Potato Chip Rock is a natural tourist attraction near

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is located on the Mt. Woodson summit and is famous for resembling a

potato chip A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...

. It is located in an unincorporated part of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

between

Poway 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 ...

and

Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...

. There is no drinking water, toilet facilities, or rangers along any route to Potato Chip Rock. At least 400,000 hikers visit this San Diego open preserve each year.

The rock is located at the top of the mountain, at an elevation between 2700 and 2800 ft. The hike to the rock takes approximately one to two hours. Potato Chip Rock sits 100 feet 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 ...

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, with an entrance at 16310 Highway 67, and follows 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 long. 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 April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

prank by Poway Mayor Steve Vaus in 2017. In a tweet, he wrote that part of the rock had snapped off and fallen into Lake Poway below. He even 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

{{Coord, 33, 0, 33, N, 116, 58, 27, W, region:US-CA, display=title Geography of San Diego County, California Landmarks in San Diego Parks in San Diego Tourist attractions in San Diego County, California