Del Dios Highlands Preserve

Good access point from the south side of the mountain range to the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve and the Olivenhain Reservoir. Why the area is called the Del Dios Preserve and the adjacent area the Elfin Forest Reserve is unclear ... but their division is about 1.5 miles up and there is gate and sign delineating the two. But it is another option if you are coming from the south as opposed to driving all the way to Valley Parkway and through Harmony Grove. Wide decomposed gravel road most of the way up with some fairly steep places... probably a 25 degree grade. You can see the back side of the reservoir most of the way up. Once you cross into Elfin Forest you can see the reservoir and access the trails that go around it. It was about an 1:15 minutes from the parking lot up into Elfin Forest to the Ray Brooks Overlook which is on the north side of the dam.

Absolutely gorgeous area with phenomenal views all the way up. Not an easy hike on account of how steep the trail is; make sure you're wearing good shoes that fit well, otherwise on the way down your toes will be toast! 1.5 miles up from the trailhead off of Del Dios hikers arrive at a sign indicating the crossing-over point into the Olivenhain Reserve, as other reviewers have mentioned. I'm looking forward to going further than this (turned around at this point due to impending rain), as there are clearly many trails to explore in several directions across these reserves.

Nice.
On a clear day you can see, SD, Catalina, and Big Bear, all from the same spot.

It's a perfect early morning hike.

Steep climb, the views were great up top.

Amazing view..its all up hill. Caught me off guard😅

Awesome!

Really nice panoramic views at the top. Good workout getting up the hill. Actually didn’t quite realize how steep it is until we descended back down. The downward hill from this side is hard on the knees.
Also, took our trail dog and the 6ish miles was hard on her paws. She’s normally good, but if you bring your dog, make sure you have plenty of water, and check their paws. The rocky and dry conditions were tough for our dog.

Steep hike, very difficult. Beautiful view. Unfortunately, lots of dog poop.