Sycamore Canyon

Atlas Missile and Engine Test Facilities

The Sycamore Canyon Test Facility is a historic rocket and weapons testing site located east of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in the Scripps Ranch area of northern San Diego, California, approximately 17 miles north of downtown. It was established on the U.S. Navy's former Camp Elliott in the mid-to-late 1950's, primarily for liquid oxygen/rocket propellant (LOX/RP-1) engine testing by Rocketdyne, supporting programs like the General Dynamics/Astronautics SM-65 Atlas Missile System. The site featured two test stands, multiple bunkers and other infrastructure for field-testing rockets, rocket engines and weapons systems.