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Cedar Creek and Mildred Falls

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Looking for a loop around Cedar Creek, Mildred Falls, Eagle Peak, Devil's Punch Bowl...

Does anyone have an idea of a loop through and around this area?

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I don't know if the area is open or not, but there used to be a road (I think it was Cedar Creek road, not sure) open from the Mildred Creek Falls area on Eagle Peak road that led through to Boulder Creek road, but it was closed after rain damage in 2005. I checked in the summer of 2006 and it hadn't been reopened yet. Haven't checked lately, though.

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Ahhh the memories!

I haven't heard anyone mention that place in ages!

Cedar creek is awesome. When I was a kid my brother used to take me down there. We would go to the San Diego Country estates to this cul de sac and then hike for about 2 hours to get there (3 hours out!). We would camp at the bottom of the falls. Beautiful! We would even jump off the cliffs in to the water. The route we took was not open to vehicles though I do remember seeing tracks. We didn't ride motorcycles back then, so I don't even know if you can get there on a dirtbike. I remember having to pass through Water District Property.

So, I too would be very interested to know if you can ride the area.

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Looking for a loop around Cedar Creek, Mildred Falls, Eagle Peak, Devil's Punch Bowl...

Does anyone have an idea of a loop through and around this area?

I live nearby in the San DIego Country Estates and I've hiked down to the Devil's punchbowl with my kids/dogs......the area is off limits to mtn bikes/dirtbikes unless you've got permission to ride over from the folks on the reservation......I rode out of the area on my mtn bike one time because I didn't feel like climbing back up towards Ramona Oaks Road in the Estates......but I caught some grief along the way for being on private property......I eventually made my way up to Rainbird Lane in the Barona Mesa Development which sits above the Country Estates.....too bad it's not open because it's a beautiful area.....at least it was before being ravaged by fires (twice).

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I hiked down to Devil's Punch Bowl last Spring after seeing a post from TNTMO about the same hike he took with his family. It was about a 2 hour walk each way. Take lots of water and DRINK it if you go. We had water, but wife wouldn't drink any. I think she didn't want to have to make any trips to the bushes. By the time we got back to the car, she had dry heaves, one of the symptoms of dehydration. Our hike ended with a trip to the emergency room.

I went on a weekend and it was extremely crowded. There were about a hundred college kids there and we had to step over bodies just to get to the water's edge.

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Nice area to hike, some of the first words out of my son were, "I wish we could ride dirtbikes here." I have seen truck tire tracks on the lower end by Cedar Creek, but I don't know where they come in from. Lots of locked gates were found after some exploring using Google Earth.

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Looking for a loop around Cedar Creek, Mildred Falls, Eagle Peak, Devil's Punch Bowl...

Does anyone have an idea of a loop through and around this area?

Mildred Falls can be seen from the end of Eagle Peak Rd. (county Maintained and open). The route to Country Estates has been closed for years(washout). There was a route up to Boulder Creek from the bottom of Eagle Peak. Been awhile, want to explore?? Used to work in the area. :lol:

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i used to live in SD country estates. sadly no good road to cedar creek falls. eagle peak road from julian area is the only option to the falls. used to be able to go from eagle peak road to boulder creek road via cedar creek truck trail, but the road was in bad shape 15 years ago. there was a washout i barely made it past. i may have past a no tresspassing sign on the way,i dont remember. im sure its closed now.

i think devils punchbowl gets mixed up with cedar creek falls. they are not the same place.

if anyone has any pics of:

cedar creek falls

devils punchbowl

three sisters falls

el capitan truck trail (south of SDCE)

please post them.

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i used to live in SD country estates. sadly no good road to cedar creek falls. eagle peak road from julian area is the only option to the falls. used to be able to go from eagle peak road to boulder creek road via cedar creek truck trail, but the road was in bad shape 15 years ago. there was a washout i barely made it past. i may have past a no tresspassing sign on the way,i dont remember. im sure its closed now.

i think devils punchbowl gets mixed up with cedar creek falls. they are not the same place.

if anyone has any pics of:

cedar creek falls

devils punchbowl

three sisters falls

el capitan truck trail (south of SDCE)

please post them.

google and youtube show lots of results for those. Some nice videos of when we got all the rain in 05.

