Things to Do in Santee, California

The best things to do in Santee

Santee’s attractions are mostly outdoors, and most of them are free or cheap. A quick list, with details below:

• Fish, picnic, ride a pedal boat or camp at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.
• Hike the steep back side of Cowles Mountain from the Mesa Road trailhead by Big Rock Park.
• Walk, ride or jog the San Diego River on the Walker Preserve Trail and through Mast Park.
• Shop and eat at Santee Trolley Square, next to the Santee Town Center trolley station.
• Bring the kids to one of the city’s neighborhood parks, from Town Center Community Park to Woodglen Vista Park.
• Catch the free Santee Holiday Lighting on Friday, November 20, 2026.

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve

Santee Lakes is the city’s headline attraction: a 190-acre park on Fanita Parkway with seven lakes filled with recycled water and stocked with sport fish year-round. Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which owns and runs it, says the lakes opened to the public for boating and fishing in 1961, and the preserve now draws more than 700,000 visitors a year.

Day visitors come for shore fishing, pedal boats, seven playgrounds, lakeside paths and birding; around 230 bird species have been recorded at the lakes. There is also a 300-site full-hookup campground and ten cabins, three of them floating on the water.

Practical notes: from November 1 through March 2027 the park is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday. Parking is $4 per vehicle on weekdays and $7 on weekends and holidays, and fishing needs a separate day permit. Pets are not allowed in the day-use area, though there is a pet walk on the east side of Lake 5 and around Lake 6. For fees, fishing rules, cabins and December events in detail, see our full Santee Lakes guide.

Cowles Mountain and Mission Trails from the Santee side

Cowles Mountain is San Diego’s best-known summit hike, and it is worth being precise about where it is. The mountain itself rises above the San Carlos neighborhood of the City of San Diego, and its 1,593-foot summit is the highest point in that city. The busy main trail starts at Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road in San Carlos and climbs about 1.5 miles with roughly 950 feet of gain.

Santee has its own way up. The City of Santee lists a Cowles Mountain trailhead at 8100 Mesa Road, next to the city’s Big Rock Park at 8125 Arlette Street. From there, a trail climbs the back side of Cowles Mountain, and a local trail column describes it as much steeper than the neighboring trail from the end of Big Rock Road, which heads toward Pyles Peak. Expect little shade, start early and carry water.

Cowles Mountain is part of Mission Trails Regional Park, which covers about 8,000 acres. The park’s Visitor Center and its Kumeyaay Lake Campground both have San Diego addresses on Father Junipero Serra Trail, not Santee ones. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Kumeyaay Lake Campground has 46 sites, open for camping on Friday and Saturday nights at $22.78 per night, first come, first served, and it does not take cash.

One common mix-up: the park’s West Sycamore staging area is reached from Stonebridge Parkway in San Diego, near Poway, not from Santee. The trail Santee lists at Fanita Parkway and Ganely Road is the Stowe Trail.

The San Diego River trail in Santee

The San Diego River runs east to west through Santee, and the city has built trail along its north bank. The most polished stretch is the Walker Preserve Trail, which the city lists at 9500 Magnolia Avenue. A San Diego Reader trail guide describes it as a flat 1.3-mile trail, 14 feet wide with a decomposed granite surface, open to walkers, cyclists, horses and leashed dogs from sunrise to sunset.

The same guide notes benches facing the river, views east to El Capitan and Cuyamaca Peak, relics from the old Walker dairy farm, and river birds such as great blue herons and wood ducks. East of Marathon Parkway the path continues into Lakeside as the Lakeside River Park Trail; to the west it passes through Mast Park, which the city lists at 9125 Carlton Hills Boulevard. That guide dates from 2016, so check current conditions before you go.

Santee Trolley Square and Santee Town Center

Santee Trolley Square, on Mission Gorge Road, is the city’s main shopping and dining center and its unofficial town square. It sits beside the Santee Town Center trolley station at 152 Civic Center Drive, so you can arrive by trolley, shop, eat and ride home. Stores change, so check the center’s current directory if you are going for a particular shop.

Nearby, the city’s Town Center Community Park has an east side at 550 Park Center Drive and a west side at 9409 Cuyamaca Street. The city lists the Marine Memorial Trails at the east side’s address and the Mission Creek Trail at 9220 Cuyamaca Street.

More city parks and one Santee landmark that is gone

The City of Santee lists more than ten parks. Beyond those above, they include Woodglen Vista Park, Shadow Hill Park, Sky Ranch Park, West Hills Park, Weston Park and Deputy Ken Collier Park, along with Sportsplex USA Santee, a sports complex with its own website for leagues and bookings.

If you remember the Santee Drive-In, it is no longer an option. The owners closed it after 65 years, with the last night on December 31, 2023, and sold the property to a developer.

Santee in December

The season starts early in Santee. The city’s free Holiday Lighting is on Friday, November 20, 2026, at Santee Trolley Square, 9884 Mission Gorge Road. It runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and the tree is lit at 6:15 p.m. The city lists live music by Upstream, face painting, sledding, holiday photo spots and photos with Santa between Target and Miniso. It goes ahead rain or shine. Parking near the event is limited, so the city suggests taking the Copper Line trolley.

In December, Santee Lakes hosts a Water Lantern Festival on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 2026, from 2 to 7 p.m., with lanterns launched from 5 p.m.; tickets are sold through the Water Lantern Festival website. Santee Lakes is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the Mission Trails Visitor Center is closed on Christmas Day.

For a holiday outing with a history theme, the Yuletide Medieval Festival is a short drive east in neighboring Lakeside, at El Monte County Park, on December 5-6 and 12-13, 2026. It recreates a winter in England in 1420, with jousting, a battle pageant and St. Nicholas.

Getting to and around Santee

Santee is the end of the line for the San Diego Trolley. MTS runs the Copper Line from El Cajon Transit Center through Arnele Avenue and Gillespie Field to Santee Town Center. Riders from downtown San Diego, Mission Valley or SDSU take the Green Line to El Cajon Transit Center and change to the Copper Line there; the Green Line itself no longer runs to Santee.

Most of Santee’s attractions are spread out, so a car or bike helps. Santee Lakes is in the north of the city on Fanita Parkway, the Cowles Mountain trailhead is on the west side by Big Rock Park, and the river trail runs along the middle of town.

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