This hike is TRICKY. I definitely recommend downloading a GPS app on your phone to help navigate…read morethe trails (I had not done this before, but will do so next time). You're suppose to follow the cairns (stacks of rocks) to help guide you on the trail but to be honest, there are so many small little paths it's easy to lose your way even if you think you were following a marker. Fortunately, my friend and I were able to tag along with some friendly ladies who had done the hike once before. We wouldn't have made it up to the peak if it weren't for them. There is a specific part of the trail (right when you pass the dam) where you need to climb up pretty steep and are pretty much rock climbing at some point. I made the mistake of wearing Nikes on this hike and will never do that again. You need shoes with traction or straight up hiking boots for this climb. It was scary going up and going down. The trails are VERY NARROW. We got scratched up pretty bad and I was still wearing long leggings and a long sleeve. My hands were full of scratches. It was particularly windy on the day that we went which was at the end of January so do check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. The boulders at the top are BEAUTIFUL and there are plenty of photo opportunities. On a side note, I did end up with a tick attached at the back of my neck when I got home. So again, dress appropriately and definitely recommend doing a "tick check" after every hike now. :)

Nestled between Lake Morena to the north and Hauser Canyon to the south is an unassuming mountain…read morecalled Morena Butte. I get the feeling a lot of people don't know it is even there. It is neither particularly tall, or even distinctive given its surroundings, but it makes for a memorable hike for those willing to put in a few miles to see it and the unique hiking experience it has to offer. The payoff is multi-hued granitic outcroppings, boat loads of exposed boulders and a dizzying cliff-side summit overlooking Hauser Canyon, Barrett Lake and points west and south. The hike starts in Lake Morena County Park. If you GPS it, it will take you right to the park entrance. (If you don't have GPS, take the Buckman Springs Rd exit off of I-8, turn right towards Campo, right on Oak Dr, slight right on Lake Morena Dr to the park. Follow the signs.) You may park in the PTC trail-head lot just outside the county park entrance. No fee or permit is required in this lot- parking inside the park will cost you $3. The southbound PTC trail-head is at the west end of the lot and is marked. Begin the hike there and proceed SW for about 4 miles. The PTC will wind and twist around for a bit, but you will eventually end up westbound coming up from a small creek-bed onto a slight rise before the trail starts its decent into Hauser Canyon. The trail heading up to the butte T's from the right at the top of this rise and at this writing was unmarked. (There was a trail marker at one time, but it was gone this last time I hiked it.) We left a rock cairn to mark the spot. **Important: If you start descending down into Hauser Canyon, you have gone too far. Turn around and go back!** Proceed up the butte trail for about two miles, being careful to follow the numerous cairns marking your way. Vegetation becomes more sparse and rocks more numerous the farther you go so it becomes real easy to get off-trail. If that happens to you, just make sure you continue along the ridge-line in a general westerly direction and keep an eye out for those cairns. You are headed for a summit overlooking Hauser Canyon on the far end of the butte, so keep close to the canyon side of the mountain and keep following the ridge. You will go around to the left of a large rocky rise and will end up on a massive granite outcropping. After gaping at the spectacle for a few minutes, look west-ish and you should see the summit poking up from the far corner of the mountain with a crazy over-hanging rock at its high point. Follow the cairns on the outcropping opposite that, staying generally to the right side of it, then follow the cairns down into a depression at the end of the outcropping. From there you will cut west-ish again and go up a rise where it is real easy to lose the cairns. Most of them are down low and easy to miss in the vegetation. The summit should be ahead of you so just continue and head straight for it. There is nothing wrong with forging your own trail at this point. You will have to rock-scramble the last 100' or so, but finally you will come to the summit. If you go to the far corner of the summit, you are literally standing on the edge of the mountain with a mind bending drop in front of you. If you get up on the highest summit rock it's even better. Enjoy the views of Hauser Canyon and Barrett Lake and have a rest because it is a long way back to the park!

After a short Yelp search I found academy rentals. My 11 year old son constantly talks about…read morewanting to go dirt bike riding so I found us a rental place and scheduled it. Online scheduling is fast and easy you can pay for your tours or rentals online. Or you can call in or text and and schedule them that way. I did a little of both on this visit, our second visit. I went online on a Friday and scheduled for one father and son to go ATV riding and take a sand dune tour from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later the rest of the family decided they wanted to go. So I sent Academy Rentals a text and said 5 will be showing up instead. 2 parents and 3 kids ATVs. They texted back right away, no problem see you on Sunday. We went on a tour with four other folks that we didn't know and it was a great time! Our tour guide Chris was awesome! He was full of energy smiling and happy and was perfect with our three kids 9, 11, and 13. He gave the adults some opportunities to push their limits on their ATVs but always left a safe option for the kids. You can pay credit on the spot when you get there if you choose. Helmets gloves and goggles are provided if you don't have your own. Make sure you bring 8 bottles of water for each person and some snacks. It is very hot and sunny out there during some times of the year, so it's best to be completely covered arms and legs no shorts no tank tops. This was our second trip to Academy and it also was an awesome one! I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to do a bachelor party, at bachelorette party, or just get out of the city unwind and detach for some good old-fashioned Southern California fun!

