Palomar Mountain

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Palomar Mountain
View of the Palomar Observatory located near the summit of Palomar Mountain.
Elevation	6,140 ft (1,871 m)
Location	California, USA
Range	Palomar Mountain Range
Easiest route	road

Palomar Mountain is a mountain in the Palomar Mountain Range in northern San Diego County, California, United States. It is most famous as being home to the Palomar Observatory. It is also the location of Palomar Mountain State Park, a California state park. There are campgrounds for vacationers, as well as a campground for local schoolchildren. The park averages 70,000 visitors annually. It is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County, at 6,140 feet (1,871 m), although it is still dwarfed by the 11,500 feet (3,505 m) San Bernardino Mountains a little ways north in San Bernardino and Riverside counties and 14,500 feet (4,420 m) high Mount Whitney some 250 mi (402 km) north.

South Grade Road, the stretch of San Diego County Route S6 going from State Route 76 to the summit, is popular among sport bike riders and sports car drivers due to its challenging nature (over 20 hairpin turns over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km)) and low traffic on most weekdays. Popularity and difficulty of the road is such that, on a typical warm-weather weekend, an average of two motorcycle crashes requiring medical attention occur in the area. [1]

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. 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. It is also home to the Palomar Outdoor School for 6th grade students in the San Diego Unified School District.

Additionally, there is a small pond at the top of the mountain that is one of the few places in San Diego County stocked with trout during the hot summer months. The limit for anglers is five fish, and is usually pretty easy to achieve with small spinners such as Mepp's or Roostertail, or the usual dough baits or night crawlers.