Pyles Peak

"Arrived around 7AM and the parking lot seemed full, but there was plenty of street parking. I jogged up to Cowles (25-30 minutes), then mostly walked to Pyles Peak. I mostly jogged the way back to the trailhead. The fog cleared up halfway through the hike and the views are beautiful." — oskar156 • Apr 10, 2026

"We started this hike at 7 AM. Then we went up thee Barker Way trail and started climbing. The trail was in great shape as we climbed up to Cowles. The climb was not that bad and we got glimpses of Cowles through the dense fog. Then we summited Cowles, there were no views because of the dense fog. Then we went down the right to Pyles, which we waited on it's summit for the clouds to clear out. We got an epic view of San Diego and Cowles and there was a nice summit sign. Then we went back, and summited Pyles View Peak (Peak 1380 ft) . After Pyles View, we summited Cowles. There were epic views from Cowles and then we saw the summit sign and survey benchmark. Then we went down and drove to Kwaay Paay Peak" — lc444 • Jan 11, 2023

"Another big day today, bagging 7 more peaks from the SD 100 Peak Challenge (Derek's List). Started out by completed the Mission Trails 5 Peak Challenge (Cowles, Pyles, Kwaay Paay, North Fortuna and South Fortuna). Then on my way back I decided to complete Tooth Rock and Twin Peaks. Peaks 9 through 15 of the challenge. Total miles today 17.91 and 5,825 feet in elevation gain." — Philip-Yoho • Jan 5, 2021

"Completed the Mission Trails Five Peak Challenge in San Diego. Five peaks (Cowles Mountain, Pyles Mountain, Kwaay Paay, North Fortuna and South Fortuna) in one day. An added bonus of climbing Peak 1380 along the way to Pyles from Cowles." — Philip-Yoho • Dec 1, 2018

"Once passing the crowd at Cowles, you enter pure serenity as you continue on to Pyles Peak. Not difficult until approaching the summit and only if not wearing the appropriate shoes (some climbing on rocks to reach the top).. wouldn't recommend this trail in the afternoon of hot summer days. Returning back to Cowles is mostly uphill and can get exhausting if not an avid hiker and not enough water. If you have children and are uncertain of their abilities, I probably wouldn't recommend brining them here. " — spr_kween • Sep 8, 2018

"Pyles Peak was the third peak visited on the hike, which included Cowles Mountain and Peak 1380. Shortly after leaving Cowles, the high number of hikers was reduced to only a few on the trail to the two other peaks. Pyles has a center viewpoint of Mission Trails Regional Park, with good views in one direction of Cowles Mountain, while North Fortuna Mountain stands out in the other direction. Hiking totals for all three peaks: 6.5 miles with 1,650 feet of elevation gain." — MikeTeeples • Sep 10, 2017

"A quick hike at night with my brother and my dog. The marine layer finally rolled in on us after several days of low humidity. It was novel to walk in and out of the fog and mist in the dark as we traversed from peak to peak. Also remarkable how HUNDREDS of people will be hiking Cowles Peak, and yet there was NOBODY on Pyles, just 1.5 more miles further along the same trail!" — benjineer • Nov 9, 2014