Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → North County → Poway Crags

Location: Poway area, northeast of San Diego

Approach Distance: ~4.5 miles roundtrip

Elevation Gain/Loss: ~700 feet

Time Required: 4-6 hours (45 minutes on the approach, 3o minutes return, plus climbing time)

Red Tape/Notes: No permits required, parking is free but the parking lot fills up fairly quickly on weekends. For more information on climbing routes, visit the Mountain Project page for Poway Crags.

What’s Nearby?: Lake Poway, Blue Sky Ecological Reserve, Potato Chip Rock, Fry-Koegel Trail

If you’re into scenic climbing spots that you’ll probably have to yourself, this is a great one. There are a few different crags in this area, but we’ve really only spent time at Sport Wall and Analgesic Wall. These two walls offer a couple of easy climbs (5.8 and 5.9) and several in the 5.10 and 5.11 range – plenty for us to have an enjoyable morning or afternoon outside and still have half a day to do other things (laundry, dishes…you know, the necessary evils that are avoided only by our wealthier Hollywood counterparts). As an added bonus, the approach hike is rather pleasant (it’s the first section of the trail up to Iron Mountain) and the crags have lovely views across a valley and nice opportunities for wildflowers and hummingbirds and such.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → North County → Poway Crags