Chelsea and Chris were extremely nice throughout the entire process. The ATVs were in great…read morecondition and very fun to ride. Definitely recommend for first time riders!!

Fun for everyone! Many options for young riders to adults. I myself am a big guy and was…read morecomfortable the whole duration of the tour. Excellent service

I would give zero stars if I could…read more Preliminarily, I would like to note that they offer a free t-shirt for anyone who writes a positive review, which violates Yelp policies and suggests the few positive reviews may be "bought" instead of legitimate... Some wives organized a dune tour for our husbands on Sunday, May 17, 2026, and unfortunately, the Yelp reviews, which show a clear pattern of fraudulently retaining deposits and double charging customers, were not reviewed before the primary organizer who selected this company. Regrettably, every negative review about this company is 100% correct. This experience was negative from the get go: -Upon arrival, they did not have the can-ams that were pre-ordered -The company was incredibly disorganized and were inexcusably ready extremely late after we arrived but had an "excuse" for everything (lost an oil dipstick for one, had to put air in the tires on another, had to put gas in ALL of the ATVs, all of which should have done before the customers arrived) -We paid a deposit of $2,161.96 but were told that they would not necessarily retain the full deposit -One member of the group did, unfortunately, flip his ATV, and they acknowledged there was some damage and never disputed that the group would cover it; however, the company (Chris, specifically) promised an itemized invoice for the damages. The following is what transpired: *Monday, 5/18 - Chris said he would send invoice *Thursday, 5/28 (1.5 weeks later) - We e-mailed asking for the itemized invoice and security deposits of $1,332.13 and $1,545.00 *Monday, 6/1 (2 weeks after promised the invoice) - Told we would have the breakdown this week *Sunday, 6/7 (3 weeks after the ATV tours) - Asked "Has there been any update on the price/invoice of the breakdown of damages?" *One of the husbands in our group disputed the charge for the deposit given (1) he had not yet received the itemized invoice he had been promised and (2) we had not received evidence to suggest any potential damage equated to the amount of the deposit, meaning there could have been an overcharge *Thursday, 6/11 - Upon learning of the chargeback, Chris sent the attached photographs of threatening messages (these are his own words) threatening with completely incorrect and inaccurate recitations of the law, which were barely comprehensible given Chris' lack of even an elementary level of proper grammar and syntax

I love it when I can bring my dogs camping! Potrero County Park Campground is located on the East…read moreSide of San Diego. The surrounding areas are mountains and small towns. We went at the beginning of October. The weather in the daytime was cool, it rained for one day at night, and it got chilly. At night you can hear frogs and crickets. Dogs are welcome, but they must be leased at all times. There are hot showers available in the park bathrooms. Make sure to bring quarters to feed the machine. There are unruly campers at night. They blast the music up during quiet hours and drink. The best time to camp here is during the weekdays, and it's tranquil. The nature trail is easy to hike. It was a nice getaway! You can find more information about Potrero at - https://reservations.sdparks.org/reservation/camping/

Quiet well maintained county park. Bathrooms were clean. Showers were rust stained so I'm glad we…read morewere in an RV. We had space 15 which had lots of shade and room for our slide out. 31' class C RV. No real path to the bathroom so you have to cross across others campsites if you are in a, ah, hurry. Lots of ground squirrels, blue jays, vultures, crows and woodpeckers. ***COYOTES at night **** we had our dogs wear their coyote vests any time we went out. Serious sticker burr challenge for our dogs. Will bring a rake next time. Super friendly ranger. They have a little free library. We will come again in winter

We had a great time with Emil on a 1 hr ride through rain and snow flurries. The ride was safe,…read morewell paced and super fun. I would recommend wearing some waterproof pants/jacket if you are going during such weather. This is my new favorite activity! Can't wait to do it again.

I booked this adventure for 2 reasons: (1) to FINALLY get out of the house during this pandemic…read moreespecially since all we have been doing is working and we have been working more than ever since our job is considered 'essential', and (2) celebrate my boyfriends 30th birthday. This was my first time on a quad/ATV and my boyfriend has been riding dirt bikes since he was like 6yrs old. I love being outdoors & going on new adventures, and he loves riding ... so the mixture of those things i came upon this place. For birthdays I love and prefer creating memories instead of giving materialistic gifts. Example: For his 28th birthday I booked us a little personal speed boat in San Diego. Upon arrival check-in was easy, quick, and they gave us hand sanitizer so we felt assured. They had helmets and other PPE lined up and available for us to use, however we had brought our own (riding gloves, riding jerseys, riding DOT certified helmets, and googles) which they allow. Our guide Jorge was funny and very easy going. The ride overall was really fun!! During our ride our guide also took pictures of us and he took some awesome ones with amazing backdrops! The only complaint I have was that I only booked us the 1 hour ride. Next time we are doing the 2 hour ride for sure! And maybe the Big Bear location as well.

