Paso Picacho Campground

With 41 miles of bike trails, Cuyamaca State Park has plenty of roamin’ room for you and your cycle. Ride around 24,700 acres of meadows, mountains, and forests. Catch some serious speed and feel the wind on your face. Fly past waterfalls and towering oak trees on your way up to some sick vistas that overlook downtown San Diego, deserts, the Pacific Coast, and even Mexico. We’d recommend riding up to Cuyamaca Peak for the most nutso 360 degree view. Check out the trail info in this brochure to scope out your biking routes.

Need a break from the San Diego beach scene? If you want to be on the water (sans hoards of SoCal surfers) head out to Lake Cuyamaca, where you can rent a whole smorgasbord of boats, ranging from motor to pontoon, and in the summer, even canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats. You can also rent a float tube to treat yourself to some luxurious, leisurely lazy-river-type relaxation. And of course, feel free to BYOB (that’s B for boats, folks, so don’t load up your coolers just yet). Just be sure to hose them down in the decontaminating wash station before setting out so you don’t bring’ your nasty boat grime with ya! Hit up the lake’s website for more info.

Lake Cuyamaca might as well be an aquarium for all the fish it’s plump full of! Trout, catfish, bass, bluegill, sturgeon, the list goes on. If fishing is your thing, this park will be paradise for you. In fact, people here are so into fishing, they update a fishing report on their website with their most impressive catches. Left your gear at home? Hit up the park’s tackle shop to buy or rent anything you need. But before you head out there and start casting your lines willy nilly, be sure you purchase a permit and a California State Fishing License, if you don’t already have one. Then the lake is all yours.

So here’s the thing. San Diego gets a rep for its sandy beaches and high concentration of surfer dudes/dudettes. But there’s a helluva lot more variety in the surrounding area than it gets credit for (no, we’re not just talking about the nearby deserts). Check out the 100+ miles of hiking in Cuyamaca through mountains, meadows, oak trees, and creeks. And in the fall, you can even see the colorful, changing leaves. In case you forget where exactly San Diego is situated, head up to Cuyamaca Peak on a clear day and check out the nearby desert, Pacific Coast, and Mexico. Hike up Stonewall Peak to get an awesome view of Lake Cuyamaca down below. The Cuyamaca hiking trails will show you a whole other side of SoCal. Here’s a trail map to help you plan your routes.

Cuyamaca wants to be majorly chummy with your horses. Seriously, bring them out there with you. They have a group equestrian campground for up to 45 horses, and 7 trails you can explore with your trusty stead. Cuyamaca is about as horse friendly as they come, so ride on, fellow equestrians.

Are you a ‘yaker? (the answer is probably no if you don’t know what that abbreviation means). During the summer months, you can rent a kayak or canoe at Lake Cuyamaca, or bring your own, as long as you’re willing to properly sanitize your chosen vessel before embarking on your row-venture. Check out the Lake Cuyamaca website for rental info!

If you’re a bird aficionado, you’ll want to bring your binoculars here (unless you have some sort of bionic vision we don’t know about...). And probably eat some carrots to sharpen your vision, too. Whatever your optic situation is, be sure to look out for some awesome egrets, red-tailed hawks, sage sparrows, and dozens of other bird types. Head to the visitor’s center for a complete list of birds you can expect to find in the park. You can also chill with some gray foxes and tree frogs. There has been the occasional mountain lion sighting, so buff up your mountain lion IQ just in case.