Annie's Canyon Trail

I walk in from Cardiff by the Sea as u can enter through a tunnel under the train tracks. It is a little walk-in adventure to get there. Just spy the tunnel from the road and follow the small trails in that direction. Follow this trail to Rios. Most people park along Rios and enter the trail there. You will enter Annie’s trail at this point. It is an easy ambling trail to walk. UNTIL. OMG You get to Annie’s Loop. Annie’s Loop is a fun 10-20 minute climb loop. A must do. This is a HIDDEN GEM. I am 81 years old and if I can do it, you can do it. Please leave your dog home or assign a person to sit with the dog at the entry to the loop. Do not subject other climbers in the closed in area to your dog. There are signs stating dogs are not allowed as it is unsafe. It is fine to walk your dog along the rest of the trail. Have fun.

My family and I headed over for what we had read was a short walk/hike - you park a couple blocks away in a residential area and then start out on what appears to be a very easy trail.

About the time you get warmed up - and the first part of the trail could be easily handled by anyone of any age, in any physical condition - you come to a crossroads where you have a decision to make to proceed. If you choose “difficult”, be prepared to climb through a canyon, that is very narrow and very steep in some places. I have relatively short legs, I’m 5’9”, and one time, I had to have someone push me from behind up through one ledge to another.

Agree with the other reviewers that this is a great suburban hike, and can be as difficult as you can take.

Normally I take my friend on 6+ mile hike when we vacation in San Diego. LOL I spared him because I wanted to make a day in Salano Beach shopping and dining. Annie's Canyon Trail is a short fun hike. You have to hike other trails that lead into the Annie trail. My friend and I entered through the Holmwood Canyon Trail to the Rios Avenue Trail then you hit the Annie's trail. Yes and as everyone mentions, you have a choice of the difficult or easy access. Honestly, if you have no physical limitations, the difficult is not difficult at all. It gets narrow and you have to climb a small ladder. It's a fun trail.

My only suggestions would be: Go during the WEEKDAY, less crowds to no crowds, (there was no one there when we hiked on a Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. a few people at the very top), wear sunscreen because there is very little shade and we found parking to be a little tricky, find the residential areas that permit parking, then you walk to the trail head.

First of all, Google maps takes you to the wrong place, but Apple Maps is correct… And don’t let the beginning part fool you. It gets hard and absolutely stunning. Absolutely worth it but definitely have to be able to climb up pretty steep stairs that are about 2 feet deep. The climb itself is really beautiful and it’s a cool view at the top! Lots of lizards and beautiful wildflowers along the way!

Nice for brief hike for all kinds of folks. Offers a nice view of the surrounding marshes and Beach. The canyon itself is only like 5 minute walk through, but there are trails nearby to make the trip more worthwhile.

As a chubby woman i will write the review I was looking for. Yes its narrow. I fit no problem. Yes i am 5’2” and i was able to make the climb. Although i had to crawl up using my knees twice. The slot canyon is the highlight. It was a small section and way worth it. The walk there and back was steep inclines and sucked but was doable with time. It is not for dogs. There were a lot of people that brought dogs. They needed to be carried up the ladder and through some of the steps. And its so narrow the dogs were distressed. Fun hike !

This is a short section-less than a quarter mile. It's a slot canyon so it's tight and walls are beautiful. It only took us a few minutes to get through it so we did it a second time. The view at the top is amazing. We started and ended at the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center. Total mileage was 2.2 miles.

i hiked annie’s canyon trail on 8/19! i posted a vlog on y_ utube including tips and info so you can be prepared! search "Nikko Gandia Travels" or find a link to my y_ utube on my profile.

free street parking. easy 1.5 mile loop comparable and way easier than the ho chi minh/saigon trail also in san diego. the only “difficulties” were a few short sections of very narrow canyons and a couple ladders to climb.

This was a great hike! We parked at the Solana Trails trailhead, which gave us some nice elevation changes on the way to and from the canyon. Canyon was beautiful and everything I imagined. There was one step that was almost waist high, which was a little challenging and the beginning of the steel ladder was rather high, but it was worth the work! Would go back next time we are in the area.

I did this hike with 6 children under 9 years old and everyone could complete this easy slot canyon climb. The trailhead was easy to find and the trail was flat until you get to the canyon. Round trip in 1 hour. There is shade in many parts. This is probably the best hike for small children that I have done ever.