Riding the Mt. Laguna Loop in 2023!

 

At the desert overlook near Mt. Laguna

It's been several years since I've had the opportunity to ride in San Diego County. This year, at last, we decided to pay a visit to our old stomping grounds and I had a chance to take a ride. The ride I chose is probably my favorite of all the rides down there; a loop starting near Descanso, going through Cuyamaca State Park and Lake Cuyamaca, up to Mt. Laguna then down through Pine Valley and Guatay and then returning to Descanso. Total distance is just a hair over 50 miles.

Here's a plot of the ride.

The start is at the Highway 8 Park and Ride which is actually a couple of miles outside of Descanso. 

At the Park and Ride at the beginning of the ride.

It's fairly easy going at first. I have found the best route for this ride is to turn onto Highway 79 and head for Cuyamaca State Park and take the ride in "clockwise" direction. It's best to do the stretch to Lake Cuyamaca early before traffic becomes a problem. Traffic wasn't a big deal for me since I did this ride on a weekday, but anyone trying this route on a weekend will want to keep it in mind. Also, I rather enjoy the descent from Mt. Laguna to Pine Valley at the end of the ride!

Outside Descanso

Riding up Highway 79 will take you through Cuyamaca Sate Park. A very nice place which was badly damaged by a Cedar fire now many years ago! It'd nice to see nature slowly rebuilding across the area.

Entering the State Park on Highway 79.

One benefit(?) of that fire was that the trees and brush were cleared and you can get a good view of Stonewall Peak!

A nice view of Stonewall Peak from the road.

After a good little climb you arrive at Paso Pecacho Campground, which is across the road from the Stonewall Trailhead. The road levels out now and you even have a little descent to Lake Cuyamaca.

At Paso Picacho Campground.

At the lake I stopped and picked up a couple of snacks to supplement my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I proceeded on past the lake and to County Road S1, the Sunrise Highway!

Lake Cuyamaca.

You have now entered the Anza-Borrego State Park. The start of the Sunrise Highway is level but quickly starts to climb. There is quite a bit of climbing from here on until you reach Mt. Laguna. At one point, the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the highway!

On the Sunrise Highway, (County Road S1), you encounter the Pacific Crest Trail!

After a while you come to the Mt. Laguna Recreation Area! Still more climbing to go, however!

Continuing up the Sunrise Highway.

Eventually you will come to a vista point which overlooks the Anza-Borrego Desert. I have always made a point of stopping here and enjoying the view. I always snap a picture of the bike from this vantage point! This year was no exception. 

I take this picture every time I do this ride! Overlooking the Anza-Borrego Desert. Not far from Mt. Laguna now.

After a short break and a snack at the Vista Point, I continued on towards Mt. Laguna. By riding this ride in this direction, it is easy to spot the USAF Radar station on a peak off the road. When going the other direction, I never saw it!

The USAF radar station at Mt. Laguna.

Soon I was in the little village of Mt. Laguna. I stopped at the Visitor's Center which has restrooms and water available. I needed to refill my bottles here. Then I rode through the rest of town. There are a couple of places here where you can buy food and drinks if you need them.

After a short climb out of Mt. Laguna, I started the long descent down to Pine Valley. Conditions were ideal and you can make very good time dropping down this road. Thanks to it being a weekday, traffic was very light indeed.

At the bottom of the Sunrise Highway, getting close to Pine Valley now.

I just passed through Pine Valley, no stops this time but there are a few places where you can get food. I almost stopped for some ice cream but there were a few people in line in front of me so I decided to continue riding. 

From Pine Valley you head up a grade to Guatay, then it's a downhill run to the Highway 79 turnoff that you took to go to Lake Cuyamaca. Then up through the little stretch of cafes and markets and back to the Park and Ride. 

End of the ride photo of the Mercian at the Park and Ride.

This ride was a pleasure, as usual. Total distance is just over 50 miles and it took me almost exactly 5 hours. Not a real fast ride, mostly thanks to the 4,600 feet of climbing, I suppose. But the late September weather was really sublime and riding conditions excellent.

No equipment issues were encountered, not even a flat! My Mercian has triple crank on it but I used the middle ring, (36T), and outer, (44T) for almost the entire ride. I think I dropped into the granny ring once by accident but never really needed it. One odd thing I noticed from the pictures I took on this ride was that my saddle had tilted up a little more than usual. I think it may have slipped some time before this ride but I never noticed it. At any rate, it didn't feel odd at all but I did reduce the tilt a little when I got home!

If you find yourself in San Diego County someday, be sure to check this route out, it's great!