Los Penasquitos Canyon

Overview: Los Penasquitos Canyon is about 6.1 miles roundtrip from the staging area to the waterfall and located near Carmel Valley/Rancho Penasquitos and Mira Mesa, California. The trail is great for hiking, mountain biking, and horse back riding, and can take 2-4 hours.

This is a generally flat hike that you can make as long or as short as you like. There are runners, walkers, mountain bikers, horse riders and people of all sorts on this shady and sunny walk. The trails are well maintained and marked. You can stay on the main drag or jog off on the single lane trails that always eventually meet up with the two main trails.


Tips: Park either in the designated lot at the junction of Mercy and Black Mountain Rd ($3) or park in the back of the Canyonside Community Park (free). Take a look at the map at the start of the hike to get your bearings and then have fun exploring!