Cowles Mountain – San Diego Airedale Hike
Last week, after an almost three-month maternity leave, Annie and I started back on our hikes up Cowles Mountain, here in San Diego.
Cowles Mountain, at 1,591 feet is the highest point within the city of San Diego. Of the three main trails that go up to the top, I prefer the Barker Way trail, which some people refer to as the back side trail.
San Diego Airedale Hike
For dogs it’s the ideal trail, it’s nice and wide because it’s also serves as an access road to the microwave facility at the top of the mountain. Plus, and it’s a big plus for me, it’s a lot less crowded than the traditional front trail.
Also if you’re walking your dog late in the afternoon, it is definitely the best trail to take. That’s because you’re coming up the east side of the mountain, when the angle of the setting sun puts most of the trail in shade.
So, when we got back to hiking up the trail, Annie and I set our first goal as to the first third of the trail. After that, our second goal was to get up to the two thirds mark of the trail. We were going to do that for a couple of days and work up to the top of the trail sometime next week.
But just a few days ago, we decided to move up our timetable, and we managed to do the summit, a week ahead of schedule.
The trail is about a mile and a half each way and takes Annie and I about 55 minutes up and 25 minutes down.
From the summit if you’ve timed it just right, you can usually catch a great sunset over San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. But, no matter what time you go, there are always great views to be had in every direction. Looking a little Southwest you can see Lake Murray and downtown San Diego and just a little past that, into Mexico. Also on a clear day, you can see the Coronado Islands. The Coronado Islands are 15 miles south of San Diego and about 8 miles off the coast of Baja California.
But probably the best thing about hiking up Cowles Mountain with your Airedale, is the fact that it provides great exercise for both of you that’s combined with spectacular 360° views.
Prior video of Barker Way Trail