195 official trails lie within 25 miles of San Diego — 518 miles in total, 156 rated easy and 15 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.
The biggest climb nearby gains 2,615 ft; the median trail gains 111 ft.
| Trail | Miles | Climb | Difficulty | From town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Trails | 33.3 | 1,120 ft | Expert | 4 mi |
| Otay Mountain Truck Trail | 12.5 | 2,615 ft | Expert | 22 mi |
| Black Mountain Open Space Park | 10.2 | 668 ft | Expert | 11 mi |
| Tecolote Canyon Park | 8.7 | 284 ft | Expert | 3 mi |
| Los Penasquitos | 29.4 | 566 ft | Expert | 7 mi |
| Sloane Canyon Road | 6.1 | 1,083 ft | Hard | 17 mi |
| Sweetwater River Trail | 7.7 | 288 ft | Hard | 13 mi |
| Mount Woodson Trail | 2.7 | 1,715 ft | Moderate | 16 mi |
| Marian R. Bear Park | 7.2 | 317 ft | Hard | 4 mi |
| Gonzalez Canyon OS | 5.9 | 322 ft | Hard | 11 mi |
| San Pasqual Open Space | 2.8 | 1,353 ft | Moderate | 22 mi |
| Del Mar Mesa | 6.2 | 277 ft | Hard | 10 mi |
| Carmel Mountain | 5.9 | 226 ft | Hard | 9 mi |
| Guejito Truck Trail | 4.4 | 886 ft | Moderate | 24 mi |
| MT Woodson | 2.5 | 1,184 ft | Moderate | 17 mi |
| Rancho Mission Canyon | 4.2 | 464 ft | Moderate | 4 mi |
| Doenges Trail | 2.2 | 1,251 ft | Moderate | 16 mi |
| Iron Mountain Peak Trail | 2.8 | 1,070 ft | Moderate | 15 mi |
| Viejas Mountain Trail | 1.6 | 1,469 ft | Hard | 23 mi |
| El Monte Trail | 2.3 | 1,100 ft | Moderate | 17 mi |
| Daley Ranch Truck Trail | 3.8 | 702 ft | Moderate | 19 mi |
| Ovrp | 7.7 | 217 ft | Moderate | 16 mi |
| South Poway Trail | 3.5 | 330 ft | Moderate | 10 mi |
| Mother Miguel Mountain Trail | 2.0 | 878 ft | Moderate | 14 mi |
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