I've been coming here for years…read more Tons of open space that's well maintained. With beautiful views of the established and up and coming neighborhoods, it's worth the trek. A good amount of parking and trails that allow you to get your cardio on. Everything I visit, there is always a photo session taking place. I'll be back soon.

The Yelp address is incorrect for this listing as it should be where Hilltop Community Park is…read morelocated in Rancho Penasquitos. You can use their parking lot if space is available, or you can park curbside on Oviedo Way. There was a large marker at the trailhead which provided a map of Black Mountain Open Space Park. I came to trek Black Mountain including the Nighthawk Trail and the Miner's Ridge Loop. The latter appeared to be closed, but I walked it anyway and came across several runners who were jogging along the path. The ascent to the summit was a decent challenge that I would rate as moderate. The descent was when I tried Miner's Ridge Loop instead of going back down the way I came up. The Loop was narrower and windier, but it felt more like a wilderness hike which I enjoyed better. It also added approximately 1.25 miles to the round trip. If you want a shorter up and down hike, then just go to the peak and back. If you want additional length and more challenge, then include the Loop as part of your journey.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this nice scenic hike so close to home and many of the places I…read moreoften visit. The hike is not a difficult one, but very convenient to get to and offers some great views of the Poway area as you get towards the summit. If you are a local to the area and looking for a quick hike, this might be a good one for you to try.

A great hike on the easy side of moderate! There are points of this hike where you do climb up some…read moresteps and rocks, but it's not strenuous if you have a decent baseline level of fitness. The thing I liked most about this hike is that even with elevation changes, you're not right next to a cliff to your side. As someone who is afraid of heights, I'm glad I was able to find a place I can get a workout in nature where I don't have to be scared the whole time. It was worth the drive from San Diego and I'd do it again.

I've done this trail a few times now. On my most recent visit, I picked a cloudy day in May since…read morethere's basically no shade on the entire trail. I started around 7:30am, and there were already a lot of people heading back down, probably people who came earlier to catch the sunrise. The trail itself is easy to moderate, well marked, and has really nice views both on the way up and on the way back down. Lots of parking in a big lot.

This trailhead is located about a mile further north along Hwy 67 from the main staging area where…read morepretty much everyone starts their hike of Iron Mountain. That route is about a six-mile round trip whereas starting from this point makes the trek about 50% harder and longer. The parking lot was located across from a few houses along Ellie Lane, hence the trail name. Only three other vehicles were parked when I arrived. You start off pretty flat along the property line of these houses, but as you continue eastward and then veer north to begin the loop, the route becomes narrower, rockier, and steeper. The terrain was not for beginners. I only saw three sets of hikers during this part of my journey so it was definitely more isolating than the regular Iron Mountain trail. I didn't make a stop at Table Rock, but there were a few spots where you could get great photos of the boulders on the mountainside like when hiking Mt. Woodson. Ramona Viewpoint was another place where you could pause to admire the view of the landscape to the east. The trail had enough twists and climbing that the roughly three miles before reaching the junction with the main path to the Iron Mountain summit was a solid cardio workout. The ascent to the top was about 1.5 miles further which I had done on a few occasions in the past. There were so many more people on this leg including a couple of fools who were wearing flip flops despite the semi-muddy conditions in some spots. On the way back, you make a right turn northward about 1/4 mile before the main staging area to take the western portion of the Wild Horse Trail Loop back to the Ellie Lane trailhead. I really enjoyed the additional challenge and length of this trail. It felt like two hikes for the effort of one. I completed the circuit of nearly nine miles in about 3.5 hours. If there was a drawback, then it would be the lack of more trail markers. I made a couple of wrong turns and had to retrace my steps to stay on track according to the hiking app I was using. I would rate the difficulty level as moderate to hard.

