Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a large park in the mountains just south of Julian, covering nearly 25,000 acres of oak woodland, pine forest, and meadows at elevations between 900 and 1,900 metres. The park offers excellent hiking through landscapes that are surprisingly wild and remote given the proximity to San Diego.
The trail network is extensive, with everything from easy loop walks to full-day hikes to the summit of Cuyamaca Peak (1,898 m), the highest point in the park. The park was devastated by the Cedar Fire in 2003, which burned almost everything, but the forest has since made a remarkable recovery — the regrowth is now mature enough that the scars are increasingly invisible. The park also has campgrounds, making it a good base for exploring the region by foot.