Palomar Mountain

8 days. 750 miles.

Professional cycling’s uphill climb

Rundown of bicyclists who’ve been caught doping and the Tour of California bike race.

Archaeological study of finds at Whaley House, Nate Harrison’s home

SDSU student studies 19th-century meds

Based on a study of the bottles found during the archaeological excavation of an Old Town home built in 1857, prescription drugs accounted for much of the medications used by the Whaley family. The Whaley ...

Chimney Flats loop from Doane Pond

One of the finest trails in Palomar Mountain State Park is this loop with great surrounding views and interesting plants.

Palomar Mountain: Observatory Trail

A tree-shaded trail with bucolic vistas leads to a world-class observatory.

Scale Palomar Mountain the Hard Way

Most visitors motor right up to the cool forests of Palomar Mountain’s parks or observatory on the curling South Grade or East Grade roads. Exercise-minded hikers might try an alternative east-side approach that actually reaches ...

Fry Creek Trail

Fry Creek Campground, in the Cleveland National Forest on Palomar Mountain, offers the kind of forest camping experience that is becoming increasingly scarce in Southern California. A long-term drought cycle and various recent wildfires have ...

Palomar Pioneers: Of Travail and Tragedy

Rattler ManJoseph Beresford, son of a British Lord, fell in love with the ­gardener’s daughter. His father, whose lineage went back to James I, gave him an ultimatum: marry beneath your rank and lose your ...

Palomar Pioneers: The Water Bearer

In 1904, young Elise Roberts and her family summered on Palomar Mountain. They left their Long Beach home in a roofed wagon, half packed with clothes and bedding, the other half filled with hay for ...

Tour Doane and French valleys on Palomar Mountain, and enjoy some of San Diego County's finest high-elevation woodlands and meadows.

Mile-high Palomar Mountain State Park has probably the finest montane scenery in San Diego County, complete with trickling streams, mixed oak-conifer forests, and rolling meadows. So far, this magnificent spot has managed to evade the ...

Before or after visiting Palomar Observatory, ramble along the nearby Observatory Trail.

After a visit to Mount Palomar's famous observatory, I enjoy introducing friends to the delights of the natural landscape right below the telescope's looming dome. In a kind of reverse pilgrimage, we follow the Observatory ...