One of the most popular trails in San Diego, Potato Chip Rock via Mt. Woodson Trail offers a quite difficult and adventurous hiking experience. This trail is located near Poway, California. This trail is a 7.6 miles round trip. The elevation gain is 2106 feet. This tells you how difficult this hike could be. It is rated as very difficult and it can take you 3 to 4 hours to complete the trail.
Potato Chip Rock hike is just at a 30-minute distance from San Diego. It is located at the north of San Diego. There are a few options to hike to Potato Chip Rock but Mt. Woodson Trail is the best option. It offers the best views and it also offers bathroom and other facilities.
The hike begins from the Lake Poway Park that also offers bathrooms, picnic tables, and a lot of parking space. You can fill your water bottles from here which is very necessary if you want to have a comfortable journey. Keep in mind that you will have to pay the parking fee.
If you are a resident of Poway you don’t have to pay the fee to hike Potato Chip Rock. But if you are not the resident of Poway you will have to pay the fee on weekends and holidays.
When you reach the trailhead it is about three miles to the summit. Here you need to be careful as it gains constant elevation and is pretty much straight up the whole way. You will have to pass through many rock formations and mountain that will make your hike more interesting.
If you want to relax for a moment there is a tree at about halfway to the top. But keep in mind it’s the only shady place in the trail so you better spend some time there especially if it’s a hot day.
If you are hiking in the summer months make sure that you have plenty of water with you or you will face a hard time. When you reach the top of the mountain you will just have to walk for about half a mile and you will reach to the Potato Chip Rock.