| Cuyamaca Rancho State Park | |
|---|---|
 The West Mesa Trail in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park | |
   | |
| Location | San Diego County, California, United States |
| Nearest city | San Diego, California |
| Coordinates | 32°56′N 116°34′W / 32.933°N 116.567°W |
| Area | 24,693 acres (99.93 km2) |
| Established | 1933 |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in inland San Diego County, California, United States, located 40 miles (64 km) east of the metropolitan area of San Diego. The park is situated near the southernmost reaches of the Cleveland National Forest, as well as the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. The park's 26,000 acres (11,000 ha) of land features pine, fir, and oak forests, interspersed with meadows, creeks and streams that exist due to the relatively high elevation of the area when compared to its surroundings. The park includes the 6,512-foot (1,985 m) Cuyamaca Peak, the second-highest point in San Diego County.
Park amenities include trails for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking, as well as campgrounds for family, group, equestrian, and primitive trail camping; and an exhibit at a former gold mine, the Stonewall Mine. For fauna, nearly 20-25 mammalian species call the park home, in addition to over 140 species of resident and migratory birds, sixteen species of reptile,[1] five amphibian,[2] three fish[3] and over 700 species of various arthropods, butterflies, spiders and other invertebrates have been found to inhabit the park.[4]
The park was closed for several months due to massive fire damage incurred during the 2003 Cedar Fire. Although much of the forest was burned, the park has since been reopened. Native plants are, mostly, evolutionarily attuned to seasonal drought and fire ecology, and have since re-established in most areas; the large amount of ash, blackened wood and burnt plant matter greatly stimulates dormant seeds and undamaged saplings to sprout vigorously, as well as triggering a flush of growth from various bulbs and rhizomes lying hidden beneath the surface of the ground.
- ^ "iNaturalist Observations - Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Reptilia". www.iNaturalist.org. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "iNaturalist Observations - Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Amphibians". www.iNaturalist.org. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "iNaturalist Observations,p - Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Ray-finned fishes". www.iNaturalist.org. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "iNaturalist Observations - Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Arthropoda". www.iNaturalist.org. Retrieved December 11, 2023.