Cuyamaca Peak

Cuyamaca Peak
On the Cuyamaca summit looking east
Highest point
Elevation	6,515 ft (1,986 m)  NAVD 88
Prominence	2,855 ft (870 m)
Listing	Hundred Peaks Section
Coordinates	32°56′48″N 116°36′23″W / 32.9467149°N 116.6064084°W / 32.9467149; -116.6064084Coordinates: 32°56′48″N 116°36′23″W / 32.9467149°N 116.6064084°W / 32.9467149; -116.6064084
Geography
Location	San Diego County, California, U.S.
Parent range	Cuyamaca Mountains
Topo map	USGS Cuyamaca Peak
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike, class 1

Cuyamaca Peak is a mountain peak of the Cuyamaca Mountains range, in San Diego County, southern California.

At 6,512 feet (1,985 m), its summit is the second highest point in San Diego County (after Hot Springs Mountain.)

Cuyamaca Peak is located roughly 40 miles (64 km) from the Pacific Ocean, within Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. It is east of the city of San Diego and southwest of Julian.

A popular 3.5-mile (5.6 km) year round hike to the summit of Cuyamaca leads from the Paso Picacho Campground, starting at about 5,000 feet (1,500 m).

Snows in winter are common above 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and surrounding regions in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. During summer, Bracken Ferns, a variety of wildflowers and native bunchgrasses dominate mountain meadows and the forest floor. Prior to the Cedar Fire, Black oaks once lit up the mountain

In October 2003, the Cedar Fire, the largest fire in recorded California history, burned the once abundant White Fir (Abies concolor), Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Jeffrey Pine, Coulter Pine, Sugar Pine, and Black oak (Quercus kelloggii) that once lined the mountain.

Small seedlings of new White fir, Sugar Pine, Coulter Pine, Jeffrey Pine, and Incense Cedar were seen within a year of the Cedar Fire, and were thriving as saplings by 2007, an example of fire ecology.

The significant elevation of Cuyamaca relative to its surrounding landscape catches Pacific moisture easily, forming clouds which are forced to release their moisture in order to pass East, resulting in average annual precipitation between 20 and 32 inches. Fall and Winter storms account for 70%, summer thunderstorms largely accounting for the balance. During the winter snow may fall and hoar frost is common upon the highest elevations.