An outstanding "under the radar" waterfall hike is right here in Descanso. The Merigan Trail (aka…read morethe Merigan Fire Road) is closer than you think at just five minutes off the 8 freeway. Once at the trailhead, you will start your hike through an open meadow, passing some shady oak groves then finishing with waterfalls crashing on large boulders. I was introduced to this gem when I was at sixth grade camp, at Camp Oliver. I knew the Merigan Trail was great even then, but now I can truly appreciate how this area was left untouched after all these years. If it is your first time here, you will be back. FYI..there was still snow on the ground when we went in early January. There is no official address, but the place is right off Viejas Boulevard at Mitzpah Lane. Since it is part of the Cuyamaca State Park, they have their own signs, dirt parking lot, port-a-potties and the "honor system" check in station. I guess they ask for an 8 dollar fee to park. From the parking lot, walk to the trail head going left that passes right in front of a ranger's cabin. You can't miss the trail, since it is wide enough to drive a truck through. Stay on the trail and you will pass through a meadow, then an oak grove, this will then turn into a few mild inclines on the trail that will eventually lead you to a fork in the trail. At the fork, you will see a sign with the option to go to the "Dead Horse Trail" or stay on the "Merigan Fire Road." I always take the Dead Horse Trail, and go left at the fork in the trail to get to the waterfalls. The hike to the waterfall takes about 30-40 minutes for the average hiker with a few stops to admire the scenery. On a scale of 1-10 for difficulty, I would rate it at a 3. There are some inclines, but nothing too bad. Remember, my entire 6th grade class made the hike. Although I love Mission Trails and Cowles Mountain as much as the next hiker...those spots are flooded with way too many bodies. Just when you think you hear a coyote or deer up ahead, it always ends up being another hiker. Kind of a buzz kill. The Merigan Trail has always been the opposite of that experience for me.

We did this hike based on the review above. There's something about the adventure of trying to…read morefind a waterfall based on one yelp review that sounded fun. It's pretty much just as the above review describes. Drive east on I-8 two exits past the Viejas outlets to Japatul rd and make a left. Make a left at hwy 79 and then an immediate left on Viejas Blvd. Look for Mitzpah rd and park in the dirt lot. Parking is $8. The hike to the waterfall is about 30 minutes. Take the fireroad and make a left at the fork down towards Dead Horse Trail. You will start to hear water. The falls aren't big and majestic, but it's quiet and uncrowded. We had 4 kids with us ranging from age 6 - 9 and they all had a good time.

I love Mount Laguna!!! I've been hiking and mountain biking out here for years. It's got such a…read morevaried landscape, ranging from huge desert overlooks to green meadows and trees. There is adequate parking along sunrise Highway pretty much anywhere you go. You are supposed to have an adventure pass to park here and they have a kiosk to pay for it but it never works. Fortunately if you have the America, the beautiful pass, you can put that on your dashboard and that will cover it. Today, my man and I went out and did a hike on the PCT portion to Foster point. Absolutely stunning, one of my favorite overlooks in the area. On this portion of the trail, there is very little tree cover and you've got to be careful not to get dehydrated. It was only 74° and it got toasty in the sun. We were out there for three hours, and I had 3 L of water. I drank pretty much all of it and a Gatorade bottle that I brought. If you come out here for biking, be sure to hit Los Gatos Trail. It's so flowy and fun and has a bunch of little features you can play on. Noble Canyon is a legendary trail but if you are going to ride it, make sure you've got strong bike skills because it is quite technical.

Some of my favorite hikes in the winter are here. Previous years when I came here in February there…read morewas snow but no snow when we went today. We could tell that the snow recently melted because parts of the trail was muddy. There are at least 4 trails here. The trails range from easy to moderate depending which one you go on. The views are stunning!

Great camping spot Dog friendly…read more Clean toilet Fun activities hiking and bicycling I love the experience with my family, it is a beautiful place to camp, very relaxing and quiet. Be aware for some rattle snakes.

This is a peaceful campground only an hour from San Diego. The small town of Pine Valley is nearby…read moreand is a good stop for the basics. Cibbetts Flat is first-come first-serve and I got here early enough to be choosy and find a good spot before my friends arrived. The requisite bench, fire pit, water access, and primitive restrooms are all in good condition.