Mount Woodson
Poway, San Diego · near Poway / San Diego · San Diego
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- beginner
- Grade range
- V0–V10 bouldering · 5.6–5.11 trad routes on the main face
- Best season
- October–April best · Summer heat and exposed slopes make morning sessions essential
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No climbing permit. Free public access via the Lake Poway Recreation Area trailhead ($5 parking on weekends and holidays).
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Rock Climbing detail
- Nickname
- Potato Chip Rock
- Climb types
- bouldering · trad · top-rope
- Rock type
- Decomposed granite — distinctive orange and tan boulders
- Route count
- 200+ boulder problems · 50+ roped routes
- Signature routes
- Woodson Bouldering Circuit (V0–V3) · Potato Chip Rock · Castle Crack (5.8)
- First timer note
- Mount Woodson is San Diego's most accessible climbing area. The combination of beginner-friendly bouldering, ocean views, and the hiking destination of Potato Chip Rock makes it a multi-audience destination. The 8-mile round trip to the summit is also a popular San Diego hike entirely independent of climbing.
- Intl tip
- The summit of Mount Woodson (Potato Chip Rock) is an 8-mile round trip hike from the Lake Poway Recreation Area trailhead. It's one of San Diego County's most popular hikes — arrive early on weekends to avoid long lines for the Potato Chip Rock photo. The Lake Poway area also has kayak rentals, picnic facilities, and fishing.
The guide
Mount Woodson is San Diego's most complete outdoor destination — simultaneously a world-class bouldering area, an accessible tr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mount Woodson — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.9985, -116.9533