Cedar Creek Falls

On our list of the best activities in San Diego.

A roughly six-mile round-trip trail out of Ramona's San Diego River Gorge trailhead, with more than a thousand feet of elevation gain on the way back, leads to Cedar Creek Falls, which drops about 100 feet into a swimming pool at its base. A visitor use permit is required and checked at the trailhead. Exposed with no shade the whole way, the route runs hot enough in summer that a gallon of water per person is the standard advice, and hikers report snakes along the trail as often as the climb itself.