Old Coach Trail opening in Poway 08 Oct 2011

Jim Cunningham, City of Poway Council member and San Dieguito River Park Board member will lead a 10 mile hike from the Trans-County trail south of Poway, through the Poway trail system to the Old Coach North staging area in the San Dieguito River Park where the hikers will participate in a ceremony to commemorate the new trail connection. The ceremony will be held at the Old Coach North staging area (click here for map) at 12:00pm Saturday, October 8, 2011. Comments from participating organizations will take place with a Ranger led walk to follow. Light refreshments will be provided. The San Dieguito River Park, in cooperation with the City of Poway, has established a north/south trail linkage between the San Dieguito River Park Coast-to-Crest Trail and the Trans County Trail through the City of Poway Trail system. The new linkage almost doubles the length of continuous regional trail system available to trail users by joining the 23 continuous existing miles of the San Dieguito River Park system to the 14 miles of the Trans-County system through 8 miles of the Poway Trail system. This regional trail overlays the City of Poway neighborhood trail system which includes 55 miles of linked trails providing regional trail access. Established in 1989, the San Dieguito River Park is a 94,000-acre open space greenway of regional significance in San Diego's North County, stretching more than 55 miles from the ocean at Del Mar to Volcan Mountain near Julian, and home to a diverse array of sensitive animal and plant species, many of special status. The River Park aims to protect the natural and cultural resources, sensitive lands and waterways in the San Dieguito River Valley and provide compatible recreational opportunities for hikers, bikers and equestrians. For more information, including trail maps and activities, visit www.sdrp.org.

Under the Oak Trees on the Old Coach Trail, January 2011.

The San Pasqual Valley, photographed from the Old Coach Trail, January 2011