Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve Valley Center

Eleven miles of trail encompass Hellhole Canyon Open-Space Preserve, east of Valley Center. The preserve is about 1700-acre in size

To reach the preserve entrance, take Paradise Mountain Road 3.3 miles east from Lake Wohlford Road to Kiavo Drive, where you bear left (north). Continue another 0.5 mile north on Kiavo to the well-marked entry and parking lot on Santee Lane.

From the parking lot, the trail goes north down the ridgeline, descending to shady spot along Hell Creek. Just past the creek crossing, the trail joins a no longer used section of the Escondido canal. This canal built 100 years ago brought water lake Henshaw and the San Luis Rey River to Lake Wohlford. There is now a bypass pipe on the opposite side of the preserve that moves the water today. At 1.3 miles from the start, you veer right, leaving the old canal, and soon reach a trail fork. There are a couple of options from this point.

1) Staying to the left from this point on takes you back toward Hell Creek, to the large metal pipe that connects the Escondido canal.

2) By swinging right at either this point or the next trail junction ahead, it is possible to reach a looping route that climbs up 1700 feet to the ridgeline. You can gaze north to Palomar Mountain and west over much of inland North County. By following this circular route and returning via the Hell Creek crossing, you cover a total of about eight miles.

For more information on Hellhole Canyon Open-Space Preserve, call San Diego County's parks department, 858-694-3049.

See Hellhole.pdf for map