Some Happy Trails for Area Runners : Well, Some May Not Be So Happy, but All Provide Interesting Workouts

SAN DIEGO —  If God had intended man to run He would have given him four legs, or at least made him late for a bus. . . . Unnecessary running is a crime against nature. This goes for the joggers who clutter our country roads and infest our parks .--Red Smith, 1981

From Oceanside to Imperial Beach, Point Loma to Julian, San Diegans have been exhibiting their disagreement with Red for a long time now.

How many? One expert we asked estimated that as many as 500,000 county residents do at least some running.

Places to run are as varied in scenery and terrain as the topographically diverse county itself. There doesn’t seem to be an area in the county where San Diegans don’t run (excluding, of course, for obvious reasons, the 100-plus degree Anza-Borrego Desert and the freeways), and there may be a number of favorite routes omitted here.

Seventeen popular routes have been obtained from a handful of experts and are offered here. They are rated from easy (one star) to hard (5 stars) and range from very safe to places where care must be taken, flat to hilly.

So if it is the intention of San Diegans to continue to “clutter our country roads and infest our parks,” here are places to do just that:

1. FROG POND: ** 1/2

Access: Interstate 5 north to Oceanside. Highway 78 east to Vista, off at Melrose, north about a block to Broadway, east to North Santa Fe Avenue, northwest to Guajome County Park. There is a back entrance on North Santa Fe Avenue. To get to the main entrance, continue west on North Santa Fe Avenue to Highway 76 (Mission Avenue), north to Guajome Lake Road.

Where to run: This is a beautifully wooded park with a marsh to the southwest and lakes to the northwest and east--called Upper Pond--of this rectangular park. Trails intertwine throughout, wrapping around the western lake, the north part of the marsh and encircling the Upper Pond. Trail access is available at the back entrance and the main entrance, as well as from campground and picnic areas reached from the main entrance.

Comments: Kinney National cross-country champion Kira Jorgensen of Rancho Buena Vista High School spent her first two years in high school running for Vista High. Her home course was the Home of the Frog, or the Frog Pond, as Guajome translates from Luiseno Indian.

The course ranges from 3.5 to 6 miles, depending on which route you choose, either accidentally or on purpose. The trails are pampered; many cross-country events are held there. The hills are mostly rolling, undulating slopes with only steep parts along Guajome Lake Road and at the northern crossing near Upper Pond.

Jorgensen said it tends to get a bit windy, and there are occasional snakes to hurdle, but there are few other hazards.

2. APPLE CORE LOOP: ****

Access: Highway 79 northeast from I-5, or Highway 78 east from Oceanside to downtown Julian.

Where to run: Start on Main Street in Julian, head west; it becomes Farmer Road and winds north. Turn right at Wynola Road and wind south into Banner Road, a steep incline that eventually jogs south to Main Street and downtown Julian.

Comments: This is known to runners in Julian as the Wynola Loop, but its shape is more like that of an apple core. Michael Riney, who has been running for nine years--for his health, he says, not enjoyment--rates the loop a 4. He said running at 4,200 feet is more difficult than running closer to sea level.

“This is mostly just hills,” said Riney, 45, a life insurance company regional director. “It is all running in the mountains. It has a tendency to make you a little more conditioned. It isn’t like running Mission Bay.”

Riney said he averages 8 minutes 30 seconds per mile over the 6-mile loop course, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more than he would at sea level.

The loop is along paved roads. Hazards, except for traffic, are few.

3. SWAMPLANDS: ***

Access: I-5 to Manchester Avenue west. Manchester Avenue north to the Coast Highway south. Park along the road at the north end of Cardiff State Beach.

Where to run: Start on the coast in Encinitas, run south along the coast, cross at the light and head for the swamp area where the fun starts. This is an undeveloped plot of land with intertwining hiking and equestrian trails surrounding swamp-like lands around San Elijo Lagoon.

Comments: “It’s really fun to run there,” said Jay Larson, a La Jolla-based triathlete. “There are little skinny trails like pathways where you can get a whole loop in and out of trees.”

Larson said it is possible to get a good 8- to 10-mile loop out of the area.

