Harvey Moore Trail from Sweetwater

Hiking Index

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
9-10 miles
See Photos

I went hiking in the Cuyamaca Mountains on Saturday. I decided on the Harvey Moore trail, starting at the trailhead about 1/4 mile north of Green Valley Campground on Highway 79, from the Sweetwater (?) lot. The trail was supposed to take me on a loop, with almost 1000 feet elevation gain, for a total distance of 9 or 10 miles.

Everything was going good, it was a great hike, although very dry and dusty. I passed the Granite Springs primitive camp (if anyone has camped at any of the primitive camps in Cuyamaca or Laguna, drop me a note using feedback above, I've never done it but am interested), but then at about the 5 miles point the trail was blocked. There were several signs saying the trail was closed for fire restorations. I was bummed, my choice was either to backtrack, or to branch to another trail that I figured would only make the hike longer. So, I decided to pretend I didn't see the sign, and continued on, following the trail. It really didn't look any different, except that you could tell it had much less traffic, which I suppose is the idea of the signs. After about another 3/4 mile, the trail disappeared. I knew I couldn't be that far from the connector on the other side, but I didn't want to end up roaming around the mountains or end up as dinner for a hungry mountain lion (I learned about a month ago from a researcher that a mother gave birth to cubs, and I couldn't have been more than 5 miles from where he said that was), so I gave up and turned around.

So if you're going to hike the Harvey Moore Trail, as of 8/20/05, the trail partially closed.

Looking east on ascent up Harvey Moore TrailLooking east on ascent up Harvey Moore Trail
Harvey Moore Trail - CuyamacaHarvey Moore Trail - Cuyamaca

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