In East County, Lakeside's River Park Conservancy and the City of Santee a have succeeded in constructing several miles of trail.  In Santee you can take the River Trail from Carlton Hills Blvd at Mast Park to Town Center Park and from Magnolia Ave through the Walker Preserve to Lakeside at the Lakeside Baseball Park.  In Lakeside you can take the trail from Channel Road to Santee at the Walker Preserve.  These trails just begin to hint at what the future holds when the trail is completed to Mission Trails Regional Park and out through the spectacular El Monte Valley at the base of El Capitan Dam.

Click here for a map and directions to visit the River Park Trail that runs through Lakeside

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The San Diego River Trail is planned to be a 52-mile long trail that will take hikers, bikers, and equestrians from the headwaters of the river in Julian down to Ocean Beach where the San Diego River empties into the Pacific Ocean.  This trail, once completed, will provide residents and visitors with an experience that is rare in a major city, trails that take you to the beach, to ranches and a dairy, shopping, restaurants, breweries. You will be able to hike past waterfalls, and into the snow in the winter!

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Constructing a trail is not easy. Land must be acquired, planning and permitting completed followed finally with the construction of the trail. Most importantly, funding must be found to accomplish all of these tasks. Consequently, the San Diego River Trail has been and will be constructed in segments, when available land intersects with available funding.  

 

When it is completed, this trail will have something for everyone, from moms with strollers to campers, to equestrians.  It will change the way we move through our community and change the way we view that ribbon of green that marks the San Diego River.