Slippery, but good, hike. Lots of dog poop bags. Parking is a bit spotty

Love this trial! This is much wider and trial and easier trail if you have dogs because there are no stairs and less crowded. There isnt as much parking, but still worth it to go. This trail will still take you to Cowles Mountain peak.

Great location for walking the trails and the scenery along the trails and at the top of the Mountain are spectacular!

Gradual climb up. No break. Worth the energy to see the view.

Its a nice side of Cowles Mountain. Its a little less busy than the front side, but also pretty much all steep uphill, so Its a great workout!

How do rate a hike? I dont know if this should be 5 stars or 4 stars. What I do know is that this is on the backside of cowles mountain and not nearly as crowded as the main trail. Its got a big wide trail so much easier to see snakes. Plenty of nature and views. Bring water - its 1.6 miles each way!

Enjoying nature at its best, hiking up to cowles mountain peak. The view at the top never fails.

This is my favorite hike in SD. Out of all 5 peaks, going thru Barker Way I could only describe it as the most enjoyable hike up to Cowles Peak.Ive never found it to be crowded at all. It is not steep and it is beginner friendly. On a hot sunny day you will find shade. There is plenty of parking in the residential areas. Just remember to respect the neighborhood.From Baker Way it is about a mile until it merges with the regular trail up to the peak. From there on brace yourself for the normal foot traffic.

Love this side of Cowles Mountain. Less traffic with options on climb and decent. Enjoy

Piece of cake havent gone hiking in 30 years I beat my group up and down the trail I loved it I felt great doing this

Why does it say this trail is open? If its not. I went this morning and it was closed. I love this trail its a good workout but so far its closed. Does anyone know when will it opens?

Good morning good workout for legs and thighs. Views are spectacular.

This is a very nice trail to hike. Usually it is less traveled during the weekdays, busy during weekend, but, none-the-less, very relaxing(minus the hike). If you go out to Piles Peak, its 3 miles out from Barker Way Trailhead. Usually rarely traveled. Usually burn about 1200 calories on the hike. Beautiful views. About a 2 hr round trip walking.

Omg...that hike was no joke. It took me about 45 minutes up the mountain as I am a novice. I am so proud that we have this great mountain to hike thats located right here in the neighborhood.

I liked this place a lot, although it was quite crowded. I think its popular because it is close to town, by far the loftiest peak within the city limits, and affords excellent 180 degree views for miles, but it has a long list of rules that are enforced by high fines, including the prohibition of amplified music (please wear earphones), remotely controlled vehicles, and pets off leash. I think a 4 of 5 stars will be about right, as I dont want to hype this excellent trail for the over-crowding masses..!

One of my favorite training places. 1.4 miles and 880ft of elevation gain. Beautiful view from the top. The parking is usually not to bad( compared to the front side of cowels). Its a fire road, so its wide. Never really crowded( especially compared to the front side).Now for the bad... no bathrooms( unless you count the single stinky porta potty thats always out toilet paper so if you plan on using it porta potty bring baby wipes) no water top or bottom. extremely miserable when its hot.( zero shade!) So come prepared with water! There is another Trail other than the Fire Road its a small Trail which is really nice that ties into the front side(.6mile from the top) again that trail not busy at all until it joins the front side trail..

Beautiful hike with a couple tangent trails attached. About the same distance as the Golfcrest side but with longer steeps and a few rolling hills. Less people and wider road. Love it.

The best way to experience cowles mt. Its not packed with people !

Always a great hike!

Easy parking and much less crowded than the main way up.

Cowles mountain is the highest peak in San Diego county. Great views.

A little more primitive of a trail, watch out for rattlesnakes.

Centrally located, clean, good workout, nice view, and friendly hikers.

Trails well marked with various degrees of skill level of distance. Great place to catch a sunset. Saw this beauty this Spring...wish I knew her name??

Best trail!

Make sure you have good grip shoes or you can easily slip going down. Theres awesome views of the city lights at night and my plan is to go back and catch a sunset. Its a good uphill climb.

Great hike, not a lot of hikers

Nice place to hike...some tough steeps..but not too hard...

Super easy hike, kind of crowded. It’s dog friendly

Great area for hiking, cause you work all your body.

Very well maintained trail. Porta potty is well maintained and clean

Easy trail 1.5 mile to the top of the Cowles Mt. Beautiful sunrise!

Fun hike, moderate above!Nice view, good friendly crowd.

Love this hike

Low traffic and I like going up Barker and down the Fire road. Good hour workout

The only way to summit Cowles!

Love this entrance to Cowles Mountain not as crowded!!

This place was closed 3 weeks ago, google maps should update this.

This is a great quick workout but plagued with visitors and can easily be extended if you go out to Pyles Peak which is a much less traveled trail.

Great option for those who want to Switch up the traditional Cowels Mountian climb. Good way to Avoid the weekend crowd. Take the service road or hike the trail from Barker Way. Recommend good traction on shoes for service road hike. Path gets steep, easy to slip/slide.

Nice shot trail up the hill. Tails are well groomed. There is a nice view on the top Bring water.

Love Cowles mountain and this is the slightly less traveled path. Good work out.

My neighborhood go to trails. Few people when I go in the late afternoons, and a good workout. No real concern for rattlesnakes on this wide service road. Yes, I have seen them slither across right in front of me, but there is plenty of room to back up, move to the side, or just wait. The trail is a bit steep in parts. Bring water. There are dog bowls at the top, so bring water for your K9 companion.

