How to Hike Lake Poway

The hike around Lake Poway is an easy three miles. People are fishing from the shore and boats, and after heavy rains there are even waterfalls! At some point you can branch off to do the eight mile round trip Mount Woodson hike to Potato Chip Rock and wait in line for pictures, or branch off below the dam (a couple miles into the hike) and hike over four miles round trip to Lake Ramona.

My favorite part of this hike is getting to run down all the switch backs. Actually, it was not that fun running down by myself. It was really fun running down with Isaac, Ezekiel and Canon on New Year’s Eve! We leapt off high spots as they arose and it was great. Then you hike back up the other side of the dam (equivalent to about 30-something flights of stairs) and back to the parking lot by the bait shop and the ducks. Non-locals have to pay to park on weekends.

And while we’re on the topic of being active with kids, Isaac’s been learning a lot at preschool. He can dribble a soccer ball and is better on his bike. He’d gotten in his pajamas and was hanging around the kitchen the other day when I noticed him balancing with a foot on his knee.

“Is that something you learned at preschool?” I asked.

“Yeah! After Mountain we do Waterfall into Downward Dog.”

Because apparently California preschools teach yoga.