50 Best Short Hikes San Diego highlights enough diverse routes in Southern California's showpiece city for a year of weekly hikes. From sidewalk strolls and historic neighborhoods, to wildflowers and waterfalls, pleasant pastimes and panoramic vistas unfold in this handy guidebook. As the title says, these routes are "short." They range from less than 1 mile to nearly 8 miles, with an average of 5 miles, each, over all 50 of the hikes. And all lie within 30 miles of San Diego's central core.