Weekend Driver San Diego

It’s only about four miles from off what might be the loneliest highway in San Diego County, highway S-2, but it sends visitors back almost a century. Out in the middle of the desert, at the south end of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, is a reminder of just how far transportation has come since [...]

It’s hard to believe, but even in San Diego the weather can interfere with the best plans. With a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee parked out front and a weekend plan to head up Nate Harrison Grade on Mount Palomar (and a Plan B to do some driving on rocks near Jacumba), our local dirt roads [...]

Over the years, I’ve made hundreds of trips to scenic Pine Valley. From the Pine Valley Boulevard off Interstate 8, we make the turn left into town. But the question always was, “What are all those trucks parked over there,” in the cul-de-sac to the right. The answer, discovered with the assistance of a ’10 [...]

It’s been a wet winter, which means our local desert is ready for a show. And for all of you with all-wheel-drive SUVs, its time to exercise those transfer cases. Spring in the desert, especially in rainy years such as this one, means the usual grays and reds of the sand and hills are accented [...]

Who says we don’t have seasons in Southern California? At 4,000 feet, in the mountains east of San Diego, there are golden leaves in the fall, snow in the winter, and in the spring, wonderful green valleys and peaks.

Rocky trail cuts through west corner of state park Generally, I do a bit of research before heading out on one of these drives. I break out the maps, check the web and have a general idea of the roads I’m looking to experience. But for this trip, I decided to do what most folks [...]

Fields of green and gold, babbling brooks aside winding paved roads, damp dirt trails and streams crossing dirt roads. It must be spring in San Diego’s mountains. Arguably the area with the most variety surrounds Lake Henshaw and Warner Springs, in the extreme northeastern corner of San Diego county.

Rocky Road Pushes Grocery-Getter SUV To The Limit From January 2008 The Rocky Mountains are in Colorado, but for rocky mountains, nothing beats the piles of pink boulders in the southeastern corner of San Diego County. Looming in drivers’ windshields as they head towards the Imperial Valley, Interstate 8 winds through them. First comes Walker [...]

With all the mountains in San Diego County, a picnic in the wilderness is only a few minutes away for the thousands who have high-ground-clearance vehicles. Qualifying are most of the SUVs on the road, including crossovers. The Mount Laguna area, at around 6,000 feet, has all the necessary features — trees and dirt roads. [...]

Green SUV Up To Task On Easy Anza-Borrego Roads From December 2006 Coyote Canyon, in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, has enough history to fill a book. It’s the stuff of controversy, human civilization, geology, plant and animal life, and convenience. It’s also a good place for city-dwelling desert newbies to get a little off-road [...]