San Diego Reader

• Recreation | Palomar Mountain

Palomar Observatory

• 35899 Canfield Road, Palomar Mountain, CA 92060 | Directions
• 760-742-2119 | Website

You won’t be able to peer through their five giant telescopes, but visit Palomar Observatory any day from 9am-4pm (except December 24 and 25) and check out the imposing 200-inch Hale Telescope. You’re already at 6000 feet — more than a mile — above sea level here, and it’s the next best thing to magnified viewing; skies can be as clear as you have never seen them. So make a night of it. You could also book into the mountain’s other marvel, the 1888 Bailey House (33650 Bailey Meadow Road, Palomar Mountain, 760-742-1859), 15 minutes from the telescope. You’ll pay from $125 for a cottage (for up to four people), less at the campground. Shower, eat, and put on your woolies, then head out into the 60-acre nature preserve and catch those spectacular stars with your naked eye.