Crawling Through Annie’s Canyon

There’s a very short, small hike hiding in Solana Beach that is an absolute delight, not to mention a killer thigh workout. Annie’s Canyon is a very small slot canyon hugging the south end of San Elijo Lagoon. This hike is just over a mile and a half, so it’s not a good destination hike, but if you combine it with a day at the beach or some of the other nearby hikes you can make it worthwhile. It gets busy on the weekends, but when I went on a weekday after work I found I had the trail to myself.

There are multiple trailheads, but I followed advice to hike along the lagoon. Look for “Gemma Parks Interpretive Trail” in your GPS to find a trailhead on the north dead-end of Rios Ave in Solana Beach. Park on the street where you can. The trail is very well-marked to get to the canyon.

One thing to note is that because of the popularity of the canyon and the narrowness, this is a one-way trail. Ascend via the canyon by taking the right fork and following the trail counter-clockwise. There is a wider, open two-way trail that leads to the viewpoint at the top for the claustrophobic or those otherwise unable to go through the canyon.

The canyon portion is short, only 1/4 mile, but it is sweet. As a 3xl plus-size woman, I had no difficulty navigating it, though I did have to remove the hiking pack and squeeze sideways through some spots. This did take all 4 limbs for me to navigate and it can be a bear on the knees, so keep that in mind. That said, it is short and manageable, and a whole lot of fun!

Once you reach the end, you are rewarded with a rather decent view of San Elijo Lagoon. Interstate 5 is to your right, and the Pacific Coast Highway is to your left.

You can hike back to your car the way you came, or loop along the interpretive trail (when it’s not flooded out) for a slightly more scenic route back to the car (that is the route I mapped).

Have you been to Annie’s Canyon yet?