San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, San Diego

 We celebrated the Fourth of July with a hike at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve.  This is a pretty and very interesting reserve.  Our first stop was the Nature Center, which is open daily.  There are live snakes on display, a tortoise, some insects and interesting displays about the ecological and local birds.  There is a naturalist available to answer your questions, nice restrooms and an observation deck.

We started the loop heading west.  There are nice bridges over the lagoon to observe the many fish and birds and watch the movement of the tide into and out of the lagoon.

We saw many species of egret and blue herons.  There were many wildflowers still in bloom.

                                                        This flower is waiting for its portrait to be done by Georgia O'Keefe

It is a pleasant wide trail that is mostly level up to the entrance to Annie's Canyon.  This slot canyon is a short, but challenging hike and is very narrow.  I forgot to take pictures!

It is a very easy walk to complete the loop back to the Nature Center.  The loop is about three miles and there are side trails, if you want a longer walk.  The Nature Center has parking and there is additional parking across Manchester at the Water Campus.

The Nature Center makes this a great destination for a hike with young children.  If they get tired of walking, the Nature Center is a place for them to cool down and look at the many exhibits.