Type: Trail, Out-and-back
Difficulty: 7 / 10
Altitude: 1,620 ft
Elev. Gain/Loss: 3,100 ft / 3,100 ft
Dog Friendly: No
Filed Under: Hiking, Horseback, Running
The trail is 6.8 miles long according to the information posted at the trailhead and in Schad's Afoot and Afield in San Diego County. One must hike another 0.4 miles in the campground from the trailhead parking to the trailhead, giving a total hiking length of 7.2 miles. My pedometer read 7.0 miles each way, consistent with the 7.2 miles within the accuracy of my pedometer. Measurements from "Topo!" on the route posted at the trailhead gives 6.0 miles from the trailhead parking, considerably under the more accurate 7.2 miles.
Here's a brief overview of the trail. Park at the signed trailhead parking immediately on the right after you turn south of SR-79. The mileages below are measured from that parking lot. Walk through the campground to its end at 0.43 miles, where you sign the register on the left. The trail immediately crosses the Arroyo Seco next to the fence that was erected in 1999 to protect the arroyo toad. All the area behind the fence is closed to use for that reason, but the trails are ok.
At 0.54 miles from your car, you enter the Agua Tibia Wilderness and at 0.59 miles, the Wildhorse Trail goes off to the left. Continue ahead at a gentle climb for the half mile to reach the surface above the stream canyon at mile 1.05. The first ridge at ~3,200' is easily visible to the south as the trail turns south, 1600' above the beginning of the hike. You can see the switchbacks of the trail climbing that ridge on its right hand side. At mile 1.2, there are patches of taller chamise (8-10'), followed by 20' burned tree trunks at mile 1.56, probably chamise remnants.
A bit before you begin the switchbacks up the ridge, Vail Lake can be seen to the north, visible until you cross to the south side of the ridge. As you climb the ridge, you gradually begin to see over the hills to the west and can see more of the Santa Margarita Mountains. Finally, just before you reach the ridge you can see the ocean, with San Onofre Mountain in Camp Pendleton being the series of three bumps at the shoreline. The Fallbrook / De Luz area is ringed by the Santa Margarita Mountains on the west and the Santa Rosa Plateau on the north, and the marine layer over Fallbrook, ending at those peaks, is often clearly visible.
As you pass around the right hand side of the ridge at about mile 3.0, note the steepness of the canyon on your right. The stream will rise to meet you on the north side of the ridge. You are now in tick heaven. You make two switchbacks to gain a bit more elevation, then descend a bit to meet the stream at mile 3.8. The very-small streambed seems insignificant compared to the steep canyon it has cut immediately to the west.
You now see the next ridge that stands between you and Agua Tibia, at ~3,800'. Just the western edge of Agua Tibia is visible, marked with its cover of trees that escaped the 1989 fire that burned most of the north slope of Agua Tibia. On the north side of the ridge, you can also see the ghostly remains of the giant manzanita and ribbonwood burned in the same fire, as well as a few living specimen. The chamise has been replaced by its relative ribbonwood above this point. High Point comes into view, followed by the gleaming white dome of the Palomar 200" telescope, as you see more and more of the main ridge of Palomar Mountain.
You cross through 1/5 mile of whitethorn ceanothus. Just before the crest of that next ridge, you pass through the remains of the giant manzanita and ribbonwood that had escaped fire for a century, growing to ~20' tall. These giant remnants continue to fall on the trail each year even a decade later, which may partially block some of the trail. Fortunately, some of these old plants survived the fires, and are still magnificent specimen of very old manzanita.
At 5.2 miles you reach the crest of that ridge and finally see the entire Agua Tibia Mountain. The next half mile is fairly flat until you reach the stream crossing at 3760' and the first real shady part of the trail. The climb up resumes there. A number of switchbacks later, at 7.1 miles, you reach a patch of forest unburned in the 1989 fire and the trail becomes obscure, at least in the fall and winter when it is completely covered with leaves. Head directly south and at 7.2 miles you quickly reach the McGee - Palomar Truck Trail, marked with a simple wooden sign with an arrow to the left for Eagle Crag and an arrow to the way you've come for Dripping Springs. (Note that this last part of the trail may have changed due to the Pechanga Fire in summer 2000.)
The Truck Trail is now clear for hiking, after the fire burned away the huge tree trunks that formerly blocked it. Unfortunately, the Truck Trail hugs the north side of the ridge, and there are only a few places where one can overlook the Fallbrook area. One is 0.2 miles southeast.
Dripping Springs Campground is at ~1620' and the junction with the Palomar-McGee Truck Trail is at ~4400'. There is an additional ~100' of up and down along the trail each way, giving the roundtrip an altitude gain and loss of ~3,000'. Schad claims a total elevation gain and loss of 4100', which is probably a typo and should have been 3100'.
Directions
The trailhead is at the southern end of Dripping Springs Campground, 11.2 miles east of I-15 on SR79, clearly marked with a "campground 1/4 mile" sign from both directions. The Campground is also easy to locate by noting that it is at the lowest elevation of the road in that area as the road crosses Arroyo Seco Creek. The Campground has recently begun to be closed in late spring (4/1 to 6/2 in 2000) due to the arroyo toad, but the trails are still open.
Parking for the trail is just before the entrance to the Campground, 0.4 mile north of the trailhead. There is no vehicle access to the upper end of the trail.
This page was originally adapted from Tom Chester's website.
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