Marian R. Bear Memorial Park - Urban Hiking San Diego

Marian Bear Memorial Park is located in the San Clemente Canyon between I-5 on the west and I-805 on the east, about 5 miles distant.  Along with Rose Canyon and Tecolote Canyon these three open space areas are collectively called the Tri-Canyon Parks.

In the 1970s when Highway 52 was scheduled to be located along the base of San Clemente Canyon, Marian Bear was the driving force to have the roadway built along the northern wall of the canyon.  Thus preserving the canyon as a natural preserve for future generations. 

This section of the canyon is dedicated to her efforts.  The plaque reads:

Marian Bear Memorial Park - Rededicated by the City Council of the City of San Diego on behalf of this City who are indebted to Marian Bear for her energetic and unselfish efforts as a planner, naturalist and conservationist and her lasting contributions toward the preservation of open space for future generations. July 31, 1979.

I last blogged San Clemente Canyon nearly 4 years ago HERE.  At that time, I parked at the Genesee entrance and hiked east to 805, before returning to the western park boundary.

On Wednesday the Canyoneers led a walk around the Nature Trail loop on the western side of the park.

On a chilly Wednesday morning, I met up with the Canyoneers near the restrooms at the Clairmont Mesa entrance.  This outing is again organized by Jerry, a very knowledgeable naturalist, from the  San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

Note: I have never seen the self-guided trail map that should be provided at the trailhead.

The Coastal Oak trees are common along the creek.  Many have benches under their sweeping canopy for a place to relax while bird watching. 

Here is Jerry explaining the native uses of oaks.

The Toyon Tree with its red berries is a common sight throughout SoCal.  Also known as California Holly the plant was so popular for Christmas decorations it is now illegal to take cuttings.

There several foot bridges over the creek crossings, which were not here a few years ago.  A nice touch.

Some of the old twisted and knurled Sycamore Trees look they could be from a Harry Potter scene.

The sycamore buds of next year’s growth are protected by the leaves, until they fall.

This section of the park is noted for its Poison Oak.  All those shoots reaching through the sycamore leaves is a stand of poison oak.  This stand rivals any of those found in the county.  I have seen a larger stand on Palomar Mountain, but do not wish to measure either one.

The Urushiol remains with the stem and berries even after the leaves have fallen.

One of the more interesting finds Jerry showed us, was the that of a Trapdoor Spider.  The ‘D’ shape of the door has a hinge on the straight edge, with the round sides fitting snugly into the opening.

On the north facing side of the canyon is a large field of Wild Radish.  Although the young plant looks like a radish, the seed of the wild radish is above ground.

Once the radish plant dies, the stalk retains no moisture, thus allowing fire to spread rapidly.

The Nasturtium is a non-native invasive plant, but they do look nice in bloom.

The various gourds found in the valley are not poisonous, but Jerry mentions they taste pretty awful.  I'll take his word for it.

A couple parting photos

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John and Sharon of On the Road of Retirement are in San Diego, they had this outing on their calendar too.  Although they did not make the hike, check out their blog for the other adventures they did enjoy.  And hopefully they will not need to identify Poison Oak, without the leaves, as they move on to Arizona.