“You can’t get going that fast,” Larson says. “You are zigzagging a lot. It is really fun to run areas like that. The scenery is enjoyable.”

As for hazards, Larson could only come up with one: concentration.

“You have to concentrate so hard, just so you don’t run into something.”

4. HORSE TRAILS: ****

Access: I-5 to Solana Beach/Lomas Santa Fe, off at Lomas Santa Fe Drive, east to San Dieguito County Park. Parking is available off Highland Drive, either at the park or the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club.

Where to run: The course starts at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club. There are five intertwining routes that are horse trails in and around the San Dieguito Park area. They may be mixed and matched to the point where runners rarely cover the same route twice. Small posts mark the beginning of all five trails.

Comments: Although this course is one of the more difficult to find, its diverse scenery and terrain are worth the effort.

Every Tuesday, a group of triathletes gather to run these horse trails. Larson says that Scott Tinley, a legendary triathlete, usually leads the pack through the trails, which were originally set up for equestrian riding. Larson says that Tinley, an excellent runner, has a tendency to take newcomers through the winding, sloped brush and lose them.

“They could be lost in there for days,” Larson says.

Larson says that the trail paths are bark and leaf-covered, making for a soft landing.

“The trails are not that long,” Larson says, “just that when you put them all together and do whole routes, it becomes a good 10 to 12 miles. It’s kind of like a maze.

“The terrain is constantly different, and that’s what is good about it. You have to concentrate on your footing. There are a lot of real steep hills and slopes. There is one hill called the Kenyan Trail; it’s a tough climb. The Kenyan Trail is a steady mile up with some real steep spots.”

Larson says the course is always going up and down everywhere but that isn’t the tough part. The tough part is the animals.

Horses?

“Nope,” says Larson. “A few years ago one of the girls got bit by a dog.”

5. CLIFF WALKER: *** 1/2

Access: I-5 to La Jolla Village Drive, west to North Torrey Pines Road and north to the Torrey Pines Golf Courses. Park in the northernmost area of the golf course. It may also be reached from the north by North Torrey Pines Road. From that angle, expect to pay a fee, probably $4 for day use of the reserve.

Where to run: From the parking lot, head north on the sidewalk that parallels North Torrey Pines Road. Veer left at the fire road and begin looking for the beginning of the trail that, Larson warns, is easy to miss. Once on the trail, you’ll find yourself zigzagging your way through the Torrey Pines State Reserve, on trails called South Fork or North Fork. Regardless of which side you prefer, you’re heading through a chaparral, with few trees and a steep but scenic area toward the cliff, called Broken Hill Trail. It is the longest of six trails in the State Reserve at 1.3 miles via the South Fork.

Comments: Again, Larson, a running coach at the Bishop’s School in La Jolla, is our expert.

“It winds around on the rocks all the way to the beach,” Larson says of Broken Hill Trail. “You have to watch your footing; you can sprain your ankle real easily going down on the rocks. You can’t really run them; you have to walk them.”

Once on the beach, if you get there at low tide, there is a long strip of packed sand to run almost any distance desired. Larson heads north to the Del Mar lifeguard station and then back up the cliff for a good route of 13-plus miles.

If you are unfortunate and hit high tide, making the beach less accessible for running, there are a couple of short looped trails in the State Reserve area on top of the cliff that can be reached by the back road.

The Guy Fleming Trail is a .7-mile teardrop that is forested and level with diverse scenery, including ocean vistas, sandstone formations and spring wildflowers. The Parry Grove Trail is a .5-mile loop that is secluded but not too difficult. It has a 100-step entry/exit point but has a dense grove of pines.

6. JEWEL TRAIL: **

Access: I-5 to Ardath Road, west to Prospect Street.

Where to run: This outlines the western side of La Jolla from the Cove at the north end of downtown to Bird Rock.

It is not a loop but a route down Coast Boulevard along the waterfront that meanders south through residential streets Neptune Place and Camino de la Costa to Bird Rock. It is 3.2 miles.

If you want to get away from the coast and run a loop, slip east to busy La Jolla Boulevard, and take it north to Prospect Street and downtown La Jolla. This route can become a 7- to 8-mile loop back to the Cove.

