Location: San Diego County, about 19 miles southeast of Julian, 167 miles from Los Angeles, 55 miles from San Diego

Maps

Auto Club: San Diego County

Forest Service: Cleveland National Forest

USGS Topo: Mount Laguna 7½

HPS: Route(s), waypoints and explanation of usage

Nearby Peaks: Garnet Mountain, Garnet Peak, Monument Peak #1, Cuyapaipe Mountain

Distance: 3.5 miles round trip on road and cross-country

Gain: 1000' total, 700' out plus 300' on return

Time: 2-3 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, moderate

Original: Bruce Collier, January 1967

DRIVING ROUTE 1

(I-8 and San Diego approach)

• Take I-8 east from San Diego to the Sunrise Highway (S1), about 40 miles from the junction of I-8 and I-805.
• Go left (north) on S1 at the top of the off-ramp about 4 miles to Kitchen Creek Road (paved) on the right, milepost 20.7. Turn right.
• Continue another 1.5 miles to a gated dirt road on the right. Park in the wide area to the left.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• From the parking area (5560'), pass the gate and hike along a badly eroded dirt road keeping left at a fork to where you find a private property sign just short of a junction with Kitchen Creek Road.
• Leave the road on the left side and hike cross-country a short distance until you meet Kitchen Creek Road where it exits the private property. You are skirting around the left side of the private property.
• Turn left on Kitchen Creek Road and follow it a short distance to a gate which is padlocked and posted Private Property - No Trespassing. Beyond the gate, the road appears to cross the boundary between USFS and private property several times although it is mostly on public land. All of the ascent trail is on public land.
• Continue down the road another 1/4 mile to a wash on the right which comes down on the east side of the peak. This wash is just north of the prominent broad ridge coming down from the summit.
• Turn into this wash and follow a use trail up the wash. Soon this clipped use trail leaves the wash and winds its way up the slope to the summit. Use the clipped use trail to avoid the brush.