Cuyamaca Peak

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Cuyamaca Peak

Cuyamaca Peak is a mountain in San Diego County roughly from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, Contained in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park located forty miles east of San Diego, California in the Peninsular Range. The park's 26,000 acres feature pine, fir, and oak forests, with meadows and streams that exist due to the relatively high elevation of the area compared to its surroundings....
east of San Diego, but southwest of Julian

Julian, California

Julian is an unincorporated area community in San Diego County, California, California, in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2000, the census-designated place population was 1,621....
and Volcan Mountain. Its summit sits at above sea level, making it the second highest point in San Diego County, after Hot Springs Mountain (near Warner Springs, California)

Three fire roads lead towards the mountain, but merge halfway upon the mountain, generally a popular year round hike the most popular starting location at Paso Picacho Campground, starting at about in elevation.

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Cuyamaca Peak is a mountain in San Diego County roughly from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Julian, California

Cedar Fire

The Cedar Fire was a human-caused wildfire which burned out of control through a large area of Southern California in October 2003. Driven by Santa Ana wind, the fire burned 2,820 buildings and had killed 15 people including one firefighter before being contained on November 3, making it the largest fire in recorded California history....
, the second largest fire in California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, singed the once abundant Douglas Fir, White Fir

White Fir

White Fir is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen Pinophyta tree growing to 25-60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to two m....
, Incense Cedar, Jeffrey Pine

Jeffrey Pine

Jeffrey Pine , named in honor of its documenter John Jeffrey , is a North American pine related to Ponderosa Pine. It occurs from southwest Oregon south through much of California , to northern Baja California in Mexico....
, Coulter Pine

Coulter Pine

Gambel oak

Gambel oak is a deciduous small tree or large shrub widespread in the foothills and lower mountain elevations of the central southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico....
, Sugar Pine

Sugar Pine

The Sugar Pine is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of Oregon and California in the western United States, and Baja California in northwestern Mexico; specifically the Sierra Nevada , the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra San Pedro Martir....
and other varieties of mixed conifer, what are left after the Cedar Fire patches of a once thriving forest, which primarily resided on the eastern/northern slope.

Snows in winter are common above on this mountain and surrounding regions in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. During summer, Bracken

Bracken

Brackens are a genus of about ten species of large, coarse ferns, in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, commonly found on moorland. The genus has probably the widest distribution of any fern genus in the world, being found on all continents except Antarctica and in all environments except for hot and cold deserts....
Ferns, a variety of wildflowers and grasses dominate mountain meadows and the forest floor. Fall colors of the Gambel oaks once lit up the mountain in fall colors prior to October 2003, limited displays can still be seen however during fall.

Small seedlings of new Douglas Fir, Limber Pine

Limber Pine

The Limber Pine is a species of pine tree that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States and Canada, specifically the subalpine areas of the Rocky Mountains from southwest Alberta south to the Mexico border; the Great Basin mountains of Nevada and Utah; and the White Mountains , the east slope of the Sierra Nevada and the San...
, Coulter Pine

Coulter Pine

The Coulter Pine or Big-cone Pine is a native of the coastal mountains of southern California and northern Baja California . Isolated groves are found as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area in Mt....
, Jeffrey Pine, Incense Cedar were seen within a year of the Cedar Fire, and as of 2007, some of these are now thriving saplings. From the summit of Cuyamaca, unobstructed views north, east, west, and south can be enjoyed on clear days. To the west, the Pacific Ocean, the Coronado Islands

Coronado Islands

The Coronado Islands are a group of four islands off the northwest coast of the Mexico States of Mexico of Baja California. Battered by the wind and waves, they are largely unfertile and uninhabited except for a small military detachment and a few lighthouse keepers....
of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, the coast line of San Diego County, Viejas Mountain, and El Cajon Mountain can be seen. Looking north, one can see Palomar Mountain, the ridge of Palomar Mountain

Palomar Mountain

Palomar Mountain is a mountain in the Palomar Mountain Range in northern San Diego County, California, United States. It is most famous as being home to the Palomar Observatory and the giant Hale Telescope....
appearing in full frontal view. On very clear days Toro Peak, The San Jacinto Mountains

San Jacinto Mountains

The San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range east of Los Angeles, California in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for Saint Hyacinth ....
, closer yet is Volcan Mountain, which is slightly to the northeast, Directly north and are the closest peaks, Middle and North Peaks, off before Volcan Mountain lay the former gold rush town of Julian. Directly east one may see the Anza Borrego Desert

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a state protected land located in Southern California primarily within eastern San Diego County, with portions within Imperial County and Riverside County....
, including summits such as the Laguna Mountains

Laguna Mountains

The Laguna Mountains are a section of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately 20 miles....
and Whale Peak, Very far beyond one may see the Salton Sea

Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is a saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, United States, north of the Imperial Valley ....
, closer however one will see Stone Wall Peak, all areas to name a few. To the south one may peer to Lyons Peak, Lawson Peak, south of the Mexican border mountains such as Table Top Mountain, and the Sierra Juarez

Sierra Juárez

The Sierra Ju?rez is a mountain range on the Baja California peninsula, in northern Mexico. It is located in the state of Baja California, immediately south of the US-Mexico border....
to the southeast. On clear days visibility ranges from 60-100 miles in nearly every direction.

Access is generally maintained through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park on other portions of Cleveland National Forest. Heading east on the 8 freeway, then up Route 79 (a little above Descanso, California

Descanso, California

Descanso is a small unincorporated area community in San Diego County, east of Alpine, California and west of Pine Valley, California of about 2,162 residents....
) you will have to pay a $2.00 fee to get into the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it....
Marker will register: 32 Degrees 56 Minutes and 80 Sec. N, 116 Degrees 36 Minutes and 40 Sec. W.

Cuyamaca Peak is place of weather, the forest contained on its slopes absorb the moisture readily with each passing cloud, average annual precipitation may vary from 32 - 20 inches. The significant elevation as compared to the surrounding landscape catches Pacific moisture easily, clouds forced to the heights of the mountain to let loose any moisture content. During the winter this precipitation may come as snow or frost, hoar frost upon the trees of the highest elevations is common during winter snow storms. Summer thunderstorms may account for about 30% of the total annual precipitation, winter/fall storms account for the other 70% percent, there is no exact median on this, drier years may change this statistic. A scenic, wildlife bountiful mountain, with unique scenery views across San Diego County and beyond. For more information on wildlife, fauna/flora, see Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cuyamaca Peak

See also

External links