Mere inches from I-15 there is a surprisingly isolated hiking area. There are a couple trails in this area; we hiked the North shore trail. Though it's officially 14 miles long, a significant part is closed, and at present we think it's only 4 miles. The trailhead is in a large recreation area with bathrooms and picnic tables. The first 5 minutes of the trail parallels a road, without much shoulder to walk on, but the pleasantness of the remaining walk makes it worthwhile.
After a five minute walk you come upon the most exciting feature of this hike, which is the bridge pictured here. It is a concrete suspension bridge open to pedestrians and bikers only. The view from the bridge is quite beautiful, though when we were there a stiff wind blew. Tie your hats and small children down tight!
The rest of the trail is a bit more pedestrian, but scenic in it's own stark, barren kind of way, with long vistas.The foliage is typical of San Diego, with lots of brush and not many trees. We were there right after a rain, which meant there were lots of pretty wildflowers. Your results will vary.
As soon as you get out of sight of the highway, the hike feels surprisingly isolated, with only the occasional house perched atop the hills. For the misanthropic among us, this is a great trail- we saw only a few people in the couple of hours we were hiking there.
Most of the trail was very flat, with the occasional steep spot. Don't take a wheelchair here, but pretty much any ambulator could do it.
Shade index: 1%.
Bathroom index: two actual bathrooms in the first half mile, nothing but scrub from thereon.
