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| San Clemente Skate Park, overlooking Camp Pendleton |
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| Path along the ridge. Ocean (and houses) on one side. Mountains and Camp Pendleton on the other. |
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Old cattle troughs overlooking Pendleton and the ocean.
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Sorry Native Americans, Spanish,
Mexicans and finally cows -
make way for our tract homes!
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Situated in the back hills east of the freeway, the San Clemente Skate Park is a cement haven free of charge for anyone from girls on scooters to old men with knee pads and circa 70's skateboards. My husband Jordi falls somewhere in this spectrum and loves to skate around on quiet mornings with no surf. Not liking to be left behind, I often times tag along on his trips to the skate park, since it's in a beautiful location, and next to a park overlooking the hills of Camp Pendleton. On one of these trips, I wandered behind the bathrooms and found a path that went almost vertically up a hill, and then divided. Since then, I had always gone right for a view of the ocean and short walk along the ridge. Then one day I decided to go left. I had always thought the left turn would just loop around and connect to the way I had been going, but was I in for a surprise! I ended up walking for almost an hour along the ridge and back, leaving Jordi sweating and skating for longer than he bargained for!
The next time, I convinced Jordi to leave his skating early and come with me up the hill. We walked all the way to the end of the trail, which ended in a water reservoir and neighborhoods. The main path is paved and gently sloping among the hills. Other small dirt trails criss cross all over the hills, perfect for mountain bikers.
We walked along the path, with expansive views of Camp Pendleton and the coastline - from Dana Point and past the power plant. It's a beautiful and enjoyable walk that I would recommend for an early morning (not much shade) or a clear day (Catalina!). Stumbling upon an old printout map somewhere in my desk area called "San Clemente Trail and Bike Ways Map", I found out that there are many more such walks in San Clemente that I have yet to try out. The path I had found is called Rancho San Clemente Trail. It starts and ends in neighborhoods, but meanders through the hills for 3.5 miles in between housing developments, and also has an access trail behind the skate park.
We are blessed to live in such a beautiful town with hiking just minutes from our house. Living for years on the Central Coast has spoiled me bit though, since I'm always a little bit disappointed to see so many big houses everywhere, or hike to the music of buzzing power lines. But I'm thankful for Camp Pendleton as a neighbor and the opportunity to find a hike while my hubby shows those teenage skaters who's boss. ;)