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I have driven the connector road between Eagle Peak and Boulder Creek back in 2003. Hiked to Cedar Creek falls from the staging area not far from Mildred falls and the connector road. I once even took my jeep a little closer to Cedar Creek falls on that trail. Two summers ago, I was on the KLX on Boulder Creek road and the gate was still closed on the connector. It's a nice road as I recall, goes through trees and along a scarey steep cliff face. I had found some forgotten side road with my jeep but couldn't quite get up the steep hill in the mud that day. I had made a mental note that I would get back there on a bike and still plan to if they ever open the gates. I almost went out that way today, but had too many chores awaiting my attention :lol: .

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seems like every picture i find of devils punchbowl is actually cedar creek falls

the gps for devils punchbowl is 32-58-13.28 N 116-40-49.31 W

the gps for cedart creek falls is 32-59-23.12 N 116-43-47.31 W

devils punchbowl is on a different creek south of cedar creek, just upstream of three sisters falls.

the hiking access is where cedar creek road meets boulder creek road.

i hope to hike out there this spring.

heres a link to a picture of three sisters falls - http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1374537219066178887MCwKMU

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For your info.....Eagle Peak starts near Julian and connects with Cedar Creek, which is open sometimes. Cedar Creek is a great dirt road, scenic and fun, and ends up at Boulder Creek.

All the trails going west from there, down to Cedar & Mildred Falls, are closed to motor vehicles. I explored one once before there were gates and signs....rode the Elefant down the trail at the Eagle Peak / Cedar Creek intersection....it was a little hairball on the big bike, since there's some spots right next to a steep dropoff on the single track trail. Down at the bottom it was pretty rocky, and there were No Trespassing signs from Helix Water Authority (land adjacent to the reservoir).

Sucks you can't get down there anymore.

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i used to live in SD country estates. sadly no good road to cedar creek falls. eagle peak road from julian area is the only option to the falls. used to be able to go from eagle peak road to boulder creek road via cedar creek truck trail, but the road was in bad shape 15 years ago. there was a washout i barely made it past. i may have past a no tresspassing sign on the way,i dont remember. im sure its closed now.

i think devils punchbowl gets mixed up with cedar creek falls. they are not the same place.

if anyone has any pics of:

cedar creek falls

devils punchbowl

three sisters falls

el capitan truck trail (south of SDCE)

please post them.

Kind of a side note on El Capitan Truck Trail. I live in the SD Country Estates. Last weekend I went for a

short ride up to Barona Mesa (testing out my new JD Jet Kit on the DRZ 400 - works great!) and started down the El Capitan Truck Trail. The previous times I have

gone down there the gate has been locked. This time on my way down a group of about 10 Dirt Bikers

came flying up the trail. One of the last guys stopped me and admonished me repeatedly that if I

dared continue past the gate my bike would be confiscated!

I guess these guys were "natives" and only they were allowed down there on their dirt bikes. However,

they must have crossed over public land back to Barona that is clearly marked "no off-road vehicles". Ironically, none of their bikes were plated. :angry:

Needless to say I respected his request and turned around at the open gate.

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too bad, when i lived in SDCE in 1991 1992 you could ride several miles past that gate.

there were spider webs across the road, bushes from each side almost blocking the road.

even a car hood as a bridge over a washout.

there was an old 55 chevy off in the bushes that looked like it had been there since 1955

glad i rode it back then.

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if anyone has any pics of:

cedar creek falls

devils punchbowl

three sisters falls

el capitan truck trail (south of SDCE)

please post them.

I live just outside of SDCE, on Vista Ramona Road. We try to make it down to the falls once a year. The trail head is a right off Ramona Oaks Road just before it ends, to the end of Thornbush Road. The map shows both Eagle Peak Road and the Gower Truck Trail starting from that point. I'm not sure if either is accessible.

These are from April of 2005:

02fallsmz6.jpg

falls3tx6.jpg

falls4ci4.jpg

falls5ok9.jpg

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if anyone has any pics of:

cedar creek falls

devils punchbowl

three sisters falls

el capitan truck trail (south of SDCE)

please post them.

I live just outside of SDCE, on Vista Ramona Road. We try to make it down to the falls once a year. The trail head is a right off Ramona Oaks Road just before it ends, to the end of Thornbush Road. The map shows both Eagle Peak Road and the Gower Truck Trail starting from that point. I'm not sure if either is accessible.

These are from April of 2005:

02fallsmz6.jpg

falls3tx6.jpg

falls4ci4.jpg

falls5ok9.jpg

Yep, that is Cedar Creek all right. Just as I remember it. Man, I soooo want to go back now!

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