Cuyamaca Peak Hike Guide

[@iamjayavery]

Nice! You found my sign and it made the video!! Woot, you are officially a badass!!

[@Happyheartmatt]

Great content as always. Your vids have helped us get on the trails and get our exercise going!

[@Hikingguy]

Thank you!

[@beagon6420]

HikingGuy, great video! Love the sights and commentary. Thanks for taking us along :)

[@brianpowell5082]

Fantastic Loop hike! Great video! I was hoping maybe sometime before the summer heat to combine Middle Peak and Cuyamaca with a chunk of the route on this video. We'll see how that goes! Nice to see the young pines are getting larger. It's been 6 years since I've been to Cuyamaca Rancho, and I was worried that the trees weren't coming back due to drought. Nice to see otherwise!

[@Hikingguy]

Thanks Brian - and yea, I was thinking about doing a guide from south to Cuyamaca, Middle, and then down to the lake, just need to poke around some more. Otherwise things are looking healthy now. And the road the summit is all paved. Felt good to be back.

[@northernexposurephoto]

It's so sad to see all the trees gone from the fire. 30+ years ago on my last hike up to the peak the trees were so thick. Hope to come back in 2025 from Alaska and see my old hometown once again.

[@351engine]

what fire 30 yrs ago?

[@johnnyfulano5506]

I was wondering if you've ever hiked El Captan also called El Cajon Mountain? The trail head is in around Lakeside a lot of people say it's the most difficult hike in the County. P.S. There's an excellent little Native American Museum on the Barona Reservation down the road from the trail head. It teaches you the real history of the Kumeyaay. Good luck thanks again for your excellent videos

[@Hikingguy]

Thank you and yes to the El Cajon - hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/hiking-san-diego/el-cajon-mountain-trail-guide/

[@johnnyfulano5506]

Haha 😂 my bad Chris I should've assumed you did El Captan you're awesome you're everywhere LoL... A little story about Cuyamaca Peak 3 years ago I met a blind hiker probably around 60 years old (hiking alone) a the top of Cuyamaca Peak. He said his name was Crazy Dave and lives in Julian, so amazing the human spirit. Thanks again your videos are also inspiring.✌️

[@kennykeyboard]

I usually park near the Milk Ranch Road and take it up to the junction with Azalea then to Conejos. Takes 4 hours RT but isn't that what the outdoors is about? I'm lamenting the loss of the original summit with all them towers.

[@bloblablah7409]

I’ve commonly heard El Cajon Mt referred to as the hardest hike in San Diego - how would you say El Cajon Mt compares to Cuyamaca Peak in terms of difficulty?

[@Hikingguy]

Cajon is much tougher than all the routes to Cuyamaca unless you put some really tough / long combos together - all the ups and downs make Cajon tough

[@bloblablah7409]

@@Hikingguy Gotcha thanks for the response! Wasn’t sure what to think given how tall cuyamaca peak is compared to cajon mt. I hear it feels difficult going up and back down the peak at cajon mt. Whereas cuyamaca is a simple up and back down hike

[@christinerolle3876]

Thanks again Cris.is there a fee to park?

[@Hikingguy]

Yup, it's a CA State Park - I have the fees in the guide (in a pic). But you can use a CA parks pass here if you have one.

[@johnnyfulano5506]

Hi Chris nice to see you bacK in San Diego County. I'm an avid hiker here in San Diego another route to Cuyamaca Peak that I would highly recommend is starting from the Green Valley Campground area. If the campground is closed or you don't wanna pay you can go up the road about a half a mile going towards Julian there is a big parking lot used mostly by equestrian people. The hike from there is about 12 to 13 miles round trip and the trail is good condition and real quite I think you'll love. Thanks so much for your videos👍🏻🏞️🌎

[@Hikingguy]

Johnny thanks for the tip, and I've actually done that route in the past and love it. I'll cover it in a guide at some point. I was thinking about doing a traverse from there to Middle Peak and down to the lake. Need to do a little more exploring and recon. Thanks again for the tip and say hello if you see me, I'm planning on being in SD quite a bit this winter.

[@kennykeyboard]

The sweetwater lot now has a fee.

[@jennifersensbach-rodig7232]

How long was this hike the way you went?

[@Hikingguy]

check the link in the description