We decided to stay close to home for today’s adventure and explore Kate Sessions Memorial Park Trails. This is not to be confused with Kate Sessions Memorial Park, which is also a great place to take your dog. The trails, however, are a hidden gem in Pacific Beach and easy to miss if you don’t know they are there.
The trails are packed dirt and traverse through the vegetation which is mostly shrubs, brush, trees, and cacti. There is one main trail with many side trails that mostly wind back to the main trail. The main trail descends until it comes to a dead end. The way back is an incline and some of the other trails also incline quite a bit. Despite the variety of trails the total distance is less than 2 miles.
Although there are some trees and other vegetation there is nearly no shade making this a warm hike. We tend to visit this spot during the morning when the sun isn’t quite so hot. We always bring water because of the lack of shade, intense sunshine, and how dusty the trail is.
One of my favorite parts of this hike is the heart made from stones. We took a picture of Karlie inside the heart on one of our visits and of course we did the same with Sunny today.
This is a popular area for hiking with your dog, but despite the sign indicating dogs must be leashed, we have encountered off leash dogs many times. Thankfully that was not the case today.
Our Rating
Karlie, Sunny, and I rate Kate Sessions Memorial Park Trails 3 out of 4 paws up. We like that the trail is a little challenging with the inclines and descents. Another bonus for us is that it’s close to home and you can get views of the ocean. The negatives are the lack of restrooms and the chance of encountering loose dogs.
How Do I Get There?
The address for Kate Sessions Memorial Park is 5115 Soledad Road in Pacific Beach, however this is for the park, not the trails. To get to the trails take Soledad Road north and drive past the park. Continue up the hill and take a right onto Parkview Drive. Follow Parkview Drive until you see an open dirt area on the right between two houses. Park on the side of the road and walk toward the chain link fence. There is an opening in the fence to access the trails.
