The Rose Canyon Trail is in the University City area and encompasses an almost nine mile round trip from just west of I-805 down to where I-5 and SR-52 merge. It's a pretty flat trek with a couple of small hills. You're basically hiking near a creek bed in an urban canyon. The main path was quite wide, almost like a service road. Consequently, you will find many bikers, joggers, and dog walkers here. I entered the open space off the north end of Regents Road. This led to a much shorter hike that was about four miles to the end and back. The trail ran southwest and then parallel to I-5 southward before ending at the underpass where SR-52 began heading east. During winter, rainfall can cause a few low lying spots to form puddles. This can partially block off the path, but nothing which makes the trail impassable. If you live in the vicinity and want to stroll around while enjoying nature, this park and its trail are suitable options. The hike is not strenuous at all, and there are options to make the length shorter if desired. read more

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Pretty nice trail. Trail is easy, but could be rocky at times, never dangerous. Not too much to see, but I find myself coming back here often whenever I need a break from things or just some easy exercise. I think this trail is best suited for locals who just want a quick get away, sort of like a thinking trail to relax and think or not think. read more

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Rose Canyon Open Space Park is a very popular urban preserve for hiking, running, and mountain biking. It is entirely located in Rose Canyon between I-5 and Genesee Avenue, with the BNSF railroad tracks on the northern edge. The park is open year round and is beautiful to visit every season. Dogs are welcome, but they must be on leashed. My favorite trail access is from the northern dead end on Regents Road. read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Regents Road Trailhead - Parks Near Me

Ok... if you're looking for a hike with a sunrise/sunset view in the middle of nowhere that allows you to feel connected to nature and all that, then... Well, go to the middle of nowhere. The reason I love this hike is because it's so unexpected: you're literally walking down a busy street with cars going fast in both directions, and then you just enter this little canyon and... boom, little oasis in the suburbs I like to do a loop that allows me to go from the entrance up to Sprouts, buy some groceries and then go back to the car. It's a 3 miler and you get a little walk while running errands And as you can see, it gets all dressed up in the Spring! read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Spring time! - Parks Near Me

Park at Decolo and Genesee. I turned around when the trail went up a hill, at about mile 3. I did 6 miles in a little over 2 hours from the car and back. Definitely an easy hike that is mostly unshaded. Some highway noise and the train went by a couple times. You are down in a canyon so you can see homes up on the ridges. An urban hike that is very enjoyable. read more

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What a hidden gem this is! Wanted to take my kiddos somewhere to just go for a walk, well we got a hike and a walk. The slow moving creek and the sound of the birds, the small gusts of wind moving the tree leaves was enough to make you feel like you were somewhere far away from San Diego. Out of the entire time we were there we saw another 2 people total. Gotta find another entrance because that hill going up was a beast! read more

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Hiking at Rose Canyon Open Space Park is pretty awesome. It really is an Open Space Park. The trail is pretty flat and easy to walk in. My bf and I bring our dog here to walk. Bring a friend... bring a dog and start walking! ENJOY! By the way - we use the Regents Road entrance (the side off the Governor Drive (easier to find parking). read more

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This place is yet another wonderful canyon filled with nature right in the middle of this sprawling city. If you don't want to drive or don't have time to drive more than 15 minutes to get a piece of nature, I would recommend this place. I just google mapped it and it took me right there. I parked in the tucked away neighborhood, then just descended down with my doggies. Dogs are suppose to be on leash in the city of San Diego, however if you, the dog owner, and your dog(s) are well trained, behave, and aware, it is a great place for dogs to run around and frolic leash free. There was still quite a bit of water running through the streams that meander through this canyon, so I didn't need to bring water for my dogs. The trail is long and loops around various neighborhoods, the 52, and the 5 freeways. The coaster rushes by the trail too. The trail does end in another neighborhood, so I had to turn around and come back. I went on Memorial Day weekend and did not encounter that many people. My dogs and I walked six miles from start to finish. It is very easy and relatively flat. There were small children and old ladies, so if they can do it, so can you. It is a great place for trail running as well. read more

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It's a nice little trail. A lot of cool bridges to cross and if you're lucky you might see some fish and rabbits. A few areas have a lot of rocks, but mostly easy walk/hike/jog/run. Whatever you want to do it's good for. I would recommend that you keep your eyes on the path before you because I have encountered many rattlesnakes here. Many little ones which sometimes are just laying in the middle of the path. So please be careful and alert. It is a lovely trail where you can enjoy nature. read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Parks Near Me

