Ramona Grasslands Trail is Open

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, the San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department and community and wildlife partners on Friday opened a four-mile trail in the Ramona Grasslands Preserve, marking the first time the public has been able to experience the unique County preserve along a trail. 

“The County and its partners have been working for years to acquire land in the preserve to conserve and restore this vanishing habitat,” said Jacob. “Today, the community can finally venture into the Grasslands and experience what makes the area so special.”

The figure-eight loop in the southwestern portion of the 3,500-acre preserve winds through grasslands, chaparral and oak woodlands, passing a pond and stopping by a viewpoint with 360 degree views.

The trailhead off Highland Valley Road near Archie Moore Road offers a parking area for cars and horse trailers.

The Grasslands’ vernal pools and native grasses, now rare in San Diego County, were once common to the region. About 90 percent of Southern California’s grasslands have been lost to development, according to a news release from the Supervisor's office.

The preserve supports the endangered Stephens’ kangaroo rat, San Diego fairy shrimp and arroyo toad and rare plants such as the tarplant, San Diego thornmint and Engelmann oak.

Hawks, eagles and falcons winter in the preserve. The Santa Maria Creek adds to the Grasslands’ biodiversity.

“Protecting the Ramona Grasslands has been a substantial effort, and by opening it up for low-impact recreational uses such as this hiking trail, the public can enjoy this special place while still protecting the amazing nature it has to offer for future generations,” said Chris Basilevac, senior project director of The Nature Conservancy at Friday's news conference.

The State Water Resources Control Board awarded County Parks and Recreation a grant for the protection of Santa Maria Creek and adjacent habitats in 2003. The County partnered with The Nature Conservancy and others to restore, protect, study and acquire land in the preserve. The ownership and operation of all the preserve’s lands have been transferred to the County.

The new trail is in a 480-acre area of the preserve that was purchased jointly by The Nature Conservancy, which received $10 million in federal funds authorized by the Endangered Species Act, and the County, which contributed $1.6 million.

The establishment of the Ramona Grasslands Preserve was guided by the County’s Multiple Species Conservation Plan, which sets aside land to protect multiple species and habitats.