MISSION TRAILS REGIONAL PARK, SAN DIEGO, CA: Hiking and Native American History, Guest Post by Tom Scheaffer

My brother Tom Scheaffer loves the outdoors and often goes hiking near his home in San Diego. I thank him for sharing his photos and report of a recent visit to Mission Trails Park.

Mission Trails Park is one of my favorite places to hike in San Diego. Mission Trails Regional Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country. It encompasses 8000 acres with 65 miles of hiking trails. Started in 1974, Mission Trails Regional Park has become one of the largest urban parks in the United States.

Traditional Kumeyaay House

On land originally occupied by Kumeyaay Native Americans, the park is the site of the Old Mission Dam, built to store water for the Mission San Diego de Alcala. For more about the early history of the region, click HERE.
In the park there are several peaks that you can hike to the top of, but my favorite hike goes to the grinding rocks. You wind through the chaparral and then through a beautiful oak forest before arriving at a creek where you see grinding rocks.

Acorns, produced by live oaks that grow in the area, were ground into meal in holes such as this one.

The Kumayaay people ground acorns on these rocks on the edge of the creek. The creek is actually the San Diego River which flows through San Diego and eventually empties into the ocean.