Who says you can't give nature 5 stars in the midst of human encroachment? There are multiple trails on both sides of the train tracks. You can trail run, hike, mtb, or just walk your pup. Awesome change of seasons - winter gets everything green, summer goes brown - or as one native called it - 'California Gold' -- and since it's May, the ice plants are getting ready to bloom. read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Ice Plants are almost in full bloom! - Parks Near Me

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Right in the middle of San Diego in University City is a good place to get some trail running, cycling or just simple walking done at Rose Canyon. The trails here stretch out pretty far and cover up most the ground around of the 52 freeway along with crossing Regents and Genesee. The best place in my opinion to get into the canyon is by entering off the north end of Regents road. There is plenty of parking here and quick easy access. I found the Genesee entrance to be pretty bad since the only place to park is across the street at the school. The paths here are quite defined and wide in most places. But as you get farther west the path starts to get smaller and doesn't make the best for bikes in my opinion. While you get some freeway noise from the 52, it's definitely a great place to get away from the city without going too far. read more

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My house overlooks this trail, so it's my favorite nearby place to go running to escape the craziness of the cars and people. The last time I went on this path I only saw three people the entire hour and half I was out there, which is great for someone who likes the seclusion, but probably not the best idea for a girl to be out here alone (I get especially paranoid when my earphones are in...) Not that I'm saying it's not a safe neighborhood, but you never know. The trail can be very hilly, and there were some small bodies of water I had to navigate through since it was raining. But it was a really peaceful and quiet place to get some alone time and do some soul-searching. It's really quite nature-y for being in the middle of such a populated area, and it was kind of cool to be next to the train tracks. I highly advise to come here for a run in the rain, as long as you don't mind getting a little soaked! read more

Rose Canyon connects to Marion Bear, but it feels infinitely safer. I've never run into many people out here on weekday mornings. That probably means it's not a good idea to come alone, but the few people I've met out here have all been walkers, runners, or bikers (that may seem obvious, but unfortunately not all SD canyons are safe). The area is very flat and feels very surprisingly open considering that it's technically a canyon. The official trail that appears on the park maps is east/south side of the train tracks, but there's also a nice, clear path on the other side. Unfortunately though, there's no good place to cross except for out on the street. read more

Nice trail and very close to where I live. It's great for a morning wilderness run ;) read more

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Awesome place to feel like your escaping civilization, while being in the middle of civilization at the same time. I came here with my dog last week and took the trail off of Genessee ave. It was so relaxing with my ipod on, I only saw one other person the entire time I was there. There's lots of side trails you can take off of the main path, the main hike is easy, pretty much flat except for a few small hills. My dog was going crazy chasing all the lizards and little bugs crawling around. Overall, this is a great place for a nice nature hike or jog without having to drive very far. I'll definitely come here again soon. read more

We went here one day with the dog. We entered at the Regents side at Governor. We parked up by the Sprouts/Starbucks/Vet shopping center on the street and walked north to the entrance. There is a sidewalk that goes almost all of the way down to the entrance to the park. The parking here can be in a not very defined lot by the park entrance or on the street on Regents with just a bit more of a walk to get to the entrance. The entrance is a path that goes down the hill. The only reason I give it 4 stars is because it was maybe a little narrow on the entrance we took and there were sleeping bags tucked into the trail area which gave us the idea that maybe this was someone's home. I would probably come here with at least another person and/or a dog. We encountered about 3 walkers and a mountain biker on our short walk. With the narrow walk path and dense tree/bush area, it was a little hard to tell if anyone was coming from either direction. Luckily, the mountain biker was walking his bike up this path. The path led to a very wide dirt path parallel to the train tracks, but a safe distance from them. It was a huge plus. Very nice for walking, running or biking. As this was an exploratory trip to just see where this trail led, we only made it to this larger path and turned around. It was very nice (aside from the questionable sleeping bag storage... though that was actually very neatly folded and and mostly hidden, so taking that into consideration, it was better than it could have been.) It seemed to be fairly quiet, but no trains were going by, so that might affect the peacefulness. There was a trash can at the start of the walk next to the info board. No restroom facilities (unless you count Sprouts or Starbucks at the top of the hill.) Dogs are on-leash. This part of the path goes east to University City High School (on Genesee) and to the west has off-shoots that go towards UCSD and Pacific Beach. We will probably come back to go further and check out the main path. read more