Comments: Watch out for cars and tourists.

7. BAY BUSTER: **

Access: Can be started in a number of places. De Anza Cove is reached by taking I-5 to Mission Bay Drive. Other options: South Mission Beach off Mission Boulevard has a number of parking spaces, as does the area near Bonita Cove, off Mission Boulevard just south of West Mission Bay Drive.

Where to run: This loop, tackled often by runners Thom Hunt and Matt Clayton and triathlete Larson, among others, begins at De Anza Cove, just south of Grand Avenue, west of I-5.

The loop goes east along the bay paralleling I-5, around Sea World and under the Ingraham Street bridge on the bike path, through the shops along the Dana Landing area and across the Bay Channel on West Mission Bay Drive. It heads toward the roller coaster and then south on the sidewalk along the bay. The runners follow the sidewalk to the jetty, cut west across to the ocean side and follow the boardwalk north to Grand Avenue. Take Grand east and wind south behind the Mission Bay Golf Course back to De Anza Cove.

Comments: The route along scenic Mission Bay is free of hills and most hazards encountered on trails. This 14-miler is the longest offered here.

The scenery is wonderful, on land and on sea, and the hazards are limited to crossing just two streets, avoiding skateboarders, roller-bladers and cyclists.

8. THE WINDSURFER: *

Access: Fiesta Island Road off of Sea World Drive, and park off the side of the road.

Where to run: An asphalt road surrounds amoeba-shaped Fiesta Island in a 4.5-mile loop. The road is intersected at one point and may be taken if a shorter course is desired. On the other hand, the Windsurfer could be added to the Bay Buster for even more distance.

Comments: Nowhere in San Diego are there more windsurfers than in the Mission Bay area off of Fiesta Island. Traffic is restricted to traveling only counter-clockwise, which dilutes probably the only hazard.

9. SEA TO SEAPORT: *** 1/2

Access: The easiest route to the Cabrillo National Monument at the southern tip of Point Loma is to take Rosecrans south from I-5 to Talbot Street, west to Catalina Boulevard south. Catalina Boulevard becomes Cabrillo Memorial Drive and goes directly to the National Monument Park, where there is plenty of parking.

Where to run: This route may begin wherever it is most convenient for your needs, but remember, it’s a 12-mile straight segment, not a loop. If you don’t want to run a near-marathon, you’ll need to cut it off or have some way to return to the beginning. For the sake of convenience, we’ll begin at the monument.

Go north from there on Cabrillo Memorial Drive and pass the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and the Military Reservation for a breathtaking view of North Island and downtown San Diego. The road becomes Catalina Boulevard. Turn right on Talbot Street and take it to Shelter Island, where the south-to-north loop is mandatory for this route to be worthwhile. Run along the Harbor on the sidewalk and grassy areas to Harbor Island, where a longer loop, this time west-to-east, is also mandatory. Continue to follow the harbor side walkway along the water to Seaport Village.

There are many other places to begin, such as Shelter or Harbor Islands, where a loop up to the National Monument on Point Loma and back makes for a nice, scenic workout.

Comments: This route is frequently used as part of triathlons and is a major part of the America’s Finest City Half Marathon.

Hazards are limited to traffic.

10. TOAD SQUARE: *

Access: Take I-5 or Highway 163 toward downtown, get off on Park Boulevard and follow the signs to Balboa Park. There is usually plenty of parking off Presidents Way.

Where to run: It usually starts near the Federal Building off Presidents Way, cruises north through the park on Park Boulevard, past the zoo, out of the park into residential North Park. All turns are left. Turn west on Robinson to 6th Avenue (south), which borders the western block of the park, and east on El Prado back into the park.

It’s a simple, 4.5-mile square that can be made longer by the amount of running done around the park.

Comments: The Horny Toad runners, a loosely knit group of runners who meet daily for noon runs in and around the park, run what they call “the Robinson” on Monday afternoons.

Hazards are limited to traffic consciousness, unless of course a tiger escapes from the zoo, in which case this would become a sprint course.

11. BALBOA PARK DOWNTOWN: ***

Access: Same as 10.

