Rose Canyon Open Space Park

We went here one day with the dog. We entered at the Regents side at Governor. We parked up by the Sprouts/​Starbucks/​Vet shopping center on the street and walked north to the entrance.
There is a sidewalk that goes almost all of the way down to the entrance to the park. The parking here can be in a not very defined lot by the park entrance or on the street on Regents with just a bit more of a walk to get to the entrance.
The entrance is a path that goes down the hill.
The only reason I give it 4 stars is because it was maybe a little narrow on the entrance we took and there were sleeping bags tucked into the trail area which gave us the idea that maybe this was someone’s home. I would probably come here with at least another person and/​or a dog.
We encountered about 3 walkers and a mountain biker on our short walk. With the narrow walk path and dense tree/​bush area, it was a little hard to tell if anyone was coming from either direction. Luckily, the mountain biker was walking his bike up this path.
The path led to a very wide dirt path parallel to the train tracks, but a safe distance from them. It was a huge plus. Very nice for walking, running or biking.
As this was an exploratory trip to just see where this trail led, we only made it to this larger path and turned around.
It was very nice (aside from the questionable sleeping bag storage… though that was actually very neatly folded and and mostly hidden, so taking that into consideration, it was better than it could have been.) It seemed to be fairly quiet, but no trains were going by, so that might affect the peacefulness.
There was a trash can at the start of the walk next to the info board. No restroom facilities (unless you count Sprouts or Starbucks at the top of the hill.) Dogs are on-​leash.
This part of the path goes east to University City High School (on Genesee) and to the west has off-​shoots that go towards UCSD and Pacific Beach.
We will probably come back to go further and check out the main path.

rose canyon is a great place to hike or stroll with the dog. beautiful! I really like that you can take a nice long canyon walk in the middle of San Diego.

Who says you can’t give nature 5 stars in the midst of human encroachment? There are multiple trails on both sides of the train tracks. You can trail run, hike, mtb, or just walk your pup. Awesome change of seasons — winter gets everything green, summer goes brown — or as one native called it — ‘California Gold’ — and since it’s May, the ice plants are getting ready to bloom.

Hiking at Rose Canyon Open Space Park is pretty awesome. It really is an Open Space Park. The trail is pretty flat and easy to walk in. My bf and I bring our dog here to walk. Bring a friend… bring a dog and start walking! ENJOY!
By the way — we use the Regents Road entrance (the side off the Governor Drive (easier to find parking).

Right in the middle of San Diego in University City is a good place to get some trail running, cycling or just simple walking done at Rose Canyon. The trails here stretch out pretty far and cover up most the ground around of the 52 freeway along with crossing Regents and Genesee. The best place in my opinion to get into the canyon is by entering off the north end of Regents road. There is plenty of parking here and quick easy access. I found the Genesee entrance to be pretty bad since the only place to park is across the street at the school. The paths here are quite defined and wide in most places. But as you get farther west the path starts to get smaller and doesn’t make the best for bikes in my opinion. While you get some freeway noise from the 52, it’s definitely a great place to get away from the city without going too far.

Rose Canyon connects to Marion Bear, but it feels infinitely safer. I’ve never run into many people out here on weekday mornings. That probably means it’s not a good idea to come alone, but the few people I’ve met out here have all been walkers, runners, or bikers (that may seem obvious, but unfortunately not all SD canyons are safe). The area is very flat and feels very surprisingly open considering that it’s technically a canyon.
The official trail that appears on the park maps is east/​south side of the train tracks, but there’s also a nice, clear path on the other side. Unfortunately though, there’s no good place to cross except for out on the street.

I love mountain biking through here, especially in the fall with all the colors of the leaves.
Also a fun place to geo-​cache and hike.

This is an awesome place to walk your dog, or to take a hike/​run to work out. I’m not entirely sure how long the trail is, but I went with my dog and we walked for over an hour. The trail is wide and mostly flat, which is nice. Make sure to bring water for both yourself and you pup, because as others have said, there isn’t tons of shade.

Conveniently located near UTC and just enough quiet scenery to get away from the city. The trail is wide, flat and easy, probably a good place to bring the family. There are a few narrower, sloping paths that loop away from the main one. You can see residential areas on either of the canyon, but they’re far enough away for you to pretend they aren’t there. Not much shade — I’d say the best times to go are early weekend mornings and late afternoon/​evening during the week.

My house overlooks this trail, so it’s my favorite nearby place to go running to escape the craziness of the cars and people. The last time I went on this path I only saw three people the entire hour and half I was out there, which is great for someone who likes the seclusion, but probably not the best idea for a girl to be out here alone (I get especially paranoid when my earphones are in…) Not that I’m saying it’s not a safe neighborhood, but you never know.
The trail can be very hilly, and there were some small bodies of water I had to navigate through since it was raining. But it was a really peaceful and quiet place to get some alone time and do some soul-​searching. It’s really quite nature-​y for being in the middle of such a populated area, and it was kind of cool to be next to the train tracks. I highly advise to come here for a run in the rain, as long as you don’t mind getting a little soaked!

Nice trail and very close to where I live. It’s great for a morning wilderness run ;)

Awesome place to feel like your escaping civilization, while being in the middle of civilization at the same time. I came here with my dog last week and took the trail off of Genessee ave. It was so relaxing with my ipod on, I only saw one other person the entire time I was there.
There’s lots of side trails you can take off of the main path, the main hike is easy, pretty much flat except for a few small hills. My dog was going crazy chasing all the lizards and little bugs crawling around.
Overall, this is a great place for a nice nature hike or jog without having to drive very far. I’ll definitely come here again soon.

Canyon open space in your neighborhood is a great amenity that many of us in San Diego are lucky to have. Rose Canyon is my local open space park and I run and hike it multiple times a week. If you want to make a run or ride longer, there are links to Marian Bear Park and Santa Fe Street (which leads to Pacific Beach). Besides running and hiking, it’s also frequented by mountain bikers, walkers, bird watchers and other nature enthusiasts. Occasionally, a group called Friends of Rose Canyon lead free interpretive walks through the open space to teach groups about the vast flora and fauna that inhabit the area. Whatever your outdoor recreation may be, Rose Canyon is a great place to ‘get away from it all’, even if your home is a couple yards away.
A ton of information can be found at: