Entry No. 25 — the San Diego file — filed under: observatory

Mount Laguna Observatory

San Diego State University's research observatory sits at 6,100 feet in the Laguna Mountains, 45 miles east of downtown, running three research telescopes (including one of only two EvryScopes in the world) alongside a public-facing 21-inch "Buller" telescope that grad students use to show visitors the sky during SDSU's Summer Visitors Program.

The move: Drive out for a summer visitor night, wait for the Buller dome to crank open, and let an astronomy grad student aim it at Saturn while the Cleveland National Forest goes properly black around you.

📍 Mount Laguna / Cleveland National Forest
💸 $
⚡ Low-key
🌗 Outdoors

Where: Sunrise Highway (S-1), Mount Laguna, CA 91948

Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.

#observatory #telescope #night sky #research station #day trip

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: astronomy.sdsu.edu · Wikipedia

last checked: 2026-07-19