Cowles Mountain - South Approach

Cowles Mountain in San Diego (by Gary Avant)

# Latitude Longitude Elevation Distance 1 N 32° 48' 18.12" W 117° 02' 15.39" 263 m 0.000 mi 2 N 32° 48' 45.98" W 117° 01' 54.68" 479 m 1.481 mi Max Elevation: 1572 ft

Distance: 3.0 miles round trip Hiking Time: 2 hours (round trip) Elevation Gain/Loss: 950′/950′ Difficulty: Moderate Trail User: Dogs allowed, good for kids.

Directions: Exit Interstate 8 at College Ave, go north for 1 mile. Turn right on Navajo Road and continue 2 miles east to the Cowles Mountain Trailhead, located on the northeast corner of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive.

This very popular (possibly San Diego County’s most heavily traveled hiking route) trail switch backs up the sunny south side of Cowles Mountain.

At .9 miles from the start the trail bends sharply left, while a side trail continues up to a flat spot on the mountains shoulder.

Precisely on that flat spot, there once existed a circular array of stones crossed by an “arrow” of rocks pointing southeast to the exact point on the horizon where the winter solstice sun rises, typically on December 21st. When the upper most rim of the solstice sun fist appears, around 6:50 AM, it is momentarily split into two brilliant points of light by a large boulder pile sticking up on a far-off ridge to the southeast. With in seconds the two points fuse into a single, even brighter point of light.

At mile 1 from the start, a through-trail branches right, heading eastward toward Barker Way. Stay left and continue up the slop on the series of long switch back segments leading to the mountains rocky summit.

Note: please do not skip the switch backs, it erodes the trail even quicker