Mt Palomar
How long does it take? 7am—9pm.
How far is it? 2 separate hikes---5 miles total.
How steep is it? 800 feet down, 1600 up.
How much $$? Drivers pay State Park Day Fee & Forest Passes.
Best part? The views of San Diego and visiting the telescope.
Worst part? No views on a smoggy day.
GEO’s
Mt. Palomar Hike samples the high elevation oak
woodlands and meadow areas at the top of the Agua Tibia
range of 
mountains in San Diego County.
There are actually two separate 2-mile hikes that
skirt around the 5000-6000 foot elevation mountaintops:
the Scott’s Cabin Trail and the Observatory
Trail.
Both command striking views of the valleys below,
but the latter trail ends at the famous Palomar
Observatory, which houses one of the world’s largest
telescopes. Much
of the day is spent driving to and from these trails.
We usually stop for dinner on the way home.
Mt. Palomar State Park is actually in San Diego County, so it takes 2.5 hours to drive there. If we leave the school no later than 7:15am and everyone sticks together, we should arrive by 10:00am. We do make one stop along the way. We visit one of California’s oldest buildings, the Mission San Antonio De Pala, first built in 1810. The small adobe chapel, located at the heart of an Indian Reservation, is always free to the public and visitors can stretch their legs and wander about the adjacent campanile (bell tower) and cemetery. Be particularly respectful of the inside of the chapel and use hushed voices when viewing the hand hewn timbers and historic paintings. Mt. Palomar towers above Pala and the other small settlements of the Pauma Valley, but in no time our caravan of cars ascends beyond the citrus groves into the oak and pine forests at the top of the Agua Tibia range.
The
first trailhead is just inside the entrance to the state
park and all drivers must pay the day use fee. After parking the cars at Silver Crest Picnic area, we
begin our 1.5 hour hike on the Scott’s Cabin trail.
The wind can be quite chilly, so hikers are
advised to bring windbreakers or light jackets on this
first segment. The trail dips into a shady canyon, past the boring
site of an old cabin from the 1880’s and finally
across the road to a meadow next to a campground.
The meadow, ringed by cedar trees
is one of the
scenic highlights on this hike.
The Adams Trail heads straight across the meadow
and on up the hillside to a fire road, and from there to
Boucher Lookout, at the top of the mountain.
The closer we get to the top of Boucher Hill, the more beautiful the grass, the wildflowers and the view. To the north of the ridge are the pine forests of Mt. Palomar; and to the south side, the mountain slopes away thousands of feet and you can see the Pauma Valley. If the air is clear, you can make out the ocean, the San Diego skyline, and see Mexico. If the air is cloudy, then expect clouds and more clouds. Before long, the trail flattens out and we’re back to the cars. We get out our lunches and eat right there at the picnic area. Maybe afterwards, if there’s time, we’ll drive down the hill and walk around Doane Pond, the one tiny body of water that attracts fishermen in the area.
The second hike follows Observatory Trail from a campground to the top of Mt. Palomar. This trailhead is about 5 miles away from the state park, but the drive passes through beautiful forests of tall trees and it feels like we’re in the Sierra Nevadas. Drivers will drop off hikers at the campground, then drop off the cars at the Palomar Observatory, then shuttle back in one vehicle to join the others.
This
hike is not as green as the first hike, but it’s
warmer and offers stunning views of the pastures of
Mendenhall Valley below.
This hour long hike culminates at the world
famous Palomar Observatory,
whose massive white dome
rises 12 stories above the treetops like a giant
eyeball.
It is true that Palomar Observatory houses the country’s largest telescope, but don’t expect to look through it. You don’t line up to take a peek or anything like that. Only professors from Cal Tech are allowed near it. There’s a visitor’s gallery that shows you pictures taken from the great telescope, but the most amazing thing is just to go inside the mammoth dome and look at the size of the telescope. The whole thing weighs 530 tons and dwarfs any human next to it. The mirror of the telescope alone is 200 inches wide and took 11 years to polish.
The
telescope is capable of seeing 15 billion light years
away. Its
size and capability are simply hard to imagine,
especially considering it was all designed 70 years ago.
It was truly one of the greatest scientific
creations of its time.
After the hike and a visit to the telescope, the elevation makes people hungry.
There’s nothing but a small gift shop on the mountain and most everyone has exhausted their snack supply. On the long and winding drive down the mountain, the officers usually choose to stop at the next real town for dinner, which would be Temecula. There’s a million fast food options in Temecula, but spaghetti and pizza have been the favorite in past years. If you choose to bypass the dining experience, you’ll be back home by 7pm or 7:30. If you choose to stop in Temecula and eat out with us, be sure to bring some extra money then expect to arrive back at WCHS by 8:30 or 9pm.
