Hikers who like to scale Mt. Woodson in the early morning and nighttime hours are pushing back on a proposal by the county to limit hours at new parking lots expected to open next year to sunrise to sunset.
The Mt. Woodson Gateway County Preserve parking lot with about 200 spaces is designed to provide safer parking on the west side of state Route 67 south of Archie Moore Road. The project is set for completion in early 2026, county officials said.
When the parking lot opens, an electronic entrance gate to Mt. Woodson will allow hikers to exit the area after sunset, but will not admit them after sunset, said Kristi Mansolf, chair of the Ramona Community Planning Group’s Woodson Ad Hoc Subcommittee.
The limits to the parking lot hours are part of a county of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation policy, said county Supervisor Joel Anderson. However, access to the Mt. Woodson trailhead will still be open for walk-ins outside of those hours, Anderson said.
Kristi Mansolf
The 200-space Mt. Woodson parking lot project is estimated to be completed by early 2026 after a bridge is installed. (Kristi Mansolf)
A group of hikers opposed to the expected limits on the parking lot hours recently met with Andrew Hayes, a community liaison with Anderson’s office, said Mary Schoepp, a San Diego Country Estates resident of 30 years who regularly hikes Mt. Woodson with a group of friends starting at 5 a.m. – well before sunrise.
Schoepp, 68, said the main reason she hikes Mt. Woodson is to get exercise — the area’s steep terrain makes it a good cardio workout. She likes to hike early before the trail gets crowded and before it gets too hot, she said.
“It’s absolutely stunning in the morning, there’s a sunrise, moon set, the stars are fabulous and we see lots of different animals at that time as well, it’s wonderful,” the retired teacher said.
The group of hikers discussed options that could allow extended hours at the parking lot. Among the proposed ideas are using an app or QR code to allow entrance to the parking lot anytime, Schoepp said.
Anderson said he has received a number of options from the community.
“We are working closely with the Department of Parks and Recreation to ensure that each is explored,” he said.
Currently, hikers visiting the Mt. Woodson trail and Potato Chip Rock park their vehicles along the side of SR-67, which has fast-moving traffic, or on neighboring streets.
During planning for the parking lot, Ramona Community Planning Group members asked county officials if they have a way to encourage visitors to use the future parking lot.
Staff members have said that installing directional signs and “no parking” signs on Caltrans right-of-way property would be a good first step to do that.
And that could limit parking places for hikers like Schoepp in the sunset to sunrise hours.
Nate Soule, an avid cyclist who rides his bike at Mt. Woodson early on weekday mornings with friends Jon McKee and David Hamilton, said the early morning hours are popular with some hikers because the weather is cool. Some hikers and bicyclists like to trek Mt. Woodson before and after work, he added.
On typical weekday mornings the Ramona resident said he sees about five cars parked beside Mt. Woodson at 5 a.m. Then by 6:30 a.m. he sees about triple that number of parked cars. On weekends, it’s even more, said Soule, who has observed roughly 40 parked cars in the area before the sun rises.
“If you drive by at dusk on the weekends sometimes there’s dozens or scores of cars for people who go there after work or to see the sunset,” he said.
Limiting the hiking hours is not a good idea, he said, because hikers can get sunstroke in the middle of the day during the summer.
“This would be devastating for people like us who hike the hill regularly,” Soule said. “Our goal to is to come up with a solution or ideas on what we could do — a key card, pass or some sort of technology that would allow us to use the hill.”