Fantastic views from the top. Very steep

Always a nice hike and way less crowded than the main entrance to Cowles Mountain

Not a hike for small children, or adults that arent at least moderately healthy. I enjoyed it tremendously...on the way down! Whew! Steep incline with lots of loose gravel and absolutely no shade. However, there are plateaus at intervals, which make it quite nice. Beautiful views from the summit, and friendly regulars on the trail. Someone even put a doggy water bowl along the way. I was very pleasantly surprised that for so many dogs on the trail, not once did I see presents left behind. Kudos to responsible humans! Great hike, will definitely be doing it again. Oh! Watch out for snakes.

I love the hike to the top on the service road. Good, challenging slopes; beautiful views, and sooooo peaceful. 2.8 miles round trip. Bring plenty of water!

I could not make it all the way up.Im getting back into mountain biking. Eventually I will, Im not giving up!

Love this place

Best hike in town.

I really enjoyed the hike I would say the Barker is really good for the family or beginner hikers and there are amazing views of San Diego all the way up to the summit.

Busy, but awesome short hike

I liked this place because it is a good workout and even good for kids I had a fun experience at this hike 5 stars

I love hiking this trail. It zigzags up the mountain and right now, you can see and hear the water flowing down from all the rain!

Best trail to get up to Cowles peak. Ample street parking.

This is a great trailhead, especially now that theres a portapottie there! This hike is good for sunset, especially in the summer when Cowles is blazingly hot (beware; theres no shade on this hike). Unfortunately, the clientele that Cowles attracts means that 1/2 of them ignore the signs at the trailhead saying that audible music is prohibited - ugh. Use headphones, people!

Lovely

Cowles will get you in shape fast. Dont forget your water though... youre going to need it!

Forgot how steep the incline was for this hike. Great cardio tho! A lot more foot traffic as well from what I remember lots of friendly people. Easy hike you may want to take small breaks in between. My calves were on fire . Great views of Lake Murray east county and if it is a clear day Im sure it gets better. There are other trails there I havent done but definitely want to hike Pyles peak next time. Becareful where you park, theres a small section directly in front of the trail head thats not painted red and looks like a parking spot. Its not, theres a sign that says no stopping or parking. The sign is about 10-12 feet away from where the red paint actually starts. I did park there thinking I hit the jackpot parking spot. I asked a guy that frequents the trail said he had seen people ticketed frequently. Recommend highly if you want to get out for some cardio or just to get out of the house take in the views.

A delightful trailhead to get to Cowles Mountain and Pyles Peak.

Great place to hike...Less hikers from this entry. They easy fire road unpaved and more challenging regular hikingv trail. Besides, lots of parking and quiet.

Beautiful Starry .Great View of Americas Finest City

Definitely the lesser amount of people, very wide, pretty steep. Awesome if you can take breaks on the way more enjoyable!

Start of a few trails, parking limited and amongst housing get there early. Porta-Loo is a bit gnarly sometimes.

Street parking, easy access, portapotty.

Nice easy hike..not as steep as if u were to scale up the side of cowles around the main entrance. If you are moderately active it is a light cardio...not too steep going down either others have said. Better views, fresher breeze and a more spacious trail than the main part of cowles(by the vending machines n bathrooms). Friendly hikers and nice to watch the sunset here.

Car broken into twice here. Very crowded and rude homeowners on this street. Much better off using the main trailhead off of Golfcrest.

Love to start from here during times when the regular Mt. trail is busy. Always easy to find parking compared to the Jackson/Golfcrest trail head. The trail also can be quite steep at times so be aware. Coming down this path can also be a challenge due to the lose gravel. This is a fire road after all and not a hiking trail. There are also some nice views of the La mesa/ Grossmont area on the way up.

Barker way trailhead to cowles mt and pyles peak. Less busy than main cowles trail!

Great workout

Great trail. Perfect for a hard uphill workout. 35min to top 25 min to bottom. 60 min total

Been hiking this mountain since before they even laid official trails. Fantastic views from the summit.

Always great but no bathrooms

Love it

Nice walk about

Really nice, I went hiking hear a few days ago

Nice wide hiking path is less crowded than the Navajo trail up Cowles Mountain. Wear shoes with good treads because the paths are steep and its easy to slip.

Great for a hike

Love a good trek up the mountain. This side is less crowded.

Total peace

Great place to hike.

Its a good experience. Different trails to choose from. Some are crowed some are not . I think everyone follows the rules when it comes to dogs on a leash.

This is the trailhead for the fire road up to the top of Cowells Mountain. Its a steeper and more direct route to the top than the front side with all its switchbacks. Its a very wide path so you dont have to worry about fighting the crowds like you do on the front side.

Access to Cowles Mountain. Many path options: Service Road (fork on the right) is very steep. Other route (to the left) is more gradual and somewhat easier.

Great place

A steep climb. Take it easy coming down.

Backside of Cowles mnt. Good challenge

This was a nice change up. Parking was a little hard to find on the weekend and it was kind of busy, but I think Ill be back with my dog.

Steep great trail up to Cowles Mountain. You need ca. 20-30 minutes with a fast pace walk.

Easy drive from most of San Diego, My favorite quick trail running spot, pretty technical, faster elevation change than the front with more rocks and a narrower path. But hardly anyone ever on it and a couple different options are available.

Anytime you can get some hiking in and Mission Trails its well worth it.

Make it interesting....criss cross back and forth

The service road is nice and wide. Skip all the switch backs on your way to the top!

Beautiful views

Beautiful!

Great alternative route to the top of Cowles. Youll avoid the large rocks and big steps, but youll experience steeper gains, which can be slippery on your way down.

Its a great trailhead if you want more of a challenge than the main trailhead of Cowles Mt. Keep in mind there are no water fountains or bathrooms on this side. Though it does have one portapotty. Be prepared for some steep hills!

A alternate way to the peak. Great hike at night.

Great way to get up Cowles while avoiding the crowds on the other side.

Less crowded side of Cowles, joins the main trail a little over halfway up.