About ten minutes north of our store is an amazing place to day hike, Pamo Valley in Ramona California. The valley has been a favorite of mine for years we used to go shooting at the now closed Orosco Ridge (closed for recreational shooting although the Cleveland National Forrest is still open for hunting, check regulations). Tucked away in the valley is a ton of hiking, riding and off road opportunities.
This is interesting area since it falls under the authority of a couple different entities and is still a working cattle ranch with people living in the valley so as this goes without saying I’m still going to say it, this is their home be respectful and drive wise. There are ample turn outs and the trail head for the Pamo Valley C2C section has a great parking lot with a porta-Jon and trashcan.
C2C what’s that you might be asking, well it is the Coast to Crest trail and the section I hiked Sunday was the six mile out and back section maintained by the San Diequito River Parks. They opened it up in July of 2019 and it is a well maintained walking, equestrian and mountain bike path through the valley floor. It is very flat with minimum elevation gain and loss and a great way to spend the morning although you will want to pack plenty of water and there is little shade on the trail itself.
The trail parallels the road and even crosses it a few times having you pass though gates to keep the cows in. The road being so close is also nice for family hikes where you can come and pick people up as their fun tank runs on empty. As for my hike fun tank stayed on full, I saw a few people on the road horseback riding and some mountain bikes but had the trail to myself other than the critters. It was busy with them, I say a tome of dove, quail, red-tailed hawk and spooked a coyote who took of up the hill (be advised nature does live in nature).
I had been here in the winter and spring while it was super green but it is starting to brown up so I would say a trip soon would be in order before we go full summer brown. If you are thinking of heading down there we also have the Cleveland National Forrest Maps and the Road Atlas if you really want to do some exploring. So stop by the store say hi and hopefully we can send you on a cool day hike in San Diego’s Backcountry.
