Ruffin Canyon Open Space

Went on a walk here with my girl. It’s very close to our house, so it’s super convenient. This is now my favorite place to walk. It’s a little rocky and steep in places, but nothing no crazy. This is a nice little loop walk that takes you through some vegetation that seriously makes you doubt yard still in the city. It’s fun and close. I’d suggest you give this a shot. I wouldn’t go if it’s raining or has recently rained. Lots of mud and a drainage stream that gets pretty deep.

I enjoy coming here for the little taste of nature and desert plants. It’s kind of like a park, but with very little upkeep and other such nonsense. I can see how it could easily flood, so I make sure to go there when there are no storms in the forecast. I just wish the trail was a bit longer.

Great for the doggies and family friendly! Soak up the nature.

This is a great hike and works especial well as a ginko walk when you just want to be in nature and not worry about any strenuous hiking. The trail can be tricky and is not a good choice for anyone with mobility issues as there are a number of spots that require navigating down steep embankments. A number of wooden stairwells make the nearly 1000 feet in elevation change easy. The paths and stairs are all maintained by volunteers — the Friends of Ruffin Canyon.
The 84 acre park also has a strong relationship with the nearby middle school. The students at Taft Middle School helped to put the native plant garden together and they hand painted rocks with the names of the plants as unique identification placards.
I think that this was a marvelous idea because not only does it make identifying the plants easy it also helps to involve a new generation of young people in protecting and enjoying our wild places.
Depending on the time of day that you are on the trail you will probably see a host of birds, various small mammals, insects — possible an owl which nests in the nearby owl box. The trail is about 2.5 miles and has a couple of different entry /​exit points and is a great spot to see a host of native plants: lemonade berry, sage, laurel sumac, agave, and buckwheat just to name a few.
Along the canyon floor there is a small stream that is easy to miss depending on which entry trail you take. Along the stream you will find various riparian wetland plants like rushes, sedges, willows, etc.

Real cool trail hidden in the city. You can tell volunteers have worked the trail. Follow it all the way down to an apartment complex. Looks like they don’t even know it’s there. There are periodic sewer pipe man holes so infrastructure work has been done. The riverbed is rough on the ankles but I really enjoyed it. Would be hard to run in the riverbed. Flip flops were a bad idea. Found big cat tracks.

Gorgeous! Very well taken care of clear trail through the canyon. There are a few different trails to enter and exit. I stopped several times for great photo ops of simply beautiful flowers and silent hills.
Best time is early morning. The smell of dew and singing birds really takes you away from city living for a bit!
Trash can located only at the entrance off Ruffin Rd, so bring only what your willing to carry out.
Very easy hike, very gradual incline back.

Overall, very easy hike. If you want a challenge, this is definitely not it. I mean come on, my tiny ass chihuahua was able to run the trail.
I’d say this trail is good if you want a relaxing and scenic hike or if you are out of shape and are looking for an easy hiking trail. There isn’t much incline.
Pros:
dog friendly-​ish (broken glass here and there)
Beautiful
Good for kids
Cons:
Short hike
Loose rocks (watch your step!)
The trail is wet and muddy after rain (I went 3 days after it rained and it was still muddy)
I’d come back because its definitely gorgeous and relaxing.

The Ruffin road area seemed like an unusual place for an open space preserve to be, but I located it on the city map for San Diego’s trail system. The trailhead to this place you can start on either side of the Taft Middle School as there are two openings (
) & (
). I decided on taking the left path at the time. The trail is fairly short and crosses over a lot of streams, so wearing water resistant shoes right after a rain storm would be a good idea. This trail is horrible for running or cycling in my opinion as the path is very inconsistent and gets really narrow at times. Also towards the end it gets really rocky and isn’t suitable much more than a slow pace of hiking. The trail for me ended up in the back of a large apartment complex that sits across from Costco and Lowes. I just walked back up the hill rather than going back through the trail, seemed easier. Not really a favorite, as it was kind of trashy as well.

Came here once and only was able to go .5 miles in before I had to turn around. I took my dog with me and the trail was looking pretty good until we heard vicious barking from the bushes not far from where we were standing. I didn’t want to take the chance or get my dog mauled whether it was a coyote or a mad dog on loose.
All I have to say is that I won’t be coming back to this trail even though it’s a decent one.

Love this trail!!! I live really close to this trail and discovered it by accident one day. The Friends of Ruffin Canyon volunteers keep it nice and tidy. The trailhead is located right next Taft Middle School where there is small area for street parking. I think I saw some areas dedicated for handicap parking as well. After you enter the trailhead, there is small garden covered with flowers and mulch. Once you head down the trail and pass the houses, it is absolutely serene! I have not hiked the whole entire trail down to Mission Valley yet, but I did hike the trail that loops down and back up the other side of the school. Overall, it was a very easy hike and the trail is never crowded. I definitely enjoyed the little creeks, moss, cacti, and abundance of wildflowers.
Definitely a hidden gem for Serra Mesa/​Mission Valley residents. By the way, it’s very dog friendly too.