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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Cuyamaca Rancho State Park


Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park located forty miles east of San Diego, California in the Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. The park's 26,000 acres feature pine, fir, and oak forests, with meadows and streams that exist due to the relatively high elevation of the area compared to its surroundings. The park includes 6,512-foot Cuyamaca Peak, the second highest point in San Diego County.

Park services include trails for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking, as well as campgrounds for family, group, equestrian, and primitive trail camping; as well as an exhibit at a former gold mine, the Stonewall Mine. Wildlife in the area includes mountain lions, which have been known to attack humans, and park literature emphasizes avoiding encounters with them. Numerous other species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are known to reside within the park.

The park was closed for several months due to massive damage incurred in the 2003 Cedar Fire. Although much of the forest was burned, the park has since been reopened and the fire ecology regenerating native plants are re-growing and returning.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Cuyamaca Pike The Cuyamaca bird list, available at the park museum, contains about 200 different species. Several of the most commonly seen bird residents and migrants are the wild turkey, acorn woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, northern flicker, Steller's jay, western bluebird, white-breasted nuthatch, mountain chickadee, plain titmouse, American robin, red-tailed hawk and red-shouldered hawk. Migrants and summer residents include the black-headed grosbeak, northern oriole, ash-throated Flycatcher, western wood pewee, house wren, several warblers, and the Lesser Goldfinch.

There are many varieties of amphibians and reptiles that call Cuyamaca Rancho State Park home. A few of them are the Canyon Tree Frog, Pacific Tree Frog, red-legged frog, western toad, common king snake, gopher snake, mountain kingsnake, racer, striped racer and western garter snake.

Frequently seen mammals in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park include the Southern mule deer, Coyote, California ground squirrel, Merriam's chipmunk, Black-tailed jackrabbit, Brush rabbit, and Audubon's cottontail rabbit.
Mountain lions are important members of the natural community and may be found in the park. Normally, lions are very elusive and people rarely get more than a brief glimpse of a mountain lion in the wild. They are, however, unpredictable and have been known to attack people. The predatory behavior of a mountain lion is very similar to the domestic cat. The lion will attempt to conceal itself for a surprise attack while stalking its prey. A crouched position is assumed with the tail twitching and the ears upright. An agitated lion may snarl and lay its ears back.

The native Mountain Lion, also known as the Cougar, the Panther, and the Puma, is tawny-colored with black tipped ears and tail. Adult males may be up to eight feet long from nose to end of tail, and generally weigh between 130 and 150 pounds, but can get to as much as 228 pounds. Adult females can be seven feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds. Mountain lions live in many different types of habitat in California, from deserts to humid coast range forest. They are generally most abundant in areas with plentiful deer and adequate cover.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park has a stunning view of lake Cuyamaca The Native American homelands in the area extend back for at least 7000 years. Traces of their ancient and pre-contact civilizations are within the Park. Bedrock mortars mark the sites of summer camps and villages. Even the name "Cuyamaca" is a Spanish version of the name the native Kumeyaay Indians used for this place. In water-short Southern California, the Indians called the area Ah-Ha Kwe-Ah Mac, meaning "the place where it rains." Bands of Kumeyaay Indians ranged from San Diego east through the Cuyamaca and the Laguna Mountains.

The park is located on the 1845 Rancho Cuyamaca Mexican land grant. With the discovery of gold in Julian in 1869, the Spanish, Mexican, and American governments and settlers changed the Kumeyaay's way of life forever. Disease spread through the Kumeyaay, traditional ways of life were destroyed, and promises broken as the Indians were expelled in 1875 from ancestral lands and taxed without representation. Currently there are about 20,000 Kumeyaay descendants in San Diego County.
The Stonewall Mine opened in 1870 and started the boomtown of Cuyamaca City. Peak production at the mine occurred between 1886 and 1891 while employing over 200 workers. In 1889, Cuyamaca Dam was completed and in 1892, Stonewall Mine was permanently sealed after large losses.

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park offers camping and hiking in an oak woodland forest, with a sprinkling of pines and lovely meadows with creeks.  There are over 100 miles of trails which accommodate hikers, bikers, and equestrians.  The two family camps, Paso Picacho and Green Valley, are open and on the reservation system spring through fall.  Green Valley sits at an elevation of 4,000 feet and has a creek which runs through the middle of the campground.  The day use area offers sets of cascades and shallow pools, great for water play on hot days.  Green Valley has 81 campsites. Paso Picacho, 5 miles north, sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet.  The most popular hikes start from this camp, including the 2 mile hike up Stonewall Peak, and the 3.5 mile hike up Cuyamaca Peak, both which offer breathtaking views of the deserts to the east, the coast to the west, and Lake Cuyamaca at the bottom. 
 
 
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