Hiking at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

San Diego Metro KOA

Chula Vista, CA

January 15, 2024

One of our favorite places to walk when in San Diego is Torrey Pines.  We first hiked this beautiful plateau that overlooks the ocean back in February 2015.  We were wowed then and are still wowed today after several visits.  We are saddened by the loss of so many Torrey pines this trip.  We read that because of insufficient water, these rare trees can not produce a necessary oozy sap-substance that flushes bark beetles from the trees. Dry conditions are favorable for bark beetles as they tunnel into and feed on inner bark tissues...ultimately killing the tree.  

I took this photo in 2015...

  and this photo this week in the same curve on the hike.  

I won't repeat information from past posts (if interested, type Torrey Pines in the search bar to the right) and just post some favorite photos I took this week.  We started the morn with the Guy Fleming Trail for the gorgeous views and it is pretty awesome to be amongst the rarest pine tree in North America. 

Female cones open and gray with age...a female cone will remain closed for many years and slowly open remaining on the branch for over ten years.

Male pollen cones...

Lighting was not so good for photography as we were there mid-day...

Torrey Pines vary in shape and size depending on their location...

Spectacular views from the plateau...

Carol took a picture of me taking a picture...

Beautiful colors...

Ragwort

Licorice Fern

Desert Sand-verbena

Agave shawl

Century plant

California holly

California poppy

Prickly pear

We heard lots of birds, but I saw only two that I could photograph...

Joe and I could not ID this one...

Spotted Towhee...he's a fast little bird rummaging and hopping in and out of the shrubs. It was hard to catch a clear picture

After snacks, we enjoyed another walk...this time on the beach.  In past visits to the reserve, the tide was too high and there was no beach to walk on...I was so happy to be at the base of the sandstone cliffs we had just hiked.  I am not sure if the tide was going out or coming in, but there was a narrow section of beach to walk on between the cliff and the ocean.  The section of beach we walked was not the kind of beach one would spread out a blanket on to soak up the sun and not the kind of beach one would make sandcastles on...but instead, a gorgeous beach with sparkling, colorful rocks to walk on. 

 

And I did manage an up shot of one of the Peregrine Falcons flying overhead.  They nest on the cliffs.   

  

It was such a wonderful morning to be with friends and soaking in all this beauty.  

Thank you for the photo Carol!

Back at Belle...

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

San Diego Metro KOA

Chula Vista, CA

January 12, 2022

Torrey Pines SNR is located within the city limits of San Diego yet it remains "one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast".  

Thanks to the efforts of naturalist Guy Fleming (May 1884-May 1960) and all the dedicated people who followed his lead, we can enjoy these 2,000 acres of land just as they were before San Diego was developed.

This includes the maritime chaparral , the rare Torrey Pine, miles of unspoiled beaches, a lagoon, and a salt marsh.  When reading about the reserve, it says to keep in mind that a reserve is not a park. A reserve is a protected area targeted for conservation with an emphasis  on protecting threatened plants, animals, habitats or a specific geological feature.  Reserves have restrictions that parks do not have. Examples include no food or drink allowed except water, no pets and no smoking.   

TPSNR includes eight miles of trails offering a variety of distances and a Visitor Center commissioned in 1922.  An entrance fee per car is collected at the gate and hours are from 8:00 am to sunset. 

We have hiked in the reserve several times over the years.  It is amazingly beautiful and peaceful and there is something quite magical about meandering among the rarest of all pines in the United States.  The rare Torrey Pines are only found at this reserve and on Santa Rosa Island and are listed as endangered.  It all began in the 1980s with a combination of drought and a bark beetle infestation.  Over 650 Torrey Pines have died as a result.  Efforts began, and are still ongoing, to trap the beetles. Because Torrey Pines is a Reserve, the policy is to let nature take its course.  

This grove of Torrey Pines on the northwest side of the Guy Flemming Trail is gone.  When we first visited the reserve in February 2015, there was a nice grove here on both sides of the trail .  The blue tubes are seedling Torrey Pines that have been transplanted from other sections of the reserve.    

I found it interesting that it takes around 3 years for a pine cone on these magnificent trees to mature and produce seeds. 

 

It's also interesting to note that many animals eat the pine nuts and even the seedling trees and very few seedling trees grow to maturity.  

Many older cones remain on the tree, but if you do see one on the ground...it is illegal to remove it from the reserve.

I could go on and on...nature is so amazing and fascinating !

It's not hard to find other things to photograph when walking these trails.  There are flowers...

Agave

  

California Poppy

Milkmaid

Verbena

Sea Dahlia

And one of my favorites...Prickly pear Cactus

We all spent awhile at one of the overlooks watching the dolphins play... 

This photo was taken from an overlook way up on a cliff.  I was so wishing I had my big lens on the camera.  

the fog roll in... 

listening to the  pounding waves...

and hoping to see a pair of Peregrine Falcons that the docent said were nesting in the cliff wall.

I'll close by adding that if you are in San Diego, we think Torrey Pines is a must see.  And as with most posts, a few more photos !

Growing on a cliff face...

  

California Towhee

Something old, something new...

Looking towards LaJolla

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS!