palomar mountain state park

This area is an oasis in the middle of the rat race of Southern California.Please be advised that is very cool at the summit and sometimes there will be snow,in winter.The state park has magnificent old trees.There is still some evidence of a forest fire years ago,but a lot of undergrowth is new.The views are spectacular and birders will not be disappointed.

Get out of the city and over the hills! 6000 feet in elevation gain from the valley below. Great views. Nice and cool at the top. Steep 7+% grade so if you are riding, start training.

Local but feels like a getaway. Lot's of traffic due to the snow From there we went onto Lake Henshaw specifically to go the Hideout Saloon but unfortunately it was closed. Oh well, next time. Luckily I was headed back to Rincon when everyone else was headed toward the snow...don't see that too much in San Diego!!!

There are lots of great little hiking trips to do at this 6000 foot elevation summit that makes you think as if you are not in San Diego anymore. From the highest observation point you can possibly see your house since you can see all the way from Riverside and Orange County to Mexico on a clear day. Bring binoculars and $8 cash to pay for the par\k day use. When we went during the middle of the week no one was there and we saw several mule deer and many birds. Late October and Early November the fall colors are great as well.

I have been coming here since childhood. It is a beautiful mountain setting not far from both the Angeles-Orange County-San Bernardino metro and San Diego. Picnicking and overnight camping are available in season. It is one of the few places in San Diego county where snow falls and gets far more rain then most of sounthern California. Deer abound. Be aware that services on the mountain are limited. Haul your tucker and fill your gas tank before ascending the county road that leads up the mountain. The park is really located above Pauma Valley rather than near Escondido.

I just visited for a short diversion. Got in a run on some of the nice trails in the park. Plenty of parking, $8 use fee. If you go, visit the Boucher Fire Tower which is at the highest point in the park and affords great views.

We took a last minute trip to Palomar mountain and we were rewarded with the most amazing weekend. We stayed at the state park campsite. Even though we didn't have reservations, there were still two campsites available $30/night. We took the bike and hike site, and it was huge and private. Just a little trek from the car to the site. Bathrooms were kind of far, but nice with showers. Even though it was full, it wasn't too loud, just nice family noise and people having fun. On Saturday we drove up to the Observatory and took the tour (super fun, worth the $10). Overall, great weekend and would definitely spend more time on the trails in the future.

This is a crazy drive to get up to this very beautiful park. Lovely hikes and beautiful scenery. Wonderful trees!

My family and I loved this place! Best hike ever! We went on a Tuesday. There were not many people. The drive up was gorgeous! There was a huge picnic area. We drove around the park and followed the signs to Doane Pond, parked the car, and took the Cedar Trail to Thunder Springs. My 5 year old went to sleep on my husband, but my 11 year old and 7 year old did well. We did not make it the entire mile up the hike, but the views were breathtaking and the area is secluded and peaceful. The restrooms at the start of the trial were clean and stocked with tp. We can't wait to go back and see more of this amazing park!

The overall experience was good, down side was that the pond was covered over with weeds and could not cast without becoming entangled. Ranger was not helpful but said that this is not the time to come and we do not have money to dredge. If you are going to fish not the place to go.

We went camping at Doane Valley in Palomar Mountain State Park. We had sites 25 and 26 (sharing with friends). The sites were very close together and we were able to put up 5 tents between the 2 sites. If you just book 1 site, it wouldn't be very private since they are very close (I'd recommend just booking both sites). There are a few stairs leading down to the sites. These sites were fairly secluded, fully shaded by trees and very close to the trail head. The last morning we were there, a deer came into the trees just behind our sites. It was awesome. The only negative to the sites is all the BUGS! I had about 50 bug bites even after applying bug spray. We went on a couple of hikes to French Valley, the Weir and Thunder Springs where the landscape was beautiful. One morning we saw a deer with her two fawns and in the evening we saw even more deer grazing. Other animals we saw were turkeys, lots of birds (crows were noisy in the morning), squirrels, lizards, butterflies, and even smelled a skunk one morning. On our way out we went to Boucher Lookout and the ranger let us up on the tower. We had a gorgeous clear view. it was a fantastic little get away so close to the city. We will definitely go back!

Theres plenty of hiking, camping and places to just relax on the mountain. During the fire season, the forest fire lookout on boucher hill is in operation. Its one of two lookout towers in service on palomar mountain. Boucher hill is open to the public, at the descreation of the lookout on duty for the day. great views.

The climb up Palomar is incredible and the views spectacular. Took some visitors up with me and they loved seeing the telescope and the cooler temperatures were pretty good too.

So just the drive up to this place is worth it...sweeping views! Make sure you are aware of bicyclist and motorcyclists, for there are a lot of them on the road.We went up and did a 4 mile hike (the ranger was helpful in directing us to the right one). The hike was great, but the bugs were awful!! Afterwards, we stopped at the little market for ice cream, then headed over to the observatory. It is only about a 15 minute drive, and we felt it was worth it. The displays are interactive, and inside the dome is fascinating. Make sure you bring water and bug spray for the hike!

Home of Palomar Observatory and a lovely place to go camping or a nice day trip The telescope is amazing you must check it out, There is a lovely café I have been to many times and it is always good. If you want to camp I would call ahead to reserve a space, there are many camp grounds..