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Doane Valley Campground
Palomar Mountain, CA 92060

Phone: (760) 742-3462
33.341743, -116.901397

Hike: 3 miles round trip     Level: Easy

Dog-Friendly: No     Kid-Friendly: Yes

Parking: $8 for all day pass into the park

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CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE ON ALL THE HIDDEN GEMS ON PALOMAR MOUNTAIN FOR AN AMAZING DAY TRIP!

About the Weir Hiking Trail

The Weir Trail is a three-mile trail that starts at the Doane Pond parking lot at the same trailhead as Doane Valley nature trail.

The trail is fairly level, with only a 100 ft elevation gain/loss and follows along Doane creek underneath forest growth before it opens out into views of the lower Doane meadow and continues to the Weir historic site.

 

Personal Experience

Each hike I do in Palomar I fall deeper in love. I was amazed with how similar Palomar Mtn. is to my favorite area, Big Sur! You can learn more about Big Sur under our Hidden CA site. The only main difference between the two is the lack of an ocean in Palomar.

This specific trail takes you to the old, historical weir. Visiting the weir is only a minor part of the whole hike. I believe you will enjoy every step you take out here.

While you’re in the area, make sure to hike the French Valley Trail nearby!

You are surrounded by a lush forest with a multitude of plant species, fresh air, wild animals and oh so many interesting things to see! The weir is a small, stone hut and really not much to explore, although very interesting-looking and makes for some good photos. Depending on how much rainfall we’ve had will determine how large the river will be which is right below it.

Also, check out this amazing list of all the plants that grow on this hike! http://tchester.org/sd/plants/guides/palomar/weir_loop.html

The weir was built to measure the water flow. They were hoping a hydroelectric dam could be built there to provide electricity for the mountain but there was never enough water to fulfill this project.

These photos were taken during 3 different trips to the weir. You will get an idea of what the area looks like throughout the year!

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Wild rose:We found it!

There have been mountain lion sightings out here and I am pretty positive we found our own evidence as well:Black Witch’s Butter:

The inside of this tree forms the shape of a star where the branches grow out of:

Here is a video Santino Romeri made of our trip January 2016:

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Comments

  • Faze Rug
    Rating Overall Rating Difficulty Finding

    guys DO NOT GO HERE!!! Its really creepy and dangerous!

    September 13, 2017

  • Anonymous
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    Went here today and was interested in the house on of the weir. Thanks for posting this and nice pictures!

    November 26, 2018

  • Anonymous
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    iron springs used to be a deep blue green pool , with a wellhead and an orange circle around it .

    November 6, 2019

  • Anonymous
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    Beautiful pictures!

    January 19, 2020

  • Vanessa Duran
    Rating Overall Rating Difficulty Finding

    Took the weir trail today and couldn’t find it anywhere!

    August 22, 2021

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