Where to run: The Horny Toad runners take Friday afternoons to weave their way through the eastern quarter of downtown to Seaport Village. The course then heads to Harbor Drive near the Chart House Restaurant, and north to Seaport Village before continuing on the boardwalk along the San Diego Bay. Marino said the route continues north to Grape Street or Laurel Street, where the run turns east back into the park.

Comments: Marino says this is not a clear-cut course through the downtown sector, but a random weave.

“We weave our way down to 8th Street,” said Marino, who is a hematologist and oncologist at the Naval Hospital. “And I mean weave . We go with the lights, if we get a green light, take it !”

This 9-miler is entirely asphalt and sidewalk running, with hills only in the final stretch back toward the park. Scenery along the bay is outstanding, as the course passes the G Street, Navy and B Street Piers as well as the Star of India Maritime Museum.

Hazards include vehicular traffic along the road crossings and pedestrian traffic around Seaport Village.

12. MARILYN’S FAVORITES: * 1/2

Access: Take I-5 south to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge (toll: $1.00 single occupancy; car pool free) across to Coronado. Take Orange Avenue through downtown past the Hotel del Coronado and park in the free public lot at the Coronado Shores, the unmistakable high-rise condos.

Where to run: Marilyn Monroe wasn’t a runner; she just enjoyed Coronado, the peninsula island that is one big running trail. The two most popular trails head south beginning from the hotel area. Some like it on sand and some like it on asphalt.

For a sand run, cruise down the long, glistening strand beach to Imperial Beach. That’s a 7-mile trot one way. The only hindrance is a tide-caused slope in the sand for about a half-mile south of the Shores. The slant decreases the farther south you go.

On asphalt, begin near the Coronado Yacht Club along Silver Strand Boulevard. The trail is an asphalt bike path frequented by runners “morning, noon and night,” said one representative from the Coronado Chamber of Commerce. The route parallels both the Strand Boulevard (Highway 75) and the west section of San Diego Bay. This, too, is a 7-mile trek one way, with the only hazard being cyclists who share the path and cars.

13. COWLES MONSTERS: *****

Access: I-8 east to College Drive north to Navajo Road east. The Cowles Monster is on the corner of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive in San Carlos. Park on the street. For Monster II, continue east on Navajo to Cowles Mountain Boulevard north (left). Then turn left on Boulder Lake Avenue and right on Barker Way. The trail starts at the second of two gates.

Where to run: Trails begin at the Mission Trails sign at the corner of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive for the Monster. For Monster II, the trail starts at the second of two gates along the west side of Baker Way.

Run to the top, if you can.

Comments: The Monster:

“Are you kidding?” one man asked his running partner. “We are going up this monster?”

Cowles is not just a mountain when it viewed from a runner’s perspective; it is indeed a monster. Steep, with many switchbacks along a 1.4-mile trail to the top of the mountain, 1,586 feet above the community of San Carlos, it provides what may be the county’s best view.

This isn’t a run for a novice or a challenge to be taken during the hotter parts of the day. Still, it is a strength, power and endurance builder.

The Monster rates a 5 for vertical difficulty, but the footing is surprisingly average for a winding dirt trail. Still, there are scattered rocks, holes, snakes and furry critters to hurdle. If the Monster doesn’t get you on the way up, it still has a shot on the way down. The dirt is loose, and if you are not careful, you could end up on your back side.

Monster II:

This stretch up the northeast side of the mountain isn’t a switchback-laden nature trail like the other. It is an old dirt road with few bends and a lot of steep upward climbing. It may be the most difficult of the bunch. Running down is almost impossible, but a more important hazard to consider is one’s health and physical condition before attempting this one. Be careful, or this could be the ugly sequel.

14. LAKE MURRAY: *

Access: I-8 east to Lake Murray Boulevard north, left on Kiowa Drive to Mission Trails Park. Other access is available by continuing on Lake Murray Boulevard to Baltimore (go left). There is parking along Baltimore and foot access near the Padre Bay arm of the lake. Lake Murray Park is accessible by continuing on Baltimore Drive (which becomes Lake Shore Drive). Turn left on Jackson and left on Golfcrest, which becomes Murray Park Drive. The park is to the left.

