Crest Canyon Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Wildflowers · Wildlife

The better hiking and views are south of Del Mar Heights Rd in the Torrey Pines State Reserve Extension but the present hike offers a quick escape. The trail begins along a flat section along the rim that parallels Durango Drive and offers views toward the north and west. But many will skip this less interesting section in favor of starting at the trailhead at the end of Lozana Road. From here, stairs quickly lead to the bottom of the canyon. The trail then drops gently to the San Dieguito Lagoon, across from which you can see the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This is really an out-and-back hike but nearly parallel trails turn it into an elongated loop.

Overall, this is a 2½ star hike. It isn't much of a getaway and it lacks the long range coherency that makes for great views and photography but it is an enjoyable place to be, pretty in the spring, and an opportunity to see the rare Torrey pine trees. Crest Canyon is also favored place for male hummingbirds to perform their dive bombing mating ritual, well captured in the second episode (Netflix link) of the PBS documentary SuperNature: Wild Flyers. Keep an eye out for this show around the winter holidays.

Torrey pines and hummingbirds.