Take the 2.7 mile Equine Incline Trail to the right, from where you'll look across to the hillsides burned black in the last year's Harmony Grove Fire. Head off to the left along the Valley View and Lakeview Ridge Trails, which looks down onto Lake Hodges. Or for an easier trek, get to Tykes' Hike Trail and the Elfin Forest Overlook and see the world all around you from the Pacific Ocean to the mountains. High point is about 1350 feet. Dogs ok, on leash.
Bikes ok on trails as marked.
About 300 acres of the reserve were burned in the September Del Dios fire. She predicts a spectacular flower display in the spring, so plan a hike later as well as now. Now for those quiz answers, none of which were in my usual source of San Diego place names. Dr. Harvey Urban was affiliated with the Questhaven Fellowship and his children started calling the area the Elfin Forest after a novel and because it seemed to fit the miniature nature of much of the foliage here. This name came from an early 1840's homesteader, Robert Israel, later the lighthouse keeper at Point Loma.