Kumeyaay Lake & Campground
1 Review
Hello everyone! This is a friendly reminder that any of these fun places we may visit, we are a guest at. Please treat both businesses and trails with the utmost respect. We here at Hidden San Diego follow the 'Leave no Trace' mantra, meaning whatever you bring with you comes back with you. If you see trash on a trail, please do your part to help remove it. Remember, we are not picking up trash from another person but instead cleaning up for Mother Nature. Happy adventures!
2 Father Junipero Serra Trail
San Diego, CA 92119
Phone: (619) 668-2748
32.839833, -117.033616
Hike: 1.8 miles out and back   Level: Easy
Dog-Friendly: Yes   Kid-Friendly: Yes
History of Kumeyaay Lake:
Kumeyaay Lake is located in Mission Trails Regional Park. The Kumeyaay people are some of the earliest people to make extensive use of this land and the surrounding area. Their village was called Senyaweche and sadly, a large part of it is now a golf course and tract homes.
The Kumeyaay who lived here in Senyaweche are believed to have been part of the forced-labor which occurred during the mission period and were the ones who constructed the Old Mission Dam.
They lived in Senyaweche until around 1910 when the land was purchased by European ranchers. Some of the Kumeyaay stuck around even after their removal as helping hands on the ranches and farms.
While you’re in the area, make sure to visit the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center!
The land became a sand and gravel mining operation until the 1970’s where it was then turned into the camping and fishing facility we see today. Through rehabilitation, the area began growing willows along the shore, attracting the federally endangered Bell’s vireo.
Plants include the yellow Hooker’s evening primrose, the pink California wild rose, whitish-pink California buckwheat, a golden prickly pear, the white blooming yerba mansa, yellow dandelions and mustard, and pink thistles. Also look for curly dock, white-blooming ceanothus and jimsonweed, horehound, and tree tobacco.
Wild Radish:
Anonymous
About 1/8 mile east of that lake (where there is now a Golf Course) was a large Indian village in the 19th century. The archeologists say it was probably there for a thousand years or maybe even longer. The remaining indians were rounded up 100 yr ago and put on reservations in east county (Vielas)
April 19, 2014