Where to run: From Mission Trails park on the east side to the Lake Murray park on the west side is a well-marked course, 3.5 miles in one direction, on an asphalt-paved, 8-foot-wide trail.

Comments: This would be the easiest of all the trails except for the fact that it is not a complete loop. A dam on the southwest end of the lake limits it, making it more like an oddly shaped horseshoe.

It is frequented by joggers of all ages at all times of day when there is light.

There is a sign at the beginning of the run at Mission Trails Park that says, “No Thru Fare.” And there is another that warns, “There may be rattlesnakes in this area. Rattlesnakes are active at night during the summer. They will seek out shady places during the day. Reasonable watchfulness should be sufficient to avoid snakebite.”

That and frequent cyclists are the hazards to runners.

15. AROUND GOLDEN PONDS: ** 1/2

Access: Highway 67 north to Winter Gardens south, left on Woodside Avenue to Lindo Lake Park.

Where to run: The trails around Lindo Lake Park are over rolling slopes and wind around lakes and ponds and in between trees.

Comments: The lakes are golden at sunrise and sunset, and that is just one of the attractions of this scenic short course that is apart of Historic Lakeside.

Estimated at about 5,000 meters, the Golden Ponds’ trails cover mostly dirt with some asphalt. The only potential hazard is the vagrants that often are around the southwest corner of Lindo Lake.

16. HELL HILL TO SATAN’S SLOPE: *****

Access: Highway 67 north to Maple View Street, left on Ashwood Street, which becomes Wildcat Canyon, to Louis A. Stelzer County Park.

Where to run: The route starts in the park and heads east about a mile to a fire trail at left. The course begins to climb about a half-mile from the park, and that is “Hell Hill.” You can go back down and run Wildcat Canyon.

But for the full, vigorous loop, stay atop the ridge along the fire trail that stretches 3.5 miles to “Satan’s Slope.” When the road disappears, start looking for it. You have to look around because past rains have washed out the roads, says Joe Brooks, 58.

The Slope ends up in the valley, where a push along the traverse and peaceful Willow Road will put you back into the park.

Comments: In this park for crippled children, the loop has runners challenging themselves with two steep hills, a canyon, a ridge, a dirt road, snakes and poison oak.

It is an 8-mile venture from one devilish grade to the other, but Brooks says, “It pulls more like 10.” Which means it hurts more than your normal 8-mile run.

“This is a vigorous hike,” Brooks says. “This isn’t one for gentle hikers. Some people wouldn’t appreciate this trail because it doesn’t have nice undulating hills.”

Brooks--who has been a runner since he was 16, placed eighth in the 1952 U.S. Olympic marathon trials and has coached cross-country and track at East County high schools since 1954--should know.

“This is a great training loop,” Brooks says.

There are a number of hazards, such as the presence of snakes and poison oak and the lack of available water. There is also some loose ground, and, as with a lot of these inland trails, it is not advisable to run during the hotter parts of the day.

17. SOUTH BAY’S MISSION BAY: ** 1/2

Access: Take 805 south to Bonita Road east to the Chula Vista Municipal Golf Course. Parking is available at the golf course or at the near by park.

Where to run: The course begins in front of the golf course and runs parallel with Bonita Road west, crosses Sweetwater River at Willow Street and parallels Sweetwater Road west back around to Bonita Road.

Comments: “We have a duck pond,” says Ian Cumming, 36, who has spent most of the past 13 years coaching cross-country and track at Hilltop High. Although there is not as much water along this trail, there are other reasons why this is the South Bay’s Mission Bay.

“This is the most popular spot in the South Bay,” Cumming says.

A group called the Bonita Road Runners meets to run on this flat 3.2-mile trail every Sunday. Cumming said 30 to 50 runners from this group consistently negotiate the dirt and gravel course that covers about a half-mile of cement sidewalk surface. It is becoming one of the few remaining running areas not eliminated by South Bay expansion.

One of the hazards, Cumming says, is getting hit by golf balls, but most of the course is fenced in. Also, vehicle traffic on the Willow Road bridge, which is about 75 yards long, has to be monitored.