Daley Ranch Park — Attraction in Escondido

I’ve hiked here many times over decades, including some moonlit summer hikes with groups years ago. I even used to rent horses to ride through the ranch in a group a long time ago. The history and views, including wildlife, are wonderful. I’m grateful this land was set aside for us all to enjoy. Escondido gets really hot in summer, so morning is a good time to go then. Consider putting booties on your dog’s feet because some parts of at least one area near the historical ranch house are paved. Take water. There are historical, botanical, and bird life information plaques, plus public restrooms. Parking is free in the area across the road from Dixon Lake. This place is popular. Mountain bikers use the trail. There are some plants up there that can cause rashes if you make contact, plus some big ants on the trail sometimes, so read the information plaques to be aware of your surroundings. If you make contact with poison oak, wash the oil off your skin as soon as you can, to avoid blisters. Enjoy the oaks, and the flowering manzanita and ceanothus, depending on the season....

There are signs on daily ranch of mountain lions around the area . Im assuming they are being posted because they are more sightings of them. Usually , mountain lions are solitary. I have seen a pack of big brown coyotes before, but they halted at my presence and then walked away. I went on a run and took north quail road and at 8:45am I decided to deviate to the left to take the Stanley Peak trail . I only took a few steps, because im not quite familiar with that trail, when I suddenly saw 2 big brown “mountain lions” walking my way. They were not on the trail but on the dry short bushes walking toward the dirt trail. One was smelling the dry bushes, and the other one was walking. I Know they were not coyotes because they didn’t have long erect ears. They were too far away for me to see them clearly, but I wasn’t planning to waste precious time taking a picture of them. I walked slowly the way I came and ran back quail road. I only ran about 50 feet away when I ran into another runner, and we ended up team tagging our...

Large open park with connecting trails. Quite steep from the start but once you get over that first hump the central trail stays easiest the walk. The trails heading northwest and northeast can have some challenging areas. Unfortunately the severe rain earlier this year has damaged the trails. Use hiking poles if you have them. You can stay out here for 4-6 hours, depending on your route and pace. Free parking, even on busy days like today I could easily find a spot. You can use the restrooms at the lake, which is a few minutes walk from parking and free entry when you walk.

Main restroom building is located near the Ranch House. There are trash cans located all over the park and it definitely helps keeping the trails clean.

Altho it can look busy, once you're more on the the outer sides of the park you have lots of quiet. Some more narrow trails are more suitable for mountain bikers that hikers.

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