The Backcountry
Oak, granite, mountain roads, and the kind of stops that make the drive the day.
Every list that covers The Backcountry
Updated as places change
The neighborhood itself
6 verified places · 0 eat & drink and 1 things-to-do listsThe backcountry is for a road day, not a quick detour. Pick one route: Sunrise Highway for the Laguna crest, Highway 94 for Campo, or Old Highway 80 toward Boulevard and Jacumba. Then give the drive a few anchors. Start at Descanso Junction, stop for hand-dipped chocolate at Wisteria Candy Cottage, or pair the two Campo museums before continuing to Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel. Pine House is the Mount Laguna sit-down option.
Fill up before leaving I-8, bring a coast-inappropriate jacket, and check road, weather, fire restrictions, and hours before you go.
If you only do 6 things
1Descanso Junction Restauranteat2Pine House Cafe & Taverneat3Wisteria Candy Cottageeat4Pacific Southwest Railway Museumdo5Motor Transport Museumdo6Jacumba Hot Springs HotelstayKnow before you go
Weather: elevation runs from about 2,800 feet at Campo and Jacumba to 3,450 at Descanso and 6,000 on the Laguna crest, so it is genuinely colder than the coast and snow shuts Sunrise Highway some winters — check conditions before driving up
Fuel and signal: fill up before you leave the I-8 corridor, and expect phone signal to come and go for long stretches once you are off the freeway
Fire restrictions: the Cleveland National Forest posts seasonal fire and camping restrictions that change through the summer; check them the week you go
Hours: several places out here close early or shut a day or two midweek — ring ahead rather than driving an hour on an assumption
Where they are — 6 verified places
The index
Ranked places pulled from all 1 listsEvery backcountry drive needs a real meal, and on Highway 79 that meal is at Descanso Junction Restaurant.
Pine House Cafe & Tavern has been up on Mount Laguna since 1942, a log-cabin tavern at 6,000 feet in oak and pine forest along Sunrise Highway.
In Boulevard, on Old Highway 80, there's a wooden cottage that was the town's first schoolhouse.
Most backcountry days depend on the weather and your legs.
The Motor Transport Museum on Highway 94 in Campo is devoted to antique trucks.
Some people drive east for a summit. Others drive east to sit in hot mineral water, and for them there's Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel.