It took us two attempts to get to the top of Cuyamaca Peak as there is currently some construction going on (as of late July 2020).

We initially hiked the 5.6-mile West side approach and had to step aside for a lot of trucks driving up and down the fire road. About a mile and a half up the mountain a construction foreman in a golf cart told us that we had to turn around because the fire road was being repaved and there was no access to the summit. We headed back to Paso Picacho campground and decided to try the 7.7-mile loop approach via Azalea Glen Trail and Conejos Trail instead. Unfortunately, we had only brought water for about a 6-mile hike (and we had already hiked 3 miles up and down the mountain on our failed West side attempt), so it was no surprise that we ran out of water about a mile from the peak and had to turn around.

A couple days later we tried the loop approach again, and this time, with enough water, we actually made it to the summit. We were among the first folks to enjoy the freshly paved fire road that covers the last half mile to the summit. In hindsight, the 7.7-mile approach via Azalea Glen Trail and Conejos Trail is a much better hike anyway; the West side approach is really just walking on the paved fire road (which is great if you're hiking with a stroller, though). Azalea Glen, on the other hand, is easily one of the most beautiful trails in San Diego county, going through nicely wooded areas and even passing by a spring. The loop trail has you take the fire road on the way down, but alternatively you can just turn it into an out-and-back hike and return via Conejos and Azalea Glen (which makes it about a 10-mile hike).

On the top, you have a great view of surrounding peaks (Stonewall Peak, Middle Peak) as well as Lake Cuyamaca (which is very low on water this time of year). I couldn't find any official summit signage, so I took some selfies with the antennas in the background. To get to the actual highest point, you have to scramble around the back of the fenced-off area with all the communications equipment. As a nice surprise, there were a lot of ripe California gooseberries at the higher altitudes.

When we did our first attempt on July 23rd the repaving had just started, and on July 28th it seemed that they were about half way done, so construction activity it probably going to continue at least until the end of the month. It's probably best to check with the campground staff about the current status if you are planning to take the fire road.