Goodan Ranch and Sycamore Canyon

After a few minutes on the trail today, I said cheerily to The Lyle, “this may be my new favorite hike!” My husband laughed and said “you say that on every hike!” It’s true, I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, lately. Being new to San Diego hiking, we are both loving the diversity and amazing sights this County has to offer. Each outing presents an exciting new adventure! Today, we enjoyed a serene, yet moderately challenging loop around Sycamore Canyon. We entered from the Poway Road entrance (Garden Road to Sycamore Canyon Road), heading south 2-3 miles to the small parking lot at the Goodan staging area. We began our hike on Martha’s Grove Trail, traveling a little over 1.5 miles (stopping to pay our respects at the Martha Harville Memorial Oak Grove), before heading left up Cardio Hill (gradual, steady 1 mile incline) to Ridge Trail, which loops around the preserve about 1.75 miles. We headed down this trail to the canyon floor and picked up Stowe Trail north for a very short stint. (Stowe Trail heads south through the Miramar Marine Base and then to Mission Trails Park, for those with a permit.) Bikers BEWARE, the descent on Ridge Trail is steep and curvy. If you are heading too fast, you will have a serious and very unpleasant accident! (Even if you aren’t a speed demon, there are scary, blind curves on the descent!) We continued north on the West Boundary Trail for about a .5 hike to the Goodan Ranch Visitor Center. BTW, we loved the view from The Ridge Trail! It was a 60* partly-cloudy day, and we enjoyed unique cloud formations over the easterly mountains. We could also see the Fortunas to the south near our home. Really great territorial views! The Visitor Center was a treat with bathrooms, comfortable seating near a wood stove, and lots of displays about plants and wildlife. We enjoyed lunch outside on a sunny bench and viewed the stone home that was once used by the Goodan family when they owned the property many years ago (a 2003 fire destroyed most of it, unfortunately). There are 3 picnic tables nearby. After enjoying the Center for a bit, we picked up the trail and hiked a little over a mile through open terrain back up to the Goodan staging area. This was a 6.5 miles hike and took us about 3.5 hours. Would suggest this hike to those wanting to get away from people - we only encountered five others on the trail - and to those who enjoy trails without too many rocks. You will not witness “suburbia” from this hike, just hills, mountains and valleys! This canyon may not receive the press the Los Penasquitas Canyon gets, but it’s equally fabulous! We will definitely be back to hike Sycamore Canyon, again!