19 Discovery Lake and Hills Loop

OVERVIEW

LENGTH: 2.5 miles

CONFIGURATION: Loop

SCENERY: Waterfowl, lake, surrounding homes

EXPOSURE: Sunny

TRAFFIC: Moderate

TRAIL SURFACE: Asphalt and soft soil

HIKING TIME: 1 hour

ACCESS: Free

MAPS: Available at the trailhead kiosk at Lakeview Park, and online at www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us/departments.asp?id=2825

FACILITIES: None

SPECIAL COMMENTS: It can be quite hot on these trails that are mainly surrounded by blacktop streets in a newer neighborhood where vegetation isn’t yet mature. Bring water and be prepared for lots of kids, joggers, and dog walkers around the lake itself—especially on weekends.

SNAPSHOT

An urban trek that varies in appearance from park to greenbelt to open chaparral, this loop is used by locals as an exercise route. Local retirement centers bring seniors here to walk the paved lake path, where they mingle with neighborhood families. The small lake holds a bevy of coots and ducks that gather at a dock for those who feed them.

CLOSE-UP

Follow the asphalt to the right of the parking lot for just a few steps to reach the lake. From the bridge, watch a heron or egret fishing, with their long legs and necks as the perfect tools for wading and dipping their beaks into the water—seemingly effortless in their habits.

Alive with ducks, coots, fish, and frogs, the small lake glistens in the sun. Despite the nearby houses and human activity, the animals appear at ease in an environment surrounded by tall reeds, where they can easily retreat. According to city of San Marcos information, bobcats and deer have also been spotted here. Early morning hours are probably best if you hope to see these more elusive creatures.

Across the bridge, you could continue on the paved lake path, curving left and looping around the lake for a short, 0.8-mile walk. For this longer trek, go right instead, on the downward sloping dirt trail past the bridge. The path will curve left toward nearby houses. Oak trees offer some shade on this section. A side trail leads off to the left, but you’ll pass this by and continue along with the creek on your right; off-season, the creek may be dry.

At about 0.75 miles, you’ll come to a paved road that heads into the housing complex. Be careful of cars as you cross a street, then hook up with a dirt path on the opposite side. Ignore that right fork that crosses the creek, and instead go uphill. Bushy chamise grows abundantly. Also notice straggly tree tobacco, with its smooth bluish-green leaves and cylindrical yellow-green blooms that may appear year-round. Its spindly limbs sway in even the gentlest of breezes—which may be all you get inland on hot days.

At a little over 1 mile, the trail splits off into the housing tract on the right. Take the left path uphill; do the same when the path splits again. These plentiful side routes make the paths convenient for nearby residents. Continue to the left, heading up the moderately steep hill that curves to follow the route of Via Vera Cruz, the vehicle road down below. Here, on the chaparral-covered hillside, the hike begins to feel more rural. After little more than a third of a mile, the path delivers you along the ridge with views to the east, beyond the quarry, and into the mountains. On clear days, you really can see forever—or close to it. Unfortunately, clear skies mean a view of brown smog as well, sometimes hanging like a dismal tent above the earth in the distance.

You’ll pass houses very close on the right. Continue east, moving downhill with the view on the left and fenced backyards on the right. When you reach pavement again, head left to go back down the hill toward the lake. If you’re feeling adventurous, hook up with the Double Peak Trail to the right. Leading about 1 mile to an elevation of 1,644 feet, Double Peak affords panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and mountains to the north and east. Assuming you’ve turned left, Discovery Lake comes back into view. The blue-green oasis contrasts sharply with the barren quarry’s ugly rock-crushing machines hulking in the distance. When the quarry is silent, the tooting calls of coots squabbling on the water grow louder.

At the bottom, head right for a 0.8-mile trip around the lake before going back. The pleasant loop is lined with berry bushes and native plants (marked with signs), and the calls of the coots splashing on the lake fill the air. The ashen-colored birds splash noisily about, quarreling endlessly among themselves—but they’re also very smart. According to a recent study by a University of California, Santa Cruz biologist that was published in the journal Nature, the birds can count and keep track of how many eggs they lay. Coots who don’t win prime nesting spots don’t give up their chance to have offspring either. They lay their eggs in other birds’ nests—maybe that’s what all the squabbling is about!

Where the lake loop bears left, making the curve around to the other side, you’ll see a rickety-looking conveyer track and metal machinery sticking up against the open sky on the right (behind the chain-link fence). This is part of a rock quarry—quiet on weekends, the hulking stillness of the machinery adds a ghost-town feel to the surroundings.

MORE FUN

If you’re hungry after your hike, turn left on San Marcos Boulevard and drive for about 1 mile to San Marcos’s restaurant row. Cuisine runs the gamut from Thai to Mexican to seafood.

TO THE TRAILHEAD

Take CA 78 to San Marcos Boulevard and drive west for 0.5 miles to Bent Avenue, then turn left. Almost immediately, Bent becomes Craven. Drive 0.3 miles and turn right on Foxhall. Proceed another 0.2 miles and you’ll run right into the parking area for Lakeview Park.