San Diego's most popular trail area, managed by the City of San Diego, with many options for various loops for various skill levels. Stick to the main canyon for easy, wide trails perfect for beginners and families or just laying some base miles. Head north to Del Mar Mesa for windy and more challenging singletrack. Explore the area known as "Tunnels" where unique scrub oaks create a canopy that offers challenging riding. Trails near staging areas can be very busy especially on weekends and holidays, so trail etiquette is important for all trail users to observe.

Please stick to designated trails to ensure future access. Please adhere to signage as some trails are not open to bikes in the main canyon along the stream where equestrian use is frequent.

Primary Trail Type: Cross-Country

eBikes Allowed: Yes

Land Status: City Managed

Land Manager: City of San Diego

google parking directions

Access Info:

Multiple entrances.

Disclaimer:

PLEASE USE https://www.imba.com/resource/trail-difficulty-rating-system WHEN RATING TRAIL DIFFICULTY

Region Supporters & Maintainers

San Diego Mountain Biking Association
Sponsor

Activities Click to view

Mountain Bike
145 trails
E-Bike
144 trails
Hike
138 trails
Trail Running
137 trails
Horse
7 trails

Region Details

Region Status

Open as of 2 days

Local Trail Association

SDMBA

Donate Trail Karma

Stats

Avg Trail Rating

Trails (view details)

150

Trails Mountain Bike

145

Trails E-Bike

144

Trails Hike

138

Trails Trail Running

137

Trails Horse

Total Distance

84 miles

Total Descent

11,618 ft

Total Vertical

1,511 ft

Highest Trailhead

1,548 ft

Reports

2,367

Photos

378

Ridden Counter

41,424

Popular Los Peñasquitos Canyon Mountain Biking Trails

status	title	difficulty	rating
	Tunnel 4
	Two Bridges
	Cobbles
	Powerline
	Bowtie Rim
	The Sh!ts
	Wagon Wheel Crossing
	West Rim
	West Deer Canyon
	East Deer Canyon
	The Preserve Path
	The Appendix
	Switchbacks
	North Rim
	East Deer Canyon Shortcut

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Mountain Bike Routes

title	rating	distance
The East Ender		22 miles
Los Penasquitos Canyon Loop aMTB-2		12 miles
Flow Equation		8 miles
LP Canyon Preserve		15 miles
Tunnel Vision		10 miles
Fun PQ loop		11 miles
Tunnels and Ocean Air Loop		17 miles
Los Penasquitos and Del Mar Mesa Intro Tour		23 miles
Los Penasquitos Canyon Loop aMTB-2 from CVR		12 miles
PQ Canyon to Black Mountain		8 miles

Recent Ridelog Activity in Region

Today

12 rides
10 miles avg distance

Yesterday

38 rides
14 miles avg distance

Past Week

215 rides
14 miles avg distance

Photos of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Mountain Bike

trail: Switchbacks

10 |

Apr 29, 2021 @ 5:54pm

Apr 29, 2021

3 |

Apr 13, 2021 @ 1:57pm

Apr 13, 2021

trail: Little Waimea

11 |

Mar 25, 2021 @ 7:48am

Mar 25, 2021

trail: Ocean Air Inner Loop

22 |

Mar 25, 2021 @ 7:43am

Mar 25, 2021

trail: Intuit

33 |

Aug 9, 2020 @ 3:54pm

Aug 9, 2020

trail: Intuit

33 |

Aug 9, 2020 @ 3:54pm

Aug 9, 2020

trail: BD

384 |

Jan 2, 2014 @ 3:13pm

Jan 2, 2014

| 3 comments

trail: BD

134 |

Dec 9, 2013 @ 8:57pm

Dec 9, 2013

Videos of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Mountain Bike

Recent Trail Reports

trail	date	condition	user
Bowtie Rim	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
North Rim	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
Tunnel 4	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Ideal	Skcorsusej
East Deer Canyon	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Ideal	Skcorsusej
West Deer Canyon	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
Del Vino Climb	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
The Appendix	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
Two Bridges	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Dry	Skcorsusej
North Side Trail - East	May 12, 2021 @ 4:57pm 2 days	Ideal	Skcorsusej
Switchbacks	May 11, 2021 @ 4:38pm May 11, 2021	Ideal	EjMats

Activity Feed

username	action	type	title	date
LandonABPMkU	ridden	trail	InTooQuick and 18 more	May 14, 2021 @ 11:49am 7 hours
Johnmcd58	wishlist	trail	South Side Trail	May 14, 2021 @ 9:01am 10 hours
Skcorsusej	add	report	Bowtie Rim and 8 more	May 13, 2021 @ 10:55am 1 day
EjMats	add	report	Switchbacks and 3 more	May 11, 2021 @ 8:48pm 3 days
mattyj2001	add	video	Bowtie Rim - Penasquitos Canyon, San Diego	May 10, 2021 @ 11:48pm May 10, 2021

Nearby Areas

name				distance
Black Mountain	31	23	2	5.5 km
Rose Canyon	2			5.7 km
Ted Williams	14	3		6 km
Tri-Canyons	7	5	2	8 km
Manchester Preserve		3		8.5 km

Local Badges

Completionist
2 awarded

Bike & Skill Parks

name	type	city	rating
Carmel Valley Pumptrack	skill park	San Diego

Local Mountain Biking Directory

Local Trail Supporters

Activity Type Stats

activitytype	trails	distance	descent	descent distance	total vertical	global rank	state rank	photos	reports	routes	ridelogs
Mountain Bike	145	79 miles	11,266 ft	37 miles	1,512 ft	#61	#23	378	2,363	22	26,517
E-Bike	144	79 miles	11,266 ft	37 miles	1,512 ft	#23	#6		2,072	9	394
Hike	138	81 miles	10,748 ft	36 miles	1,512 ft	#42	#21		2,328	2	302
Trail Running	137	80 miles	10,463 ft	36 miles	1,512 ft	#42	#21		2,328	2	280
Horse	7	7 miles	427 ft	2 miles	312 ft		#922		560		2

By The-dirt-farmer & contributors
Admins: SDMBA, MountainBikeBill
#7421 - 21,746 views

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username	type	title	comment	date
josephtorres84	trail	Two Bridges	Has a small technical trail .	May 7, 2021 @ 9:26am May 7, 2021
josephtorres84	trail	Trans County to Northside Singletrack	Path is in good condition / for mtb / gravel ....	May 7, 2021 @ 9:18am May 7, 2021
currymtb	trail	Eucalyptus	Steep and fun DH	Apr 5, 2021 @ 4:35pm Apr 5, 2021
brianpetry	trail	Side Hill	I don't think they are actually allowed to...	Apr 3, 2021 @ 3:29pm Apr 3, 2021
ItzSpoonYt	trail	Side Hill	Jumps are mini but the lips are trash sdmba...	Apr 3, 2021 @ 11:49am Apr 3, 2021

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Mountain Biking Trails