Trail Activities
This page is dedicated to many of the activities that you will find on or near the Trail. We’ll be adding to it as new ones are developed or come to light. If you know of any activities that should be mentioned here, send us an e-mail.
Salton Sea
You’ve never been to the Salton Sea?! Well, if you wish to either start or finish the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail here, you’ll have no problem finding something to do to help you fall in love with this out-of-the-way place.
On the water
There are boat launch facilities all around this inland sea, and boating is good anytime. The three closest launching sites to the Trail head are Desert Shores Marina, Salton Sea Beach Marina ((760) 395-5212) and West Shores Boat Launching Facility ((760) 393-3052).
The Sea has no tides and the water’s salinity makes for great buoyancy. For this reason, the Salton Sea is one of the fastest surfaces of water to boat upon in the nation – windsurfing or power.
Under the water
The fishery at the Salton Sea has been called among the most productive in the world. The Sea has tilapia, gulf croaker, corvina and sargo. An orangemouth corvina to brag about weighed 37lbs (16.65k) – a record held since 1988, while tilapia can weigh up to 3.5lbs (1.5k). By May the fishing is usually red hot!
Above the water
The Sea is one of the most important wetlands along the Pacific Flyway. Several million birds migrate and inhabit the area every year. Over 400 species of birds have been counted at the Sea, including eared grebes, endangered brown pelicans, great blue herons, ospreys, burrowing owls, gulls, ducks, geese and terns. Each winter it is home for the annual Salton Sea Bird Festival. This year’s Festival has been postponed until President’s Day Weekend 2003 (http://www.imperialcounty.com/birdfest/).
On dry land
If you packed a golf club as a walking pole, now’s your chance to use it! The Side Winder Snow Bird Golf Course is free of charge, and grassless - we’re considering nominating it for a water conservation award! There’s also the West Shores Golf Course, where you can golf all day for $5, which you put in a can.
Lake Cuyamaca
Cuyamaca’s 110-acre lake offers a host of activities to those passing by. And by the time you do reach this part of the Trail, you’ll have gained an elevation of 4600 feet (1402m) within its beautiful oak and pine forest.
Take your tackle!
Stocked with over 44,000lbs (198,000k) of fish, Lake Cuyamaca is the only San Diego lake able to stock trout all year round. So if you can find that extra bit of room in your pack for some fishing tackle, here’s where you’ll find trout, bass, Florida bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, crappie, bluegill and sturgeon.
Fishing permits are $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for children. You’ll also need a California State Fishing License if you’re 16 and older. Lake Cuyamaca’s store sells one-day licenses, and has a complete tackle shop.
Want to know the best lures for catching your supper? Recommended are orange #5 Rapala’s, orange and chartreuse Trout Teaser minijigs, green Roostertails and gold Little Cleo’s. And best baits are #1 inflated crawlers and #2 chartreuse Power Bait.
To catch the big one, the best fishing is during the last three hours of daylight.
Row, row, row your boat
If it’s been a hard trek to get you to Lake Cuyamaca, motorboat rentals are $28.00 for the entire day or $23.00 after 1.00pm. And if the noise is just too much for you, rowboats are available for $14.00 all day or $12.00 after 1.00pm. You’ll need to dock back at the jetty by sunset, not to turn into an ugly toad. Paddle boats and canoes are also available during the summer season.
San Vicente Reservoir
If you want to drop a line or meditate out on a kayak at the end of your day’s Trail adventure, San Vicente Reservoir offers it all. When full, the Reservoir has 1,069 surface acres, a maximum water depth of 190 feet (58m), and 14 shoreline miles (22.54km).
San Vicente is a steep-sided reservoir, and home of California’s largest caught freshwater fish, a 101lb (45k) Blue Catfish, caught in 2000. So there’s a record to be beaten! Other fish species include the Florida-strain largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, blue catfish, white catfish, green sunfish and trout (stocked November-January). Minimum size limit for bass is 12 inches (30cm). Fish limits are five bass, five catfish and 25 crappie. There’s no limit on bluegill or bullheads.
Daily Fishing Permits are $5.00 for adults (16 & over), $2.50 for youths (8-15) and children (7 & under) are free. If you don’t want to fish from a boat, you can from the shore.
Rental rowboats and motorboats are available at the concessions by the Reservoir’s dam, as well as State fishing licenses, permits, food, beverages, bait and tackle. Be sure to make rental reservations by calling (619) 390 0222.
Full day rental for a motorboat is $32.00 and a rowboat is $12.00. There’s no half-day rental (after 12pm) for motorboats, but a rowboat is $8.00.
We plan to have canoes for hire from the soon-to-be-built Trail cabin and environmental learning center for San Vicente.