Trail Report: A bayside walk and a look ahead to 2026

by Maura Fox

Early this week, I was perched on a rock at Point San Bruno Park along the San Francisco Bay, watching planes land and take off from the San Francisco International Airport. I was killing some time before my own flight home to San Diego, and I was charmed by the view of the blustery bay and the quiet grassy park, with a jetty all to myself.

It inspired me the next day to head to Harbor Island Park — just south of the San Diego International Airport — for a 2.5-mile bayside walk for this week’s hiking column. It wasn’t a hike, but you can do it on a rainy day, or if you want some exercise with a quintessential San Diego view, including the downtown skyline, Coronado Bridge and Cabrillo National Monument.

In San Diego, as in San Francisco, I was struck by the juxtaposition between the peace of the bay and the traffic and movement of the nearby airport. Even a short distance from the chaos, you can get some room to breathe, take a moment to stop moving and just be. I have to think there’s a life lesson for me here — and maybe you, too — about finding stillness amid the tumult, especially as we near the end of 2025.

Check out Harbor Island Park during these last few days of the year — you can read today’s column with details — or find another way to get outdoors, especially after the rain this week.

Or if you’re planning to stay in, it might be the perfect time to plot out your adventures for New Year’s Day and beyond. You can join a guided hike at a state park in San Diego County on Jan. 1, part of a statewide First Day Hikes initiative. You can even opt for a polar bear plunge — a bracing dip in the Pacific Ocean — at Cardiff State Beach on New Year’s Day.

My own New Year’s Day plans are still up in the air, but my family and I always go on a hike. Past favorites include the Big Laguna Trail in the Laguna Mountains and the trail to Eagle Rock in Warner Springs.

I’d love to hear how you’re ringing in the new year in San Diego County’s outdoors — and I want to know what hikes you’re excited for in 2026. Email me here; I may feature your response in next week’s column.

See you next year.

—Maura