El Cajon Canyon

Rarely does the splendor of a particular place’s natural beauty live up to its hype. El Cajon Canyon, however, is a rare exception. Tucked inside two to three hundred foot walls on two sides, nestled among peaks, rock formations, small mountains, cliffs and giant size boulders, El Cajon is a sight to behold. The natural scenery of this location cannot be adequately defined in words; it must be experienced first-hand, allowing the senses to absorb the magnificence of a canyon carved by weather, erosion, wind, water and time. El Cajon is truly one of Nature’s works of art, a masterpiece that like fine wine, only gets better with age. In El Cajon, Nature’s powers have achieved a kind of perfection that must be seen.

Located less than 100 feet from Rancho Los Baños’ base camp, El Cajon is a living riparian/river bed habitat that boasts an impressive array of mature trees. From sycamore, cottonwood and mesquite to oak, palm trees and huerigo, the assortment of trees enveloping virtually the entire canyon is impressive, a perfect habitat to a diverse potpourri of bird species, both local and migratory. If the season is right, a hiker can walk in a tree-made tunnel of green for long stretches; if she is visiting in Spring and Summer, the Elegant Trogon and the Vermilion Flycatcher can easily be seen. If she is here during the Fall, the changing colors of the leaves will surely captivate.

Hiking through El Cajon is a mental, physical and spiritual experience. Its all-encompassing beauty, visible wherever the eye decides to see, allows one to relax and feel reinvigorated. Its pure, sweet oxygen penetrates your lungs and reenergizes you, taking away your stresses and worries, instead transporting you thousands of years back in time, for El Cajon has changed little since then. Whether only walking a short distance inside or whether you are in for the full ride, anxious to tackle challenging hiking along the way, the canyon offers wonders for everybody who steps inside.

El Cajon can be serene and it can be challenging; it can be peaceful or adrenaline-pumping. It can be a birder’s paradise or a hiker’s dream. One thing is for certain, however. It is Nature at its very best. With sections of the river bed sprouting streams of crystal-clear water, with natural-made tanks of water helping to make hiking an adventure, with giant boulders strewn about, with a riparian habitat and temperatures that feel more tropical than desert-like, with a diversity of flora and fauna, with canyon walls that stretch towards the heavens and with scenery that is inspiring and breathtaking, El Cajon is both a natural masterpiece and a spectacle to behold, offering something amazing at every turn.

Also located inside the canyon are ancient Native American petroglyphs dating back 2,000 years. These paintings, works of art in their own right, are testament to a time long before the arrival of Europeans, when the ancients called El Cajon home. The paintings are located inside a large cave structure known as the Cueva Pinta, or Painted Cave, comprised of three levels, one on top of another, with the third being 230 feet above the river bed below. These shelters were carved naturally into the canyon’s walls through erosion and weathering in what must have taken hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish.

The glyphs have withstood the test of time, with those protected by the larger cave in the river bed better preserved than those more exposed to the elements. All these paintings, however, allow us to peer into the lives of these people, to what life must have been like in the canyon 2,000 years ago. The Cueva Pinta complex is a must see for any history, archeology and anthropology enthusiast. Accessible from both entrances to the canyon, either from the challenging yet more scenic hike or from the less arduous river bed walk, these paintings and their cave structure are one of the ranch’s cherished treasures, a set of jewels inside a wonderful treasure chest.

El Cajon is sure to leave you with long-lasting memories. It will surely leave your camera or camcorder full of images. Whether birding and spotting the Elegant Trogon, hiking and seeing a large group of coatimundi or the occasional puma, jaguar or black bear passing through, or whether you spot an eagle or hawk or turkey vulture gliding in the canyon’s pockets of wind, El Cajon will feel alive with the energy of a living and unique ecosystem. Boxed inside this canyon, you will feel a world away from modernity, travelling back in time. Here, there is so much to explore, and so much yet to be discovered. The canyon and its many arteries, full of beauty and splendor, magic and mystique, will leave an indelible mark in your mind. El Cajon Canyon is an experience you will not regret, and one you will not soon forget.

Please see the Rates/Accomodations category of the website for prices, packages and available tours. Please see Availability for availability and reservations. And, as always, feel free to contact one of our Adventure Consultants via telephone or email for questions as well as for additional information.

We hope to see you soon! El Cajon Canyon and Rancho Los Baños await your arrival. Your canyon adventure is just around the corner.