For some students in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, a walk to school includes a hike. The path through Swan Canyon to Hamilton Elementary School leads down a rocky, dirt slope, across a dry creek bed and up a steep embankment.
Now after about five years of planning and restoration (and waiting for permit approval), San Diego Canyonlands is upgrading the route and several others in the community’s canyons.
Swan Canyon Trail-Building Volunteer Opportunities
Sat., March 18, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Sat., March 25, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
The nonprofit’s Linda Pennington said the route to school is one of the most-used paths in the area — a 2011 survey showed about 100 people cross through each weekday.
“It’s very steep and treacherous, and we want to make it safe for them,” said Pennington, the City Heights community organizer for San Diego Canyonlands.
She said the grant-funded improvements will help create a loop that connects the community’s canyons.
“It will also help the neighborhood get down to the canyon and utilize it for nature walks or hikes, so it’s a very good thing for City Heights,” Pennington said.
Canyonlands staff have added thousands of plants in the area, at times working with Ocean Discovery Institute and the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department, she said.
The organization plans to hold an April ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the new trails.