Been running here for years, can't complain about anything. Trails are easy and you get more than a couple choices in routes you want to take. They're doing a bit of construction in the canyon so there's a lot of workers and trucks in and out of the place but it's definitely my go-to and closest running spot. read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Currently going through construction, nonetheless such a good day to run! - Parks Near Me

I love mountain biking through here, especially in the fall with all the colors of the leaves. Also a fun place to geo-cache and hike. read more

Rose Canyon Open Space Park - Overlooking the drainage ditch along Rose Canyon trail underneath the Mt Soledad Freeway. - Parks Near Me

The nature walk part of this hike is lovely and extra green if there has been rain, but the other end of the trail overlooks the freeway and other restricted fenced off areas--not too picturesque. Overall, a beginners hike with mostly flat land, suitable for a nature stroll. read more

I live at one of the openings and always run here! I'm not sure if there's parking which is a downside and I wouldn't go out of my way to go to this trail but it's nice if you're in the area. read more

If you're looking for a beautiful nature run without driving too far, Rose canyon is the best. I would caution however, that it is a wildlife park and over the past few weeks while running midday, I've come across a coyote about a mile in from the entrance and a rattlesnake about a 1/4 mile in from the entrance. Make sure you educate yourself on what to do if you come across either of these critters while running alone and while tempting, don't let your dogs off the leash! The rattlesnake I came across didn't rattle and I nearly stepped on it. No need to lose life, limb or pet - make sure you're prepared and respect that you are entering a wildlife reserve with wild animals. Happy trails! read more

This is an awesome place to walk your dog, or to take a hike/run to work out. I'm not entirely sure how long the trail is, but I went with my dog and we walked for over an hour. The trail is wide and mostly flat, which is nice. Make sure to bring water for both yourself and you pup, because as others have said, there isn't tons of shade. read more

I usually make the circuit of both sides of the railroad tracks. The south side has tree coverage. It gets extremely dark at night especially with no moon. You'll hear sounds of to the side of the trail that will make you run faster. Good for weight loss. The temp feels about 10 degrees cooler in the canyon at night or early morning. Most of the time your only company will be the rabbits, lizards,hawks,owls,coyotes (haven't seen one myself) and the occasional human. In the summer rattlers bask on the trails. Just go around them. read more

Wow wow this was a really unique spot to run this morning. With fog just touching down this morning and the beautiful canyon views whole going for my morning run really helped clear my mind. I didn't even know there was a canyon with trails here right in the heart of the UTC area. I was running a different route today to try something different because I like to change the scenery when I run it really makes the experience of my work out more exciting :) and guess what? I found this gem of a spot with trails and all right near a school too. I wouldn't recommend being here at night or dusk but the morning! For sure! read more

rose canyon is a great place to hike or stroll with the dog. beautiful! I really like that you can take a nice long canyon walk in the middle of San Diego. read more

Conveniently located near UTC and just enough quiet scenery to get away from the city. The trail is wide, flat and easy, probably a good place to bring the family. There are a few narrower, sloping paths that loop away from the main one. You can see residential areas on either of the canyon, but they're far enough away for you to pretend they aren't there. Not much shade - I'd say the best times to go are early weekend mornings and late afternoon/evening during the week. read more

A beautifully relaxing and invigorating workout, a great hiking trail with benches made out of fallen trees on the way, lots of animal life and many varieties of birds. The Great Horned owl apparently enjoyed our company and visited us regularly, waking us up in the wee hours of the morning, while prancing on our roof with its huge claws, hooting for a mate. If you live nearby the animals get to know you. The Red tailed Hawk regularly circled our house screeching at me whenever I violated her space, which meant she spotted a small rodent in the bushes from high up in the sky. One day a sparrow hawk fell from the sky in my yard, with two mice in its clawed feet. She laid injured in our yard till we placed a call to animal control, who showed up ten minutes later with a large towel to take her to safety. As she spread her injured wings, her colors were breathtaking, as her wings were white with black spots and her wingtips were heavily feathered. The ocean breeze fills your lungs with cool air, as it sweeps up the canyon walls. Stay on the path, and avoid going after a heavy rain because the creek overflows. Wear long pants and look out for rattlesnakes, mule deer, stink bugs, bees, and an occasional wolf. read more

Easy hiking and biking. Not much to see here. No parking. No bathrooms like San Clemente canyon does on the other side of the 52 freeway. Good easy cardio read more

This is the prefect place to use your bike and go up the hill for a run. The view is amazing and will make your time there enjoyable. Definitely the best park around!! read more