Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → East County → Indian Creek-PCT Loop

Location: Laguna Mountains, Cleveland National Forest, east of San Diego

Distance: 9 mile loop

Elevation Ascent/Descent: 1000 feet/1000 feet

Time Required: 4-5 hours

Red Tape/Notes: National Forest Adventure Pass required. The San Diego Reader has a nice summary of this loop route with a basic trail map.

What’s Nearby?: Kitchen Creek, Garnet Peak, Oasis Spring

There are so many nice trails crisscrossing this area that you have numerous opportunities to create loop hikes, depending on the amount of time you have and the length of hike you’re looking for. We opted to combine portions of several trails into a longer 9 mile loop from the Penny Pines Trailhead, starting down the Noble Canyon Trail. This popular trail heads downhill, crossing Pine Creek Road a couple of times, before the Indian Creek Trail branches off to the left and drops down to Indian Creek (presumably there’s a seasonal watercourse here – we were here in the fall, so just a dry creek bed for us) before ascending back up. After some ascent, the Indian Creek Trail continues traversing across the hills and the Pine Mountain Trail intersects from the north. Take the Pine Mountain Trail northeast towards Champagne Pass (we were super excited about this luxurious-sounding location, but it wasn’t particularly remarkable) and continue following the trail until it brings you back to the Sunrise Highway, where you can cross the road and pick up the Pacific Crest Trail near the Pioneer Mail Historic Site. You can take the PCT all the way back to the Penny Pines Trailhead, passing the intersection with the Garnet Peak Trail along the way. The last section of the PCT travels along the edge of Storm Canyon, offering beautiful views – assuming you aren’t traveling in a heavy fog (bad lucky, really).

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → East County → Indian Creek-PCT Loop