Sycamore Canyon / Goodan Ranch

DISTANCE: 3 - 7 mile loops
TIME: 1 - 3 hours
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
COORDINATES:
N32 56.442 W116 58.834

The Sycamore Canyon Open Space Preserve stretches from south Poway to Santee, and consists of a network of single-track trails and dirt roads that can be hiked or biked. Combined with the adjacent Goodan Ranch, the Preserve covers over 2,000 acres. The area of the canyon that this post will focus on is the northern part, accessed from the Poway area. There is an entrance to the canyon off Highway 67 in between Espola Road and Lakeside, and another less-known trailhead that can be found by following Sycamore Canyon Road (off Garden Road in Poway) until it dead ends at a dirt parking lot.

The latter trailhead mentioned above begins at a higher elevation and looks down into the canyon. The most pleasant hike that can be accessed from this trailhead is the Martha's Grove Trail. After a short ascent uphill, the trail descends gradually into a grove of oak trees. Visited after a rainy season, the area can be expected to be painted with a variety of purple and yellow wildflowers. Within the grove is a memorial to park ranger and a bench for enjoying a peaceful moment.

The trail emerges from the grove where it joins up with a network of wider dirt roads that span a relatively level section of the canyon. "Canyon" may be a misleading term here; the preserve is a wide open space with shorter hills to the east and west. Although I have not yet explored the full north-south distance of the preserve, I did stumble upon a classic windmill as well as a ranger's fort about 2 miles south of the Martha's Grove Trailhead. A map of the preserve can be found by following this link.