Palomar Mountain
Encyclopedia
Palomar Mountain is a mountain in the Peninsular Ranges
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...

 in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...

 and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park.

History

The Spanish name "Palomar", in English meaning "pigeon roost," comes from Spanish colonial era in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...

 when Palomar Mountain was known as the home of Band-tailed Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
The Band-tailed Pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata, is a medium-sized bird of the Americas. Its closest relatives are the Chilean Pigeon and the Ring-tailed Pigeon, which form a clade of Patagioenas with a terminal tail band and iridescent plumage on their necks.It ranges from British Columbia, Utah, and...

s.

During the 1890s, the human population was sufficient to support three public schools, and it was a popular summer resort for Southern California, with three hotels in operation part of the time, and a tent city in Doane Valley each summer.

Palomar Observatory

Palomar Mountain is most famous as being home since 1936 to the Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...

, and the giant Hale Telescope
Hale telescope
The Hale Telescope is a , 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning...

. The 200-inch telescope was the world's largest and most important telescope from 1949 until 1992. The observatory currently consists of three large telescopes.

Palomar Mountain State Park

Palomar Mountain is the location of Palomar Mountain State Park, a California State Park
California Department of Parks and Recreation
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 278 parks and 1.4 million acres , with over of coastline; of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and of hiking, biking, and...

. There are campgrounds for vacationers, as well as a campground for local school children. The park averages 70,000 visitors annually. The campgrounds in the park were closed on October 2, 2011, due to the state budget cuts, and there are no plans to reopen them in the foreseeable future. The park itself is one of 70 California State Parks scheduled to close due to budget cuts, and it is expected to be closed permanently in July 2012 to achieve part of the $11 million dollar budget reduction for the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

High Point in the Palomar Mountain range is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County, at 6140 feet (1,871 m), although Cuyapaipe Mountain in Laguna Mountains
Laguna Mountains
The Laguna Mountains are a section of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County, California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately ....

 is slightly higher, at 6378 feet (1,944 m), and they are dwarfed by the higher 11500 feet (3,505 m) San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...

 a relatively short distance north in San Bernardino County and Riverside County and the 14500 feet (4,420 m) high Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...

 some 250 mi (402 km) further north. It is located roughly two miles east of the observatory, however, it is not accessible for the public from that direction (the observatory itself and adjacent land are private property and the road to High Point from the observatory is blocked by a permanently closed gate.) It may be reached via Palomar Divide Truck Trail or Oak Grove Truck Trail, dirt roads that start off highway 79 near Warner Springs, California
Warner Springs, California
Warner Springs is a small unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is associated with two National Historic Landmarks, the Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station and Warner's Ranch, both connected to the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. It is also near the...

. The trip is 13 miles one way with 3000' of elevation gain via Palomar Divide Truck Trail, or 7 miles one way with 3200' of elevation gain via Oak Grove Truck Trail.

At the base of Palomar Mountain on S6 is Oak Knoll Campground, formerly known as Palomar Gardens. Palomar Gardens was made somewhat famous by an earlier resident George Adamski
George Adamski
George Adamski was a Polish-born American citizen who became widely known in ufology circles, and to some degree in popular culture, after he claimed to have photographed ships from other planets, met with friendly Nordic alien "Space Brothers", and to have taken flights with them...

. Adamski had an observatory at Palomar Gardens and photographed objects in the night sky that he claimed were UFOs. Adamski co-authored Flying Saucers Have Landed in 1953, about his alien encounter experiences. The 1977 film The Crater Lake Monster
The Crater Lake Monster
The Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 B-rated horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella...

had many scenes filmed on Palomar Mountain, including scenes shot at the summit restaurant, but not the scenes of the monster in a lake.

Doane Valley, located within the State Park, is home to the Camp Palomar Outdoor School for 6th grade students in the San Diego Unified School District.

Access

South Grade Road, the stretch of San Diego County Route S6 going from State Route 76
California State Route 76
State Route 76 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is an important east–west route in the North County region of San Diego County that begins in Oceanside near Interstate 5 and continues east past Interstate 15 to State Route 79...

 to the summit, is popular among motorcycle riders and sports car drivers due to its challenging nature (over 20 hairpin turn
Hairpin turn
A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...

s over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km)). According to fire department records, there have been 26 reported motorcycle injury accidents on the mountain in 2005. In 2004, the figure was 23. In 2003 there were 26. The Luiseno Indian name for Palomar Mountain was "Paauw" and High Point was called "Wikyo."
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