Devil’s Jump-Off Is a Dramatic Sight

The Devil’s Jump-Off is a unique and little known spot in San Diego county. It has a very dramatic drop-off and is a unique offshoot of the San Diego River canyon. When you look at the satellite view of the San Diego River Canyon and it’s branches, it's obvious they are fault lines.

To get to the Devil’s Drop Off, hike up the south and east side of Mt. Gower on the Eagle Peak Road at the end of Ramona Oaks Road in the San Diego Country Estates. There is a parking area at the end of the Ramona Oaks Road. The trail climbs north up along the homes and then bends right along the south flank of the southeastern most peak of Mt. Gower. The trails loops around that southeastern peak and then heads north along the canyon wall and against the eastern flank of the Mt. Gower mountain complex.

At about 3 miles you come up on the ridge rise across from the Devils Jump-Off. The road follows along further northeast after looping around the west wall of the canyon offshoot which has the Jump-Off. It now becomes the West Side Road or Forest Route 13510 and comes out several miles further east of the junction of Old Julian Highway and Highway 78. You can also take Sawday Truck Trail to Old Julian Highway just south of the intersection with Highway 78.

The Eagle Peak trail has many dramatic viewpoints of the San Diego River Canyon. The trail meanders on the edge of the river canyon and the mountain side. The view is 360 degrees of dramatic landscape with peaks and deep canyons in the vistas.  In the early hours of some days, the coastal fog works up into the river canyon and slowly clears with the rising sun. There are lots of hawks, horned toads, lizards, roadrunners and other wildlife and there are always wildflowers blooming. The flowers spread in waves of colors in the grass and shrub lands along the trail from winter through summer.

The Devil’s Jump-Off has a high point of 2,600 feet. The canyon bottom is at about 1000 feet. So the Jump-Off has a drop of about 1,600 feet in a very short distance. This drop-off is nearly as sheer as the El Capitan drop-off to the reservoir at the south end of the San Diego River canyon. The Devil’s Jump-Off has a very dramatic view looking at it from the canyon ridge south of it and just a bit off the trail to the east.

This ridge has a steep but easily hike-able slope in winter, when the weeds are down. Most of the year, this is some difficult backcountry terrain and brush to get through. Some areas are solid rock, with ridges and flats of all rock, and other areas of dense brush. The old growth all burned off in the Cedar Fire in 2003. The entire Mt. Gower and surrounding area was completely burned to the ground. The ash blew off to the coast in the strong Santa Ana winds that came for a month afterwards. This has all grown back and is fairly dense in many areas again.

Click here to see a video of the waterfall.

If you go:
Directions: 9-10 miles east from downtown Ramona on San Vicente Road. Left on Ramona Oaks Road and follow it to the end. Take the Eagle Peak Trail up the hill from the parking area.

Difficulty level:  moderate to hard. The trail can be hot in summer, so plan morning hikes then.

Parking: There is public parking at the trailhead. Park at your own risk. Be sure to hide anything of value and lock up tight.

Facilities: No facilities. Equestrian friendly with a good turn-around. Dogs allowed on leash.

GPS: Latitude: 32.0129   Longitude:-116.7329

Vista Points: 2,400 feet; parking lot: about 1,500 feet; delta: 900 foot elevation

Distance: about 6 miles round trip