Penny Pines 10 Mile Loop via Indian Creek Trail
Take Highway 8 East to Sunrise Highway. Go North to mile marker 23 and park at the Penny Pines turnout. It is about one mile past the Shriner Camp on your left. Make sure to display an adventure pass in your window or you may get a ticket. This trail is technical and challenging for a 10 mile run but it is AWESOME!
Penny Pines Loop via Indian Creek Trail Elevation Profile
After parking on the right shoulder cross Sunrise Highway and take the Noble Canyon trailhead south for approximately two miles. Stay alert and you will see the right turn marked Indian Creek Trail. Take the right and wind down the Indian Creek Trail towards Indian Creek. In the winter and spring the creek is cold and full of water. You can easily jump across it though and proceed to make your way up the switchbacks towards Pioneer Trail. When you summit take Pioneer Trail East back toward Sunrise Highway and Pioneer Mail. The trail on this section is nice with scenic views. As you near Pioneer Mail Sunrise Highway will come into view. Follow the trail down and to your right until you exit the trail onto Sunrise Highway. Cross Sunrise Highway into Pioneer Mail rest area. There are bathrooms here if you need them. Pioneer mail is mile 43 and an aid station for the San Diego 100 mile Endurance run held every June. You can also stage runs from here but need an adventure pass to park and the gates close at dusk. When you are ready to continue look for the PCT going to your right or South. Once you are on the PCT just follow it all the way back to Penny Pines. This is a spectacular portion of the Pacific Crest Trail offering breathtaking views all the way down to the desert floor. On your return to Penny Pines you will have run approximately 10 miles. The San Diego trail running club (San Diego Dirt Devils) loves this run for many reasons. It allows runners who only want to do 10 to get back to their cars and leave and at the same time those that want to continue and do more can use their car as their own personal aid station complete with a drop bag! The other reason we love this run so much is that instead of doing the same 10 mile loop again we can run the 10 mile loop that is part of the Noble Canyon 50K. If you choose to include this portion in your run you will want to get back on the PCT and continue south until you get to the Big Laguna Trail. Make a right/go west on the Big Laguna Trail and you will quickly cross over Sunrise Highway. After crossing Sunrise Highway continue southwest until you get to a fire road and go right. It gets a little sketchy here but soon you will see a single track on your left. Take the single track into the woods and continue on the trail until you get to a horse gate. After going through the horse gate make a right and stay on the Big Laguna Trail all the way back to Noble Canyon. Upon your return to Noble Canyon head for Penny Pines and you car and you are home free with 20 miles under your belt for the day.
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Looking for others to Run Trails with?
If you want do trail running in San Diego but do not know where to go or want to run with a friendly group look no further than the San Diego Trail Running Club, the San Diego Dirt Devils. They run 3 times a week from San Diego to Mount Laguna to Anza Borrego Desert to Lake Cuyamaca. Go to www.meetup.com/dirtdevils or call the San Diego Running Institute at 619-265-7374 for more information.
