4,705 ft
Distance
204 ft
Climb
-3 ft
Descent
00:06:56
Avg time

Powerline Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Los Peñasquitos Canyon
    San Diego, California
  • Difficulty Rating
  • Voted Difficulty
    Green (3 votes)
  • Trail Type
    Dirt/Gravel Road
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat, Adaptive MTB, CX, Gravel
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    Jan - Dec
  • Family Friendly
    Yes
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes up to Class 1
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Local Popularity
    100 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 100 in E-Biking
    • 70 in Trail Running
    • 75 in Hiking
  • Land Owner
    City of San Diego

Powerline trail begins at the bottom of the canyon and is fairly steady climb on fire road all the way up to the top of the mesa. As you can guess, it follows a series of power lines that bridge the canyon. It's not a technical trail, but it is a great climb for people just learning how to tackle climbs. It also provides a good challenge for intermediate trail and all-mountain riders who are trying to increase their climbing speed and stamina. It's primary use is to gain access to some of the better, more technical singletrack riding on the mesa known as Tunnels.

Access Info

You can either incorporate the trail in the middle of a ride starting in the canyon or you can park at the end of Park Village Rd and gain immediate access.

Adaptive Bike Info
aMTB Green Rating: Beginner features and moderate terrain.
Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Powerline mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    201 ft
  • Altitude min
    193 ft
  • Altitude max
    394 ft
  • Altitude start
    193 ft
  • Altitude end
    394 ft
  • Grade
    4.3%
  • Grade max
    -1.8%
  • Grade min
    22.9%
  • Distance climb
    4,150 ft
  • Distance down
    279 ft
  • Distance flat
    276 ft
  • Avg time
    00:06:56
  • Avg reverse time
    00:04:48
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jun 4, 2025
Ideal
Avg: 3.24 (10 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
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  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
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  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
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  • > 6 months
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  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
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Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
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US Cell Coverage
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Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
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      Directions to powerline-36519 trailhead (32.933747, -117.167915)
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      Powerline Trail Reports

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 17 rides
      • 16 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 307 rides
      • 15 miles avg distance
      All
      • 2,794 rides
      • Last: Jul 17, 2025

      Photos

      more »
      53 |
      Oct 17, 2023 @ 9:02am
      Oct 17, 2023
      56 |
      Oct 17, 2023 @ 9:02am
      Oct 17, 2023
      64 |
      Oct 17, 2023 @ 9:02am
      Oct 17, 2023
      32 |
      Jun 27, 2023 @ 7:19pm
      Jun 27, 2023

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      The East Ender22 miles
      Tunnels and Ocean Air Loop17 miles
      D&A10 miles
      A PQ Beach Loop24 miles

      1 Review & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      PQ “MTB KIDS EDITION”
      9:45 | 172 | Jun 25, 2021 , San Diego
      Powerline top half
      2:08 | 325 | Mar 4, 2012 , San Diego
      Powerline Trails
      0:11 | 165 | Mar 20, 2011 , San Diego
      Ridge run
      3:43 | 386 | May 6, 2014 , San Diego
      • By spiritanimal & contributors
      • #36519 - 5,025 views

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