The landscape of Southern California is known for its beautiful beaches and steep mountains clad with sun-blasted chaparral. If you’re looking for an epic hike that ascends to astounding heights with far-reaching views over the smoggy southland megalopolis, Palomar Mountain is not for you. If gurgling creeks lined with ferns, towering conifers and quiet meadows sounds like a snore, Palomar Mountain is not for you. Palomar Mountain State Park preserves Southern California’s best kept secret, which is a Sierra away from the Sierra, and is a must-visit for nature lovers yearning for a break from Southern California.
My journey begins at the day use parking lot for Doane Pond, a man-made reservoir that hosts opportunities for fishing and chilling. While not devoid of people, I’ve never had a challenge parking here – even on a Memorial Day weekend afternoon. Doane Pond is not part of my hike today, so I follow the stairwell down across the campground road and onto a trail leading into the ravine of Doane Creek.
Palomar Mountain is an anomaly in Southern California. The western portion of Palomar Mountain receives over 30” of rain per year, allowing species such as White Fir and Incense-Cedar to grow far larger and at lower elevations than its Southern California peers. A testament to Palomar Mountain’s microclimate is that it is the only home of the banana slug south of Point Conception.
The forest found along Doane Creek is more enchanting than any other I’ve seen in Southern California. Incense cedars and white fir form a sky-scraping canopy, reaching more than 100’ in height. Canyon live oaks, pacific dogwood and white alder provide dense shade and vivid greenery in the understory.
Reaching a junction, I eschew this lovely forest for now and cross Doane Creek. The canopy, now much more open, features some particularly massive incense-cedars that thrive on these west-facing slopes. One particularly large incense cedar, who I’ll name Hot Tamale, gets its own display placard.
After reaching a small meadow, the influence of Doane Creek wanes and a transition to a more traditional Southern California woodland takes over. Stately Ponderosa Pine and Black Oaks stake claims along grassy outcrops.
Finding myself at another junction between the Lower Doane Trail and French Valley Trail, I opt for the latter. Conifers quickly change to Oaks Of Particular Size, shading you along the rim of Doane Valley. One felled giant oak, informally nicknamed the Uncle Oak, lies dead on the trail after being killed in the 2007 Poomacha Fire. You’ll know it when you see it.
Wildflowers flourish on the fringes of these woodlands, particularly so when the trail meets Lower Doane Valley. Blue-eyed grasses, buttercups, checkerbloom and baby blue eyes paint splashes of blue, pink and yellow in fields of fresh green grasses and forbs.
The grassy tread of Lower Doane Valley is overgrown year-round, but it would require consistent manpower that far supersedes the budget of the park to keep clear. On the flipside, there’s a “sound of music” like experience of being able to frolic in wildflower-speckled meadows.
French Valley is the magnum opus of Palomar Mountain, and scenic in a way that Southern California is often not. Where many natural highlights of the southland are often stark and dramatic, French Valley is tranquil and idyllic. Verdant grasses spread in every direction up gentle enclosing slopes, with pines standing tall and proud like statues in a garden.
Retracing my steps through deteriorating tread, I relocate my north star in Doane Creek and proceed alongside the creek back into forest. The creek is notably closer to the trail than it is farther up the valley, and provides auditory ambience on the return journey.
The canopy once again encloses me underneath massive trees. The forest is even more impressive this deep in the valley, reassuring me that I saved the best for last.
While leaving Palomar Mountain State Park, I reflect on my drive about how different the environment is just a couple miles out from Palomar. The grade of the road is steep and the scenery is epic, just like the rest of Southern California, but sometimes the body and mind yearn for something chill. And for that, there’s always Palomar.
Backcountry Bassett 