I prefer to hike on trails rather than pavement to be fully immersed. So I asked the ranger if there was a trail that maybe she liked. Sure enough she sent me on the conejos trail which only adds a mile onto the hike. Plus the parking is free.

If you park at Los Vaqueros trailhead cross the street and follow milk ranch road (gravel road meant for horses) for 2.2 miles. Then turn left onto Azalea Spring fire road. Another 0.1 miles to turn right onto conejos trail. Follow the rocky trail for 2 miles to the lookout road. From there it’s 0.5 miles to the summit.

I started at 11:41 am and summited before 2:00 pm. Clear skies for miles! Definitely my favorite trail in San Diego so far. I finished at 4:00pm with a total of 8.26 miles.