Potato Chip Rock in San Diego
On the first day of Xiao An's spring break, we decided to climb Mt Woodson, where the so-called 9th scariest sight in the world, Potato Chip Rock, is located. As for what the first eight are, I have no idea. It always seems impressive when something is ranked in the world.
Potato Chip Rock is located in San Diego, about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. For those planning to visit Potato Chip Rock, take note: There are two routes to get there. One is the west route, starting from the parking lot of Lake Poway Park, located at 14644 Lake Poway Rd, Poway, CA 92074. This is a state park in California, and parking fees apply. Then you hike around the lake, which offers beautiful views, but the journey is longer, nearly 6 kilometers one way, and it takes at least two hours for the average person to reach Potato Chip Rock.
The other route is the east line, near Mt Woodson Road off Highway 67, next to the Cal Fire Ramona Station firehouse, where there's a rather hidden entrance with a small sign that reads Mt Woodson Trail. There is no parking lot here, but parking along Highway 67 is permitted. This route is about 3.5 kilometers long, and apart from a dirt path at the entrance, the rest is paved with asphalt all the way up. The road surface is good, but the gradient is over 50 degrees, which is quite exhausting, and it also takes about an hour one way. There are some electronic transmission towers at the top of the mountain; this route is actually for maintenance vehicles and is not open to the public. Both routes have little shade, so it can get very hot in the summer, and it's important to bring enough drinking water. Today, we took this route.
This place is actually a natural scene, just one point on the Mt Woodson hiking trail. There are indeed many visitors who come here, and it is said that on weekends, you generally have to queue for an hour to take photos on the rock. There are no facilities on this mountain, no shops, no benches, no toilets, no trash cans, and naturally, no ropes to charge for taking photos.
Finally, the closest distance from this rock to the slope below, I estimated it to be about 15 meters, and below is a steep slope, which is actually quite terrifying. Moreover, climbing onto this rock is not too easy, so safety is a must!