Another holiday and another visit to the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve in Poway. This time we decided to take the Lake Ramona Trail. We found this to be just as fun, but a little less busy than the Lake Poway Trail that we hiked the day after Thanksgiving.
We were not the only ones who decided to hit the trails today so it was challenging finding a parking spot, but luckily we found one. After parking we walked past the port-o-potty and the sign with the reserve trails map and followed the trail sign pointing to the left. This led to a dirt trail along the street. A short distance later we found the entrance to the reserve and the Green Valley Truckee Trail.
The beginning of the reserve is a hard packed dirt trail that after a short distance turns into a more wooded trail. After a short distance there is a sign on the left for the Creekside Trail. This is a short loop that goes along the creek and then rejoins the main trail. A short distance later is the Lake Poway Trail on the right. As the name implies this leads to Lake Poway. That is the trail we took during our last visit to the reserve. You can read about that on our blog – Lake Poway Trail.
Today we walked past the Lake Poway Trail continuing on the Green Valley Truckee Trail. After just less than a mile we came to a Lake Ramona sign pointing to the left. We continued on that trail which wound up and around the hills and to lake Ramona. The trail was hard-packed dirt and mostly without shade. Although this trail is mainly uphill it is not as steep or challenging as other trails we’ve conquered. The trail is quite wide making it easy to walk side-by-side even when passing other people.
About a mile from the lake we saw what appeared to be the wall of a dam. As we approached it the dirt trail turned into an asphalt trail. It eventually took a sharp turn to the right and for a short distance was completely shaded. This was a welcome relief from the sun that was on us for most of the hike. At the top of the road was a port-o-potty and the lake to the right. Although you can not get down to the lake in this area, the views of it and the trail we climbed up on is beautiful.
After spending some time taking in the views we headed back down the trail. Since the trail is not extremely steep, the trip down was not too difficult. Some of the trails we’ve taken have been harder going down than going up due to the steep incline. This was not the case today. We enjoyed seeing the views from a different perspective and soon were back down to the flat and wooded portion of the trail. Of course we found a tree stump that made a nice photo op for Sunny. We finished the hike and headed back to the car. Our total distance was just over 5M with an elevation gain of 943 ft.
Our Rating
Sunny and I rate the Lake Ramona Trail at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve 4 out of 4 paws up. It has everything we love – challenging trails, beautiful views, interesting scenery along the trail, good parking, and restrooms. We highly recommend this trail and the Lake Poway Trail.
How Do I Get There?
The parking are for the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve is at 16275 Espola Rd. in Poway, CA. From I-15 North take exit #19 for CA 56/Ted Williams Parkway and turn right. Continue for 2.5M then turn right onto Twin Peaks Road. After 2.3M turn left onto Espola Road. After 2.8M the parking lot is on the left. It’s a large parking lot with several access points to the trails.
For more information about the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve visit the City of Poway website.
Thank you for your wonderful newsletter. I really enjoy and appreciate it. Inspired to try both the Santa Margarita River Trail and Lake Ramona both within the next few weeks with my puppers Coco and Patches. 🙂
Fantastic! I hope you enjoy both. And thank you for taking the time to make a comment.