palomar observatory

Many of our younger fiends do not know mount Palomar nor its observatory. When we were in primary school, we learned that the Palomar telescope was the largest in the world. It still is impressive. Beautiful location.

One of the best approach drives to an attraction on planet earth! Wonderful switch-back roads - amazing vistas along the way; particularly if you're on a motorbike.The observatory, itself, is interesting and spectacular to walk around. The gift shop is a little on the "light" side - with very few items for sale.*If you're trying to escape the heat of the valley, this is a perfect destination.* The general store on the road up to the observatory has more and better souvenirs

Not a lot to see here. The visitor's centre has some interesting displays, and a nice gift shop. The telescope dome itself doesn't offer a whole lot to see, but the tour guide was very knowledgable.However, I'm really glad we went if only for the drive. A winding road that ascends quite quickly, with amazing views on the way up.

I have visited this point many times over the years. Public access to the actual observatory is somewhat limited but worth the effort. The drive from either San Diego or Losangeles metros can be a bit exciting for flatlanders. Be aware that visitor facilities on the mountain are limited. Also, because of the relatively high elevation and steep escarpment, winds can drop the temperature quickly. Even in summer bring long sleeves.

My husband and I are geek/nerds and love all things scientific. Visitors need to remember that this is a living and breathing research facility and was not and is not designed to be a modern museum or place for visitors. They have graciously allowed visitors to see them at work and get up close and personal with an incredible display of human ingenuity and an engineering feat. Millennials who are used to dash and splash exhibits will be dissappointed. This also is not a place for children under the age of 12. For those who love science, engineering, and astronomy, this place is awesome. We did not go prepared to take the tour but found out that the only way to see the guts of the place is via an escorted tour. We went on a Saturday and they only had two tours... one at 11 and one at 1:30, so be sure to plan your visit so you can see behind the scenes.BTW...there is also a walking path just outside the gates. Had we known about it, we would have planned our visit so we would have time to explore, because they have 2000 acres of incredibly wooded land. We did not get to walk the trail, but suggest you look into it before you visit. If you are like us, you will probably only go to the observatory one time, so do everything you can during that visit.There is no food available onsite, but there is a restaurant about 1-2 miles down the road. Great place to have a picnic lunch.

The drive is beautiful, don't be in a hurry. Let others pass. Stop often and take in the scenery. Don't bother with pictures the vastness can't be captured.The observatory is beautiful. Yes I'm into telescopes but my wife is not. She really enjoyed the time we spent there. We are off season so didn't get a tour. Self guided books available. Information center is clean and very well organized. The information provided you can spend 15 minutes or an hour+ Drive back, again, take your time. Different sun angles and opposite of side of the road - awesome relaxing day. If,,, that is what you are looking for.

A beautiful, scenic trip up the mountain to well-kept grounds and picnic area at the observatory. A tiny museum and gift shop sets the stage, then up to the observatory for a look around. We were disappointed to learn there're only two tours daily, having arrived about 20 minutes late for the last one. We still found plenty of information available for a self-guided tour, and will go back for a guided tour in the future.

The trip to the top of Palomar mountain will take you at least an hour from the base, but along the way you'll have several scenic look out opportunities that are breath-taking. Once as the top there is a very large parking lot to accommodate the folks going up there. Start at the "museum" and gift shop, which gives you an idea of how massive the scope is and what its capable of, then walk up to the telescope. We didn't take the tour that goes inside the telescope because we had the dog with us, but even he was able to walk into the observation deck and see inside. You kind of need to be a space-buff to know what you're looking at (and care) but for those folks this is a huge geek out opportunity. If you're not one of those, just enjoy how gorgeous it is on top of the mountain and that there is a paved path and clean bathroom at the top!

Home to the Hale 200 inch telescope, this observatory is still a highly productive scientific tool 65 years after is opened. It is also a classic art deco building in a beautiful natural setting. The dive up is a sports car enthusiast's dream. My only slight complaint is that the museum is somewhat small and the tour length, at 90 minutes, was too short for the amount of information to be covered. It is understandable, however, as the scientists and engineers must stop much of their work to allow tour groups access (there are only two per day).Access for mobility-impaired visitors is good (no wheelchairs allowed in the observatory, though), but there is a significant walk, with a slight grade, required to get from the visitor center/museum to the observatory itself.

I am a physics teacher and decided to visit this famous telescope for my own sense of history and get photos for my students. However, the experience was so poorly designed that I really would not even advise my students to visit.The good parts are that visits are free, they are open every day and there is a small exhibit showing some of the uses and breakthroughs achieved with the telescopes at Palomar.The bad part is that it is difficult to see the telescope and impossible to take decent photos. The ironic part is that there is a section at the exhibit that explains light pollution and how it affects viewing from the telescope when trying to view a dark object with light in the background. However, that is exactly the way the visitor gallery is set up. The telesope is poorly lit but it is viewed from a well lit visitor gallery with glass in between. In a place where so much care is taken to ensure good observations it is a joke that they show such little care in setting up the visitor experience.

We were staying in nearby Julian and decided to drive to Palomar. There is a gift shop and museum there as well as several telescopes. The view is nice. Unless you are a telescope enthusiast, don't expect too much inside the observatory itself; in and out in less than ten minutes. Some of the videos in the museum are interesting. I'm glad I went to "check it off the list" of places to see. It's been there since the 1930s. Expect to spend about an hour total there.

The closest i got to heaven! That giant tree was superbly wonderful! Bring jacket though cause it gets pretty chilly in the afternoon.

As an accomplished armchair astronomer, seeing the 200" reflector has long been on my bucket list. I was not disappointed! A reasonable drive (less than 90 minutes) from San Diego brought us to the beautiful site. The volunteers who led the tours were exceptional - knowledgeable, friendly and amusing. I would encourage anyone with any interest at all in astronomy to give this wonderful site a visit.

We drove from Oceanside, and even before we got to Mount Palomar Observatory, the visit proved worthwhile, given the stunning scenery on the way. The observatory itself is very interesting, given the story behind its construction. It's quite a long drive, but well it. I would recommend it to anyone.

We were traveling from San Diego to Palm Springs and wanted to visit this along the way. We had checked the website so we were aware that there were no tours mid-week during the winter. Weather was great and there had been no snow so it was a beautiful winding drive up the mountain. Worth the trip itself. The observatory, visitor center and gift shop have limited hours so check the website ahead to avoid a surprise. The visitor center itself was small, but well done. It's worth taking the time to read and watch the displays. The majority being in video format on large wall mounted flat screen TV's. If you are the least bit interested in astronomy, you will enjoy it. A lot of significant firsts and discoveries happened here. There is a short self guided walk to the observatory itself. You climb a long and fairly steep set of stairs to a viewing area where you can see the telescope. There are some limited displays in the glass walled off visitor viewing area. They keep it cool, so dress appropriately. Very enjoyable side trip on our journey. Take the other road down towards Borrego Springs for an additional scenic drive.