Iron Mountain in Poway, San Diego County

looking West from the summit of Iron Mountain (the other mountain is Black Mountain)

One of the things I enjoy living in San Diego is the accessibility of the trails. I remembered when I was still new in San Diego, one of my students before told me that, "in San Diego, if there is a hill, there must be a trail". True enough, I found out later that there are actually trails almost everywhere. There are trails in the inland hills and valleys, in coastal mesas and canyons, in coastal bluffs, and if one prefers to do more serious climbs, then there is Palomar Mountain and the Cuyamaca Mountains not so far from the coastal city. However, one of my favorite trails within the city limits in San Diego Metro is Iron Mountain, next to Torrey Pines State Reserve (my first) and Woodson Mountain (my second). Iron Mountain has new parking lot now which allows for more cars to park safely instead of on the curb.

me at the summit of Iron Mountain (looking Southeast), rising 2700 ft above sea level

The two pictures above were taken on the same day, about 3 weeks ago. Notice the big difference between looking West and looking Southeast. Looking Southeast (2nd picture above ) and East (below),

looking East from the summit of Iron Mountain

the low clouds were thinning out providing for a greater visibility to view the mountain layers to the East. Looking west (first picture above) where we came from was surrounded by low lying fogs. On a clear day, the ocean glitters with the sun at the top of Iron Mountain. This was how our road looked like as we left home and drove a few miles East to Iron Mountain.

leaving home and driving to Iron Mountain ( posted this picture previously in my post here )

However, just a few miles East and upon reaching the trailhead, the conditions was totally different. No fogs, but a clear trail with plenty of sunshine.

Coast Live Oaks Lined Trail- @ the trailhead

There are two trailheads that approach the summit of Iron Mountain. These two trailheads are located approximately 1 mile apart. The hike from the Highway 67 Staging Area, just south of the intersection with Poway Road, is shorter and is a direct path to the peak. The hike from the Ellie Lane Staging Area, one mile north along Highway 67, is longer, but more scenic.

Here are some trail information for the two trailheads:

From Ellie Lane Trailhead:

Distance: 9.0 miles round trip

Elevation gain/loss : 1600 ft

Difficulty: Moderate

Trailhead: Highway 67 and Ellie Lane Road ( 0.7 mile North of Poway Rd)

From Highway 67 trailhead, just South of Poway Road:

Distance: 6 miles round trip

Elevation Gain/Loss: 1000 ft

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Trailhead: Highway 67, a little bit South of Poway Road

Best Times to Hike: On cooler days, usually November to May

from Iron Mountain's summit, looking South

On a clear day, looking West and Southwest, one will see the Pacific Ocean. The picture below was one of those days where the visibility was so clear I could even see the Los Coronados Island.

Looking Southwest from the summit of Iron Mountain on a Golden Day (sunny day)

The picture above was not taken at sunset, but at noon actually. I did not also edit the picture to give the golden hues commonly seen during sunset, but because about noon, the marine layer (or fogs) that you see in the very first picture above have been lifted higher and have spread out to let some rays of the sun hit the ocean creating a soft golden hue making it look like a sunset at noontime.

♥♥