Cynthia Robertson

San Diego Experience

Spectacular Views and Pleasant Hiking at Crestridge Ecological Reserve

Recovery from Cedar Fire '03
By Cynthia Robertson
Posted on Feb 04 2008
Last updated Feb 11 2008

Located approximately 3 miles east of the city of El Cajon, and due north of the community of Crest, the reserve is easily reached at its primary entrance. Exit at Greenfield Drive, off of Highway 8, and head southeast. Turn left on La Cresta Road, left on Mountain View, and take another left on Horsemill Road. Enter the reserve at the end of the cul-de-sac. A visitor kiosk will provide maps and pamphlets with information.

At the trailhead, is a cluster of coast live oaks. Follow the lesser road graded road, rising to the right. Upon reaching the top of a north-facing slope, hikers will enjoy vistas of East County neighborhoods with rocky ridges spreading to the north.

Another entrance, a little harder to find, but worth looking for, is found by going north on La Cresta Boulevard, then turning left on La Cresta Heights Road. Almost at the end of the road is a signed public access gate. The path begins around the back yards of some homes, and then goes nearly straight toward a spectacular ridge nearly one mile away. From the top of the highest peak at 1,754 feet, it is possible to see as far as the Pacific Ocean.

The Cedar Fire of ’03 hit the tiny community of Crest but was spared in the 07 fires, so the nearby 2,638 Crestridge Ecological Reserve still provides a haven of walking trails. A miracle of fire is that life begins to unfold from root crowns of scorched trees and shrubs within weeks, as it did so in this pleasant reserve. Luckily, too, most of the majestic coast live oak trees stood strong in the fire. The vegetation will continue to re-sprout and the wildlife will return with the ecosystems to be surprisingly rich over the next few years. However the area is still vulnerable, so visitors should stay on the well-marked trails of this Department of Fish and Game property.

This reserve is a large island of habitat almost entirely surrounded by residential development. Much of Crestridge supports mature riparian woodlands and Engelmann oak woodlands, surrounded by coastal sage scrub and chaparral. The stream running through the land is practically gurgling with all the recent rain. The oaks will be shelter for nesting white-tailed kites and Cooper’s hawk.

Crestridge supports a wide diversity of native butterflies and native plant species and the largest known populations of Lakeside ceanothus and Hermes copper butterfly. The coastal sage scrub habitat on the west end of the reserve may function as one of the "stepping stones" for coastal sage scrub birds, including the California gnatcatcher. Archaeological sites on the reserve, including an ancient village, bear witness that prehistoric peoples also valued the reserve.

Property acquisition began in 1995 and continues to the present. Establishment of a Conservation Bank by the Gaitlin Corporation, which was the previous landowner, and The Nature Conservancy helped to get in motion the creation of this open space reserve.

The Crestridge property, also known locally as "Oakridge," has a long and colorful history, originally part of a Mexican land grant known as El Cajon de San Diego, or Rancho El Cajon. The name, "the box," referred to the pass between two hills. The original land grant consisted of 48,800 acres, the third largest land grant in San Diego County, and ultimately became the site of El Cajon, Lakeside, Santee, Bostonia, and Flinn Springs. The original boundaries of the rancho, roughly, were La Mesa on the west, Mt. Helix on the south, Camp Elliott on the north, and El Monte Park on the east.

The land was granted in September 1845 by Pio Pico to Maria Antonia Estudillo de Pedrorena (Aviña 1976). Señora Pedrorena and her family built houses and corrals for their stock and harvested large crops from the land. After Miguel Pedrorena died in 1850, his heirs began to dispose of their land during the Civil War.

The Cornelius family owned much of the Rancho south of existing Interstate 8 in the early 20th century and raised beef and milk cows there, mostly on the area that is now an avocado grove and not part of the reserve. Mrs. Cornelius purchased the original water system for Crest from the army camp at Campo.

Shorty before World War II, Colonel Ed Fletcher bought the "S" Tract of Rancho El Cajon from the Cornelius family. Fletcher used the property as a retreat for his family.

In the 1990s, Gatlin Development planned to build 92 homes on about 450 acres and to designate about 1,500 acres as open space. This plan was approved by the County of San Diego. The citizens of Crest formed the Crest Open Space Supporters and the Back Country Land Trust (BCLT) to advocate conservation of the property as open space and incorporation into the MSCP preserve system. The Endangered Habitats League also had a role in assuring conservation of the property.

Finally in 1995, Gatlin established the Crestridge Conservation Bank on approximately 1,100 acres of the property, with the potential to add another approximately 1,400 acres to the bank. At the urging of several agencies, including environmental groups, TNC purchased the entire property, and in 1999 the Wildlife Conservation Board purchased the property from TNC. These properties now comprise the Crestridge Ecological Reserve, administered by the California Department of Fish and Game.

Today, the reserve is almost always a pleasant place to hike and watch the wildlife ranging from butterflies to rabbits to vultures. Tiny birds, invisible to the naked eye, twitter in low-lying scrub while flocks of crows call to each other from the tree-tops. As spring begins its romance with the land, this is a place no hiker or photographer will want to miss.

About the author: Cynthia Robertson is a freelance writer based in San Diego.
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