Volcan Mountain Hike Report: Magical Sunset At The Summit
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Volcan Mountain is one of the six peaks in the San Diego Six Pack of Peaks Challenge, which I recently signed up for. The challenge requires completing six hikes within a calendar year—or in my case, within the next five months. How is this year flying by so quickly? So in Late July 2023, I drove out to Julian in the late afternoon to enjoy a golden hour hike to the summit of Volcan Mountain, kicking off my journey toward completing the challenge.
Volcan Mountain
Volcan Mountain is a scenic, moderate hike located near Julian, CA. This out-and-back trail spans approximately 5 miles, featuring around 1,200 feet of elevation gain. On July 29th, 2023, I tackled this trail as the first step in my 2023 San Diego Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge.
Parking is easy and free at the trailhead on Farmer Road, and no permit is required to park or hike. The trail is dog-friendly, so feel free to bring your furry companion along—just make sure they’re on a leash.
After your hike, consider stopping in Julian for a slice of their famous apple pie! However, keep in mind that most pie shops in Julian close at 5 PM, so this option is best if you’re hiking earlier in the day. If you opt for a sunset hike, another great choice is the pub at Lake Cuyamaca, where you can also enjoy a delicious slice of apple pie.
Gear Recommendations
In conjunction with the famous ten essentials, explore the following gear recommendations:
My Volcan Mountain Hike
Sunset is my favorite time of the day for hikes. Golden and blue hours are my favorite. And the sunset at the summit of Volcan Mountain was magnificent that night. I would recommend this hike during the golden hour.
The hike starts easily and gets progressively steeper for perhaps a mile or so towards the middle of the uphill. Don’t forget to look back as you climb up, to enjoy the views. The last section of the hike offers expansive views as far as the ocean on a clear day. From there you can see San Diego, Coronado Island, Middle Peak, Cuyamaca Peak, and even Catalina Island if you’re lucky. The other side offers the wonders of the desert landscape including the Pacific Crest Trail, Mount San Jacinto, and Salton Sea.
Hiking Stats
I hiked this trail on July 29th, 2023, as the first hike towards my 2023 San Diego Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge. I started my hike at around 6.45 pm, to get to the summit at sunset.
The hike was 5.1 miles long with 1,214ft of elevation gain. It took me 2hrs 4mins total, including photo breaks. The trail starts easy and gets rather steep quickly.
I thought the trail was well-maintained (not overgrown) and easy to follow, but I did not see any other humans on the trail. It was the perfect me-time outing.
I had a few tech issues on this hike, which means I cannot provide a breakdown of moving versus total time. I was aiming to complete it in under 2 hours of moving time. I am sure I accomplished that because I spent more than 4 minutes taking photos, but it would be nice to have proof.
My Fitbit and the Relive app worked great, but I don’t use “autopause” on them, so it just recorded the total time. AllTrails is usually reliable but it crashed three miles into the hike that day. And my Garmin, which I typically rely on for the moving vs total breakdown, accidentally recorded my drive home as part of my hike… never mind!
Wildlife
It was still daylight on my way up to the summit, and I had to fight with quite a few bugs. So much so that I wished I had a bug net with me. I was also surprised to see so many ants on this trail. You can’t walk five steps without seeing an ant colony. As is usual at night, there were also plenty of scarab beetles on the way back down.
More excitingly though, I saw a cute rabbit on the way up, but he hid before I got a photo of him. Then I saw two deers at the summit at sunset, and a scorpion on the way back down!
January 2025 Volcan Mountain Hike
In January 2025, I returned to Volcan Mountain to kick off my journey of redoing the San Diego Six Pack of Peaks challenge, helping me stay fit this winter. Unlike my previous visit, the trail was blissfully free of bugs and ants—no surprise, given the January chill!
We began our hike at 3:40 PM, just as the golden hour started to set in, accompanied by two friends. This time, I brought along my DSLR to capture the sunset from the summit, and it didn’t disappoint.
However, I still couldn’t find the wooden sign at the summit to take a picture with—maybe next time! Below, I’m sharing some of my favorite shots from this magical outing.
Final Thoughts on Volcan Mountain
So that’s Hike 1 of 6 done… I enjoyed this hike because it was quick and easy, and would likely hike it again when I have the chance! What about you? Have you completed this hike? If not, I hope this post inspires you to do so! And you can sign up for the San Diego Six Pack of Peaks challenge here to experience it for yourself!
Happy trails!
Post originally published on August 6, 2023, and last updated on January 19, 2025.