After spending the better part of the morning coming up with new and creative ways to say "No!" to…read morea Carlsbad timeshare peddler, Mrs. Picante and I really wanted to take a long hike, preferably away from hoards of people. We've all seen the photos of fellow Yelpers posing on Potato Chip Rock, but several reviews referred to how crowded the hike was. Since we were leaving at 11:00 AM, we saw that trailhead from the highway, but passed on it, having read that the Ellie Lane trail--the "secret backway" to the Iron Mountain trail, had a lot fewer people. Parking in the small free lot, we saw only three other cars.... definitely a contrast to the Potato Chip trailhead area and the Park N Ride south of Ellie Lane that also serves as staging for the Iron Mountain main trail. In summary: we were not disappointed! The hike starts relatively flat flanking a small ranch property and a few houses built into the hillside, but quickly turns into a zig-zagging scramble up a rocky trail through the aeons-old boulder field of the Poway hillsides. Recent rains had eroded the trail slightly in a few places, and the cool of December along with the sun tracking lower across the sky left the ground damp-- great, since it can get pretty hot and dusty here in the summer. Plenty of large boulder promontories presented photo ops with the ocean glimmering on the horizon... every bit as pretty as Potato Chip, though arguably not as unique as that eroded land feature. Steady uphill and a quick pace racing the sunset kept our hearts beating well. After a couple of miles, we came to Table Rock. Couldn't connect the drone, and probably not supposed to fly it here anyway, so we kept going. The trail got a little hard to find here, but we recovered it fairly quickly and kept moving towards Iron Mountain. A half mile of downhill brought us to a junction: right to head back towards the Park N Ride, and left to head up towards Iron Mountain. We opted for more uphill, and made it as far as the rock formation at the top, where a sign warns that raptor nesting in the rocks prohibits humans in the winter months. I assumed they didn't mean velociraptors; and besides, I like hawks and eagles and wouldn't want their little babies to jump off the nest ledge on my account. Besides, we were running out of daylight, and had to high tail it back down. On the way back we stayed in the main Iron Mountain trail until the last turn right back to Ellie Lane. We arrived with a little orange left in the sky, and only our truck in the lot. All told, we only passed two other hiking groups: a dad and his kids, and a lone fellow out exploring who was fresh in from Menlo Park. If you're looking for a fairly challenging hike, with plenty of photo ops on big granite boulders... and you'd rather not wait in line to take your picture on said rocks... this is a great place to enjoy some outside time!

Super quick hike, a big incline, but not a long distance so it was t bad. I would do this one againread more

My little hiking phase brought me to this mountain. I always see this mountain right off the 15…read morewith the cross on top in RB. I thought it's a good way to conquer my fear of hills since I read the reviews and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the top. I thought piece of cake! I can do this... When I stood at the bottom and looked at the top I thought maybe I should just turn around. I usually have a hard time breathing when it comes to hills but I need to practice. I am glad I did it. I got to the top in 15 minutes! A few times I was scared because I looked behind me to see how far I went up. Man it's a long way down. The incline was steep but manageable. It was very rocky and the trail is eroded so watch your step. I was always scared I was going to slip and fall because I have horrible balance but I made it up! The view at the top is phenomenal and well worth it. You can see everything at the top. I always love seeing the view of lake hodges. So beautiful. I had to think about getting down after I enjoyed the view at the top. I swear it took me way longer to get down. It took me 25 minutes just to get down. My fear of sliding down the mountain made me take my time. I took the tiniest steps. I fall when the road is flat and I have the scars to prove it so me falling down may have happened so I had to take my time and watch my step. This is a great hike with a great view. If you want a quick hike then this is the one for you.

Located in Mount Laguna (Not in Rancho Bernardo as the Yelp page states), this is a network of…read moretrails that ends up at or around Big Laguna lake. Hiking wise there are three approaches. From the south up, from the north down (my entry point), and from the side ( though a privately managed campground). From a milage perspective, expect around 6-8 miles total if you do a full loop from the north or south. Of course just walking to the lake and back will put you around 4 miles using the most direct trails. Family-friendly, but these trails are heavily used by mountain bikers. Ideally, these trails are great for both hiker and biker. Know the unwritten social rules of the road before biking/hiking here. Always put your head on a swivel. Some bikes go very fast. Always have an adult in front and behind the kids if you're hiking as a family. If you're a biker, have a bell on your bike and if you're in a group of bikers be sure to let hikers know if there are more bikers trailing behind you. These rules seemed to be understood by most people on this trail. NOT PUP FRIENDLY. Unless you go during December through March don't bring your dogs. The afternoon that we visited (early June) is was about 80 outside and there were several dog rescues that were performed. We assisted in one of them. Wasn't uncommon to see dog owners carrying their dogs during the final stretch. Altitude plus moderate sun/heat exposure is what defines this trail. Plus ticks and snakes. Keep the pups at home. - lots of snakes here. Stay on trail.

