 Best Short Hikes: San Diego
This book is also by the late Jerry Schad. It features shorter hikes closer to the downtown San Diego area. This would be a good choice for visitors or more casual hikers.
Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide
This book was done in conjunction with the San Diego Natural History Museum. It has a significant focus on the plants and animals of the area.
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego
60 Hikes is a book series covering hikes in major U.S. cities. The San Diego version is very well-done. IT is not as comprehensive as Afoot and Afield or Coast and Cactus, but for many that will be a plus.
2 Comments
Comments are closed.