Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → North County → Love Valley

Location: Palomar Mountain area, northeast of San Diego

Distance: 2 miles roundtrip

Elevation Gain/Loss: 300 feet

Time Required: 1 hour

Red Tape/Notes: None.

What’s Nearby?: Doane Valley

This hike is best done after a wet winter (we were here during the drought, so we need to go back), since shallow ponds in the valley make lovely reflections of the landscape. When the ponds dry up by May or June, they apparently leave wildflowers behind. We haven’t witnessed this firsthand, but the hike was still very pretty, through rolling hills dotted with oaks – the kind perfect for picnics (and this hike is easy enough that you could carry a full-on Victorian style picnic basket and have a glorious lunch). The right fork of the hike leads to a rather picturesque old barn which is full of (and surrounded by) cool old junk, providing nice variation to the short hike.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → North County → Love Valley