Ramona Grasslands Preserve
Ramona · near Ramona · San Diego
Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Nov-Mar (wintering raptors); Mar-Apr (vernal pools & wildflowers)
- Open year round
- No
What is here
- Wildlife
- birds · land-mammals
- Species
- Golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel; meadowlark, horned lark; vernal-pool fairy shrimp; ground squirrels, coyote, occasional bobcat
- Amenities
- Wide-open grassland loop trails · Rangeland Road staging area · Native grassland & vernal pools · Free access
- Best for
- Premier winter raptor-watching in a rare native grassland
- Features
- Last big SoCal native grassland · Wintering eagles & ferruginous hawks · Spring vernal pools & fairy shrimp · Distinct 'plains' habitat
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Very exposed - hot & shadeless in summer (visit cool season) · Rattlesnakes & ticks · Trails muddy after rain · Limited facilities
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Wildlife Watching detail
- Nickname
- The County's Raptor Theater
- Viewing
- trail
- Effort
- moderate
- Habitat
- plains
- Sighting
- 4
- Viewing notes
- One of the last big native grasslands in Southern California and the county's premier raptor-watching site - kites hovering, harriers quartering low, and wintering eagles and ferruginous hawks riding the wind
- Intl tip
- Come on a cool, clear winter morning (Nov-Apr) and scan the fence posts and lone oaks where raptors perch. It's shadeless and hot in summer - not worth the trip then. Watch for rattlesnakes and post-rain mud.
The guide
Ramona Grasslands is one of the last big native grasslands in Southern California and the county's premier raptor theater - a r…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ramona Grasslands Preserve — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.026, -116.918