San Carlos, San Diego, CA

Lake Murray gives San Carlos its morning routine. The reservoir sits inside this eastern San Diego neighborhood, and by sunrise the shoreline path is busy with joggers, dog walkers and people carrying tackle boxes down to the water. Carlos Tavares, the developer who also named Clairemont, built San Carlos out of open hill country, and in 1960 streets like Lake Aral Drive were still brand new tract blocks with young lawns. Many streets carry lake names, from Lake Ashmere to Boulder Lake. Ranch houses make up most of the stock, set along streets that bend uphill toward the mountain, and nearly all of it is single-family. Outdoors is the whole point of living here. Lake Murray allows kayaks, canoes and small boats, and anglers fish for bass, catfish, crappie and trout, though swimming and paddleboards are off limits. The lakeside path stops short of a full loop. The Mission Trails Regional Park visitor center is on the north side of San Carlos, and the main Cowles Mountain trailhead, at Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive, belongs to the Lake Murray neighborhood next door. From there it is roughly 1.4 miles of steady climbing to the top, and mountain bikes are not allowed. Food follows the hikers. The Trails Eatery on Jackson Drive is the post-hike breakfast, with crab cake Benedict and Elvis Cakes, pancakes stuffed with banana and chocolate chips under peanut butter. Cowles Mountain Coffee on Navajo Road pours coffee and serves acai bowls and croissants on a patio, and Pure Press a few doors away makes green smoothies for the trail crowd. Daily errands happen at the Navajo Road and Jackson Drive intersection. Keil's, a family-owned grocery there since 1990, has a deli, a bakery and take-and-bake pizzas and stays open until 10 p.m. The San Carlos Branch Library is down the block on Jackson, and Patrick Henry High School sits inside the neighborhood too. The closest trolley is the Green Line at Grantville, so most trips start in the car. Evenings are quiet, and a night out generally means driving to La Mesa or Mission Valley. Mornings belong to the shoreline and the trail.