Cowles Mountain

Mission Trails Regional Park, CA Santa Ana Mountains + San Diego

Trip stats

Distance
3.0 mi
Net Gain
900 ft
Time
1-2 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 1
Route
Out/Back
Peaks
1

Ratings out of 10

Effort
1.4/10
Personality
3/10
Beauty
3/10
Solitude
0.6/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

  1. Cowles Mountain
    1,591′ elevation · 991′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

32.804691, -117.037392

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Jan 30, 2016 — Great for what it was intended for, the steep (relative to city parks) Cowles Mountain Trail leads to a little summit overlooking the city just 20 minutes from downtown San Diego. Definitely not the trail you're looking for if you want wilderness or anyone to respect general courtesy. I saw plenty of people going off trail, one person not pick up dog poop (of course I commented because I'm kind of a tool like that), and a guy in a gas mask training for some sort of physical event.

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Photos

9 photos

  1. Start of Cowles Mountain trail. The summit is that tiny hill to the left.
  2. Some nice city views along the way.
  3. Really wide, super-eroded trails.
  6. Switchbacks full of people.
  7. A nice view of San Diego (hard to see from the fog).
  8. A nice little setup showing visitors the distant mountains. Of note are El Cajon Mountain and Cuyamaca Peak, amongst others.
  9. Cowles Mountain summit.

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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