All Stories from San Diego County

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  Garden in the Wilderness

  Hidden spots may seem harder to come by these days, but San Diego's Pauma Valley has a few less-known gems, including a small oasis tucked within Wilderness Gardens County Preserve. Find it along a tranquil trail where water, native history, and natural diversity come together.

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  Accomplished Mission

  Coastal breezes blow and church bells toll as you approach Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, a peaceful and serene national historic landmark and crucial piece of early

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  Eagle Gold

  There’s gold in these mountains! Well, there was, once upon a time. In the 1870s, prospectors discovered gold in Julian, leading to the creation of Eagle Mine, known as the Mother

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  Cultivated Carlsbad

  The most dependable bloom of springtime flowers in SoCal? It’s in Carlsbad, where the cultivated Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch have been putting on a show for the past 26 years.

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  You Call This a Hellhole?

  One person’s hellhole is another’s heavenly desert oasis. Hellhole Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is definitely the latter. Its name comes from cattleman Wid Helm, who said it was “one hell of a hole to get cattle out of.” For you, it’s a moderate to challenging 5.5-mile (round-trip) out-and-back hike.

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  Lookout Ahead!

  A 3.7-mile loop hike to Boucher Hill Fire Lookout in Palomar Mountain State Park reminds us that fire, and fire prevention, have long been facts of life in Southern California. We’

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  Be Cabrillo!

  A big year lies ahead. Why not start it off with an explorer’s mind-set? Be Cabrillo! Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, that is, the first foreign visitor (1542) to America’s finest city. H

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  Around the World in San Diego

  Ah, what wonders grow when the weather is perpetually delightful! Such is the case in San Diego, where the San Diego Botanic Garden is able to grow a ridiculous 4,000-plus species

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  If Jack Sparrow Had a Lagoon

  Nothing goes together better than bird-watching and buried treasure, right? Never connected the two? Consider 610-acre Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad—perhaps the most bird-friendly

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  Leopard Sharknado

  If your brain starts playing the Jaws theme the second you hear the word “shark,” relax. Snorkeling with leopard sharks at La Jolla Shores is a little more like Finding Nemo. Sort

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  Thanks, Annie!

  Annie’s Canyon Trail in the 1,000-acre San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Solana Beach includes the most unique quarter-mile you’ve ever maneuvered—through a sandstone slot canyon!

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  Burrito Beach

  Not all hidden treasures are silver and gold. Sometimes a breakfast burrito on the beach will do just fine. X marks the spot at Buccaneer Beach in Oceanside, a city known for its c

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  Potato Chip Topper

  If you associate potato chips with unwanted calories, get ready for a re-education. You’ll burn a lot of energy on the hike to Potato Chip Rock—a one-of-a-kind boulder jutting out

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  Serene Scene

  Peace, reflection, and rejuvenation are gifts that any mother will love, and all are in abundance at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in Encinitas, where serene gardens overl

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  Take the Plunge!

  Who knew that sleepy Ramona is home to an 80-foot waterfall complete with a deep, frigid pool in the midst of a lush oasis? Reach Cedar Creek Falls in Cleveland National Forest by

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  Bite-Size Torrey Pines

  Sometimes bite-size hikes deliver gourmet-size rewards! These coastal trails in Torrey Pines deliver astounding scenery in a park that is home to the rarest pine species in the cou

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  At Play in Kate’s Place

  Come for the trails, stay for the view! Kate O. Sessions Memorial Park is a dog-friendly urban park with 79 acres of open space where you can hike, picnic, toss a Frisbee, fire up

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  Sea-to-Sea View

  It’s a bit of a leg buster, but this 5.6-mile out-and-back hike up 6,512-foot Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park gets you bragging rights for reaching the second-highest point in San Diego County. Better, it rewards you with sweeping views that extend from sea to sea...

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  Welk This Way

  So you’re a soccer for resort life? Head to the 450-acre Lawrence Welk Resort San Diego in North County and enjoy a leisurely game of foot golf on their 18-hole, par-54 course—the

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  Be-Witching Forest

  Though the name is very Lord of the Rings, you won’t find Legolas in Escondido’s Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, but you might see a ghostly spirit on this 3.5-mile (round-trip) hike.

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