Another beautiful sunny day in San Diego means another adventure. Today we visited Batiquitos Lagoon Trail in Carlsbad, CA and we were not the only ones with that idea. Upon arrival we found the parking lot and street full of cars. Despite that we found a spot not too far from the trail entrance. After parking we walked toward the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation sign and found the start of the trail.
Batiquitos Lagoon is one of the few tidal wetlands left in Southern California. With the efforts of volunteers the wetland has been returned to tidal flushing and over 200 species of birds and 65 species of fish have been observed. It is located between southern Carlsbad and Encinitas and consists of 610 acres. The trail traverses along the lagoon for about 1.6M.
After passing the entrance sign we found the trail which is hard packed dirt, quite wide, and has views of the lagoon and mountains in the distance. A short distance after starting our hike we found some large decorated chairs on the right. Across the trail from the chairs is the nature center, which has restrooms. As we continued on the trail we saw several benches for resting and taking in the beauty of the lagoon.
The trail is quite wide and flat making it appropriate for most everyone, however bikes are not allowed on the trail. We observed one person pushing a stroller and she did not seem to have any issue doing that. The trail is heavily used by walkers and runners and people with dogs. Dog are required to be on a leash and all that we observed were following this rule. Despite that this may not be appropriate for highly reactive dogs given the number of people and dogs on the trail.
Our Rating
Sunny and I rate Batiquitos Lagoon Trail 3 out of 4 paws up. It’s beautiful and well maintained, but there was not an opportunity to get down to the water and it was a bit too busy for our taste. It is a wonderful place to take a walk and has restrooms in the nature center and plenty of parking on the streets near the trail. It’s a great place to visit if you are in the Carlsbad area.
How Do I Get There?
The address for Batiquitos Lagoon Trail is 7380 Gabbiano Lane. From I-5 take exit #45-Poinsettia Ln and turn right onto Poinsettia Ln. Continue for .3M and turn right onto Batiquitos Dr. After .5M turn right onto Gabbianno Ln and follow it to the end. There is a small parking lot on the right and plenty of parking on the street. Enter the trail at the sign.
For more information about the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation check out their website.