Hiking Volcan Mountain Trail in Southern California
Hiking Volcan Mountain Trail in Southern California
I’m still hiking in Southern California so I headed to Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve outside Julian to hike Volcan Mountain Trail (5,353ft).
Volcan Mountain Trail
Type: Out-and-Back | Rate: Moderate | Traffic: Moderate | Distance: 5mi | Elevation Gain: 1,250ft
Hike to the summit of Volcan Mountain to see the spectacular views of the Volcan Mountain Range.
View the full route on AllTrails.
Volcan Mountain Trail
Volcan Mountain is a 5,353 foot peak in the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve near Julian, California. There are two trails you can hike to get to the summit of Volcan Mountain, Volcan Mountain Trail and Five Oaks Trail which combine for a total out-and-back hike of roughly 5 miles with approximately 1,250 feet of elevation gain. I hiked up Five Oaks Trail and then merged with Volcan Mountain Trail for the final push to the summit of Volcan Mountain.
Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve History
The first people to inhabit what is now Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve were the Iipay people and the wider spread Yuman Indian people (Volcan Mountain Foundation). In the late 1700s Spanish and Mexican colonizers began to arrive. In 1870 a Black American cowboy named Frederick Coleman discovered gold flakes in a creek while watering his horse, thus kicking off the San Diego gold rush and establishing the nearby town of Julian (San Diego Natural History Museum). The land was mostly privately owned since the arrival of the colonizers and was nearly turned into luxury home lots in the 1980s, but locals saved the area by creating the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve which is managed by the County of San Diego Parks & Rec. and Volcan Mountain Foundation (HikingGuy).
Is Volcan Mountain a Volcano?
No, Volcan Mountain is not a volcano, despite the name. There are several different stories as to how Volcan Mountain got it’s name, but the overarching theme seems to be an Americanization of the Spanish word “balcón” which means balcony, as the mountain resembles a balcony when viewed west to east and an early Spanish ranch on the land was named Rancho de Santa Ysabel Balcón. However, there are tales of a family living in the area named Vaulcan.
Volcan Mountain Trailhead
Parking for Volcan Mountain Trail is along the side of Farmer’s Road in a designated parking area well marked with signs. Walk up a short gravel drive to enter the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve. A few hundred feet further and you’ll reach the James Hubbell Gateway Sculpture, a beautiful cedar gateway by local Julian artist Jame Hubbell with metal work by James’ son Brennan and carvings by Mirko Mrakajic. There are two porta-potties to the right of the gateway, but far enough away as to not distract from the art.
Five Oaks Trail
About a half a mile into the hike you’ll have the option to fork onto Five Oaks Trail, a beautiful 1.2mi single-track trail that runs parallel to the wider Volcan Mountain Trail, which is open to equestrians and mountain bikers. I highly encourage taking the Five Oaks Trail. It’s a beautiful hike with switchbacks and great views and is just more interesting than the corresponding section of Volcan Mountain Trail, which I hiked coming back down. The trail is named “Five Oaks” because of the five types of oaks that were found when it was built by the California Conservation Corp in 2003 (it’s now understood there are actually eight oak species along the trail).
Volcan Mountain Trail
Five Oaks Trail ends at stunning overlook with a stone viewing bench of the landscape to the southeast. The remainder of the trail to the top of Volcan Mountain is through golden California grasslands. Wildflowers paint the land as well, being most predominant in Spring, but they were still out when I hiked in August.
Volcan Mountain Summit
The views from the top of Volcan Mountain are spectacular. Really the views along the entire trail are pretty epic. Several hundred feet below the summit sits an old stone chimney stack from an outpost built by astronomers from 1928-1932 who were scouting locations for the Hale Telescope. Palomar Mountain, 25 miles away, was eventually chosen as the site for the telescope. The San Diego County Parks Department, who manages Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve, has also placed observational kiosks at some of the better overlooks detailing the surrounding Volcan Mountain range.
The benchmark for the summit is in the live oak grove beside the birds of prey kiosk and the old airway light beacon tower. I found one benchmark on the highest stone, but supposedly there is another on a lower stone. Walk around the loop on the northwest side and you see the wooden sign someone made noting the elevation.
A final hidden gem is a little offshoot on the southwest side of the loop to the Charles Powell Memorial Bench, which is a beautiful wooden bench with great views. This is where I filmed the trail review at the end of the video.
Volcan Mountain Trail Review
Volcan Mountain Trail is a beautiful San Diego hike in Southern California. Is it one of the best hiking trails in Southern California? Too soon to tell, but if you’re looking where to hike near San Diego check out Volcan Mountain Trail as a day hike!
More Southern California Hikes
Potato Chip Rock on Mt. Woodson
Suicide Rock in Idyllwild
Hiking Gear List
Shirt - REI Co-op Sahara Shade Hoodie
Pants - REI Co-op Trailmade Joggers
Underwear - REI Co-op Everyday Boxer Briefs
Shoes - REI Co-op Flash TT Hiking Boots
Water Bottle - REI Co-op Nalgene 1L
Pack - REI Co-op Flash 22 Pack
Headlamp - Petzl Tikka Headlamp
Camera Gear List
Camera - Sony a6400
Lens - 16-50mm Sony kit lens
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