About The San Diego Canyons

Sometimes you’re aching for outdoor activities in San Diego, but you can’t wait for the weekend to escape the city on a long trip. Surprise! You don’t have to leave the city to find great hiking in San Diego because spread throughout the city itself is a network of beautiful canyons filled with trails, trees, creeks, and wildlife habitats. San Diego’s canyons offer a chance to explore a natural, undeveloped landscape right in your own backyard.

There are nearly 3,200 acres of open space canyons within the city. Some are more well-maintained than others, but most are accessible for anyone to do a light hike, trail running, and even mountain biking on certain trails. Open all year round and good to explore any time, we recommend the winter and spring months when the rain brings a lush, green landscape with fresh new foliage and beautiful wildflowers. The canyons are critical habitat for many of the amazing species in San Diego including great horned owls, great blue herons, rattlesnakes, hawks, parrots (yes, red Amazon parrots), humming birds, frogs, lizards, coyotes, and rabbits. If you’re really lucky, you might even see a squirrel.

One of the best canyons is Maple Canyon which connects the neighborhoods of Little Italy and Bankers Hill and is a great way to take a morning walk and grab some coffee. Or if you’re looking for a good trail run, Juniper Canyon sweeps through South Park and North Park. Check out the Open Space Trail Maps from the City of San Diego or an interactive map from the nonprofit San Diego Canyonlands to find the trails and canyons near you.

These canyons are a true reflection of San Diego’s commitment to maintaining safe, beautiful, natural spaces for residents and wildlife. Didn’t think San Diego was that wild of a place? We were dubbed America’s Wildest City…

Best Parts

• Moving your body
• Getting outdoors
• Something unique

Behind The Counter

The city of San Diego manages the canyons through their Open Space Canyon Program and partners with many “Friends of the Canyons” such as local nonprofits and organizations that support San Diego open spaces and natural areas.

One of the more prominent organizations that care for our canyons is the San Diego Canyonlands. Established in 1999, they focus on revitalizing and restoring San Diego’s natural areas and canyons. If you’d like to get more involved, they offer educational activities like interpretive hikes, volunteer opportunities for trail maintenance with professional crews, and outreach programs with local communities. They teach how these canyons provide numerous benefits (ecosystem services) to the city including erosion and flood control from heavy rain events and improved air and water quality. They are also a refuge and haven for our wild kin, so respect these areas and leave no trace.