Located on the western end of the River Park, Crest Canyon was threatened with residential development in the 1970s when local citizens convinced the Cities of San Diego and Del Mar to purchase the land and protect it as open space. Despite its urban setting, the canyon is an excellent example of increasingly rare coastal sage scrub habitat and provides critical upland habitat adjacent to the wetlands in the San Dieguito Lagoon.

The Conservancy has assisted the Cities of San Diego and Del Mar with invasive plant control in Crest Canyon by organizing monthly habitat restoration events that attract many dedicated volunteers from the community and local schools. In the fall of 2007, the Conservancy partnered with the Sierra Club’s San Diego Chapter to form a Friends of Crest Canyon volunteer group as part of their County-wide Canyons Campaign, which has organized over 40 Friends groups so far.






How You Can Help
The Friends of Crest Canyon will help maintain the trails, control non-native plants and be the “eyes and ears” of the canyon, helping to safeguard this special corner of the River Park. If you are interested in joining the Friends or helping out at their next volunteer work event, please contact the Conservancy at (858) 674-2275 x12 or volunteer@sdrvc.org.