It's a fun trail, not very difficult. The lake looked like it could use some TLC. There are lots of…read morecamping sites near by so good for the family.

The hike is brutal. The trailhead says 2.2 miles to the infamous Potato Chip Rock, but my watch…read moreclocked 1.9. And no, I didn't take any short cuts as there are no short cuts to take. This is a switchback hike to the summit, but at least it's paved. The parking at the base may seem a little sketchy, and it is. If you can't nab one of the 5 or so dirt spaces right in front of the trailhead entrance you basically have to park on the side of the road with cars flying by at 60+ mph. Bring lots of water. You'll need it, especially on a hot, dry summer day. But also be careful how much you drink. There are no bathrooms on the trail. When you reach the summit, stay right past all the sketchy buildings that leave you feeling like you're in a 1990s Bond film. The Potato Chip is about another 1/4 mile to the right. If you're brave enough to climb on top of it, it takes some maneuvering. I was not. There's a clearly visible crack in the rock. It looks like it's ready to fall downhill any day now - hopefully with nobody on it.

Having hiked the traditional route to the summit of Mount Woodson a few times, I decided to try the…read moreeastern ascent starting from Hwy 67 in Ramona. It's actually a paved service road. The distance was about 60% of the length with 1/3 more steepness than the western climb. You park your vehicle on the shoulder of the highway and then walk through a short dirt path before hitting the asphalt. There were numerous curves and turns, but your calves will definitely feel a burn as the elevation change was about 1200 feet over two miles. Watch out for the numerous potholes on the pavement. No body of water was visible on this route like when you walk around Lake Poway starting from that trailhead. Lots of rock formations and boulders dotted the side of the trail before you reached the top. After walking near all the radio and cell phone towers, I arrived at Potato Chip Rock. On the day I went, there were only two groups of hikers in front of me snapping photos and scaling on to the Chip. In the past, I have seen queues of 30-60 minutes to get an opportunity to climb on the rock and to snap pictures for social media postings of this famous local landmark. The time it takes to finish the ascent from this side can range from 45 minutes to an hour depending on how many breaks you take to catch your breath and rest. Therefore, the round trip up and down can be accomplished in less than two hours. That provided a great cardio workout over a total distance of 4.1 miles. I gave this backside trek to Potato Chip Rock a four star rating.

Peaceful in the morning, fun and happening places during the day in the weekend. You can go hike in…read moremany different directions. Potato chip is a famous hike you can take from here. Staff is super friendly and helpful.

I came here awhile back to hike up to Potato Chip Rock as everyone was telling me I should do this…read morehike, so I did. Hike took me a few hours and definitely got a nice workout. Everybody and their grandma knows about Potato Chip Rock so lots of people wanting their photo on the Rock, but I was too impatient and didnt feel like waiting or socialize, so I just hiked there, saw it and came back down. I love this park, the lake is very pretty and soothing to see waterfowl and people enjoying the water. I decided to bike here today and its close to 7 miles away, 15 min by car, and about 40 min by bike. The bike ride is a workout as there are hills both ways, so be prepared for that. I havent biked in awhile but planning to get back into it, so took my MTB out for a spin and it def needs a tune up. I stopped by the lake and sat at some picnic tables that were shaded and had a nice view of the lake and the Lookout Restaurant and got to see a lot of birds too. Was so nice to be able to spend a weekend afternoon here, it was exactly what my soul & body was yearning for! On the weekends, there is a $10 parking fee, and free for Poway residents. I think on the weekdays there is no parking fee. I don't recall paying when I hiked Potato Chip Rock and it was a weekday during the holidays. I was on bike so no fee either. Ill keep this place in mind if I wanna do a 10K run and back next time, people on foot also free. A really nice local lake to get a bit of nature in! I will be back over & over again!