Climbers Loop Trail | San Diego, CA | Mission Trails

Climbers Loop Trail is a 1.97-mile trail with 476 feet of elevation gain and is part of Mission Trails Regional Park located in San Diego, CA. This was a nice hike, with a good little challenge on the incline.

Parking & Getting There

Parking for this trail is easy for the most part. The important part of parking is to either arrive early or plan to be patient waiting for a spot to open up. You will be able to park at the visitor center lot, or along Father Junipero Serra Trail. Unlike the name, this is actually a street. You can see both of these parking locations on the google map below.

This parking location is very popular because it has access to many of the trailheads in Mission Trails. Depending on the time of year and other world events, sometimes the Father Junipero Serra Trail road will be open one way to drive through the park. I will admit, it has been a long time since I have seen this road open.

The Trail

After finding parking you start walking on Father Junipero Serra Trail road. You will take this for a little bit until you see the signage for the climber’s loops trail on the right-hand side of the road. Make sure to checkout the video above to see exactly where it is.

From this point, you will start the bulk of the incline for the trail. You will take this until you get to the base of the mountains. You don’t actually make it to a peak on this one. I have not seen it personally, but rumor is people do actually climb the rocks in this area.

As you approach the top, you will notice that trail is very narrow. Because of this and the elevation gain, I would not recommend bringing your kids on this trail. There are plenty of other great locations at the park to check out. At the top as you hike along the ridge, make sure to take a break and enjoy the views looking down in to the park.

Once done with the ridge, you will start your descent back towards Father Junipero Serra Trail road. Once you make it to the road you can either head back to your car, or head across to a trail on the other side of the road that gets you on a portion of the visitor loops trail.

This part of the trail has some huge canopy-like trees and access to the San Diego River. A nice place to take a break, enjoy the scenery, and have a snack. From here you will follow the trail back to the corner of the Visitor Center and the road/lot where you parked.

Lookback

Overall Climbers Loop trail is a nice trail that offers a little challenge and nice scenery. If you live close to the area and are looking for something new to check out, I would recommend it. I would not travel far to check it out though.

Photo Gallery

Wrap Up

Is there a specific hike that you would like to see next? Leave a comment down below or reach out via the Contact Form and hopefully I will be able to get a recap and virtual hike posted soon! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your adventure.