Otay Mountain is a 15 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Doghouse Junction, California that offers scenic views and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. The trail is primarily used for hiking, trail running, and backpacking and is best used from November until April. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
backpacking
hiking
trail running
views
Amazing views all around. Took the Rebel out and a friend took his tacoma and we went and checked out the trails for doghouse junction and it was pretty fun! Good crawling areas and fun times!
OK for San Diego, an escape from urban development. You don't need to be an "experienced adventurer" for this. Seriously? It's a county maintained road! Nothing particularly scenic beyond the view. No real trees, just scrubby bushes and dirt/rocks. Short steeps intermingled with flats and inclines. Broad gravel road (NOT paved as a hiker wrote below... wtf?) Bring ample fluids if biking up there (why is biking not included in the tags BTW?) Great views and a nice transition from the desert region to a higher, more alpine, desert ecosystem at the top. Big clouds of dust from passing trucks, and lots of evidence of illegal border crossers everywhere (backpacks, jackets, clothes, shoes, etc. off the road in the trails) Haven't gone through to the Pico RV park off Otay Lake Rd. yet, but will soon.
i just did a camping trip here its got some really cool spots just a lot of border patrol and its great for offroading to some spots an average awd can do and some would need some modifications and experiance to do
Great views but it's basically a long (uphill) walk on a paved road. Glad I did it but I don't feel like I'll ever want to do it again.
Pretty easy trail well defined with some great views from the top. Only hard is finding somewhere to park theirs a bunch of private property.
Steady incline with clear path all the way and down.
Excellent trail for running. The view is beautiful and awesome silence.
Long trail that is mostly dirt road. Lots of shooting going on around the trail due to the gun ranges. Overall good hike, but kind of anticlimactic.