Woodson Mountain, also known as Mount Woodson, is a mountain near

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

. It is known for

Potato Chip Rock Potato Chip Rock is a natural tourist attraction near San Diego, California. It is located on the Mt. Woodson summit and is famous for resembling a potato chip. It is located in an unincorporated part of San Diego County between Poway and Ram ...

, located the west of the summit.

History

The

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

call this mountain ''Ewiiy Hellyaa,'' meaning the 'Mountain of the Moonlit Rocks', which was considered a place of power where the Moon sleeps. It is also associated with a mythical rabbit and the story of Toyapai, a Kumeyaay sprit giant who stepped on the southern side of the mountain on the way to the coast. Pioneers passing through the area called it Cobbleback Peak. The mountain was renamed as Woodson Mountain in honor of Confederate dentist Dr. Marshall Clay Woodson, who moved into the area in 1895. Line of People at Potato Chip Rock

The mountain became popular in the 2010s as Potato Chip Rock became more widely known through the influence of social media platforms such as Instagram.

Potato Chip Rock

The rock is located at the top of the mountain, at an elevation of about . The hike to the rock takes approximately three to four hours. Potato Chip Rock sits 100 yards below the summit. One popular way to reach the rock is through a 6.6-mile round trip hike from the

Lake Poway Lake Poway is a dam and reservoir in Poway, California, United States. The dam is owned by the City of Poway and was constructed between 1970 and 1972 with the purpose of storing and supplying water, and providing recreational facilities to the c ...

trailhead to the west. There are two other popular routes to the top that start on the east side of Mount Woodson. A short route begins from free parking areas along Route 67 and takes Mt. Woodson Road up to the rock. This 3.75-mile round-trip hike is paved and steep. The Fry-Kogel trail is the third route to the rock, and is about 4 miles each way. The rock is thin and more than 7 feet long, and it looks as if it is about to fall. The rock was used as an April Fools' Day prank by Poway Mayor Steve Vaus in 2017. In a tweet, he wrote that part of the rock had snapped off and added a picture for "proof". Also located on the trail from Lake Poway to Potato Chip Rock is Sandcrawler Rock, named for its resemblance to the Sandcrawler transport vehicle from the Star Wars Universe.

References

{{reflist Mountains of San Diego County, California Mountains of Southern California