Palm Canyon in Balboa Park is one of my favorite places to visit. Located right behind the international cottages, there are many entrances to the canyon but of course the stairs are the coolest as they go right over the Morton Bay Fig Tree, It was planted as a small tree in a garden of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and, with more than a century of growth, has become a magnificent giant.
Palm canyon is chock full of trees and plants and at the south end you will find an archery practice field.
All these years later I still enjoy walking into the canyon.
Cowles mountain hike: I have hiked cowles mountain for many years, it is about 1.75 mile and about 1600 feet up,
On a clear day you can see the Coronado Island, Point Loma and downtown San Diego.(<-about 15 miles away.)
When it is foggy in the morning going up just before sunrise is amazing with the clouds below you and clear and sunny above, where you’ll only see the peaks of the other mountains in the county, so bring your camera.
Cowles mountain hike is very, very popular and it is pretty cool to see the families, friends, boy and girl scout groups and elementary school kids on a special outing. It is a rugged trail – stay hydrated.
Downtown hike:
A great adventure hike for me is to take the trolley or bus to Petco park and walk over to the harbor side, go up the main convention center steps(exactly 100) then down the backside and up the west side stairs on the harbor side.
Step wise from the trolley exit there are pretty close to 600 steps up and down. Whew! From there walking on the harbor side goes past seaport village and over to Broadway and Harbor Drive where by that time I’m usually pooped so I Just cross the street and there is the transit station.
That is just one variation of a downtown hike so have fun.
South Fortuna
South Fortuna Mountain hike trail head that I like is long and strenuous, I start at the parking lot off Mission Gorge rd at Jackson dr. Follow the fire road down to the San Diego river and cross, then up the steep fire road. Turn right at the top and 75 yards turn right down the little trail- at the bottom go right cross a little stream (water maybe not) turn right and that trail will take you to the top of South Fortuna Mtn.
Stay the course and you will come to the power lines so turn left and find your way back.