Lake Murray, San Diego, CA

Cowles Mountain rises straight out of the Lake Murray neighborhood in San Diego, and its main trailhead at Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road stays busy with hikers and dog walkers. The area takes in the higher, eastern end of what most people call San Carlos, plus a big piece of Mission Trails Regional Park. The reservoir that shares the name sits just west, over the line in San Carlos. Homes here are mostly ranch-style tract houses climbing the lower slopes of the mountain, built as San Carlos spread east through the 1960s. The San Carlos Recreation Center, which opened in 1970, sits inside these blocks with a big diamond for ball games. Streets on the upper slopes end right where the parkland begins. Trail access defines life in Lake Murray. The Cowles climb gains its summit in roughly 1.4 miles, and from there hikers continue to Pyles Peak or link up with Kwaay Paay and the Fortunas on the long Five Peak Challenge. Kumeyaay Lake Campground, deeper in the park, has 46 sites open for camping on Friday and Saturday nights. Over in San Carlos, the reservoir walk runs about 3.2 miles out to the dam gate and back. Eating out centers on a few strip centers along Navajo Road and Lake Murray Boulevard. Basil Thai Bistro is known for its Tiger Cry Steak and Panang curry duck, and Sei Sushi in the San Carlos Village center has a sister tea shop, R&B Tea, in the same plaza. McCarter's Bar and Grill on Lake Murray Boulevard pours 14 beers on tap and runs a weekday happy hour. Errands are simple. San Carlos Village has an Aldi, a Walgreens and a gym, and Albertsons is down the road on Lake Murray Boulevard. Lake Murray Boulevard heads south into La Mesa, and the shops along Mission Gorge Road in Santee are just past the eastern edge. There is no trolley stop nearby, and much of the food is chains, so most evenings involve a short drive. Mornings look different, since the Cowles trailhead starts right beside the first blocks of houses.