Joint hike with San Diego River Park Foundation and San Diego County Parks and Recreation. Join Senior Program Manager Natalie Borchardt and County Park Ranger Doug Andrews on a hike as we explore the oak woodlands and native grasslands near the source of the San Diego River at the Santa Ysabel East Open Space Preserve.

On this 8 mile out and back hike we will travel through oak woodlands, native grasslands and fields of wildflowers. We will look for and identify native wildflowers. Moderate difficulty.
Please sign up for the hike at:

https://sandiegoriver.galaxydigital.com/need/detail/?need_id=784490

Please bring water, sun protection, and a lunch for a break at noon.

FYI - Santa Ysabel Preserve East will be closed March 18 - 19 for a special event and will reopen on March 20th.

The Santa Ysabel Nature Center opened December 14th, 2019, and then a few short months latter closed due to the VID.
We are back open and our current hours are;
Monday through Thursday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Friday through Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
All trails are open from 8:00 AM to sunset. There is a new loop trail from the nature center which is just under four miles. If you leave south from the SYNC the trail follows the original road to Julian built in the 1880’s and was the sixth road to be surveyed in the county. As you come back from the north the first part of that section was an old irrigation ditch built in the 1920’s. Then the last section back to SYNC is an improved cow trail.
Lots of great flowers in the spring.
Hope to see you on the trail!

County plans nature center for Santa Ysabel Preserve.

County Department of Parks and Recreation owns and manages the 5,400-acre preserve near the intersection of state routes 78 and 79 in Santa Ysabel and wants to build a 6,000-square-foot nature center with educational exhibits showcasing the unique ecology and history of the surrounding environment.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/news/local-news/sd-cm-ram-santa-ysabel-nature-ctr-20170523-story.html

Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve is within the San Dieguito River watershed that is the drainage area from the rivers’ headwaters in Volcan Mountain to the Pacific Ocean via the San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar.

http://m.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/nov/04/roam-santa-ysabel/?templates=mobile