#6. Corte Madera (Plus Los Pinos Bonus)

This was my favorite hike of the San Diego Challenge! I’d read about the unpaved road to the parking area and was concerned it would be eroded after recent Southern California rains, but I can confirm the road is completely fine and passable in any vehicle–just go slow! The trail is overgrown in parts, so I recommend long sleeves and pants. It’s incredibly scenic all the way up with great views of the surrounding peaks and even into Mexico. It was very windy on top of Corte Madera, so unfortunately I couldn’t stay there as long as I’d wanted. The views, however, are stellar. Just doing Corte Madera is a relatively short hike, so I also added in Los Pinos to make the 160-mile drive worth it. I highly recommend adding Los Pinos to your agenda if you’re up for it! The hike is on a road that you may or may not share with offroad vehicles, but it wasn’t busy and was more scenic than roads tend to be. There’s a great view a different angle of Corte Madera from the top and a fire tower that is apparently open to the public sometimes (unfortunately not when I went, but I’d love to come back!). Challenge complete, but I intend to wrap it up with El Cajon to complete all 7 options.