San Jacinto Wilderness

San Jacinto offers over 80 miles of hiking trails. The Pacific Crest Trail also crosses 36 miles of the wilderness. Here are few of the highlights. Go to the overview map to see these trail routes.

Day Hike - Marion Mountain - Mount San Jacinto

One way length: 5.6 miles
Low and high elevation: 6,560 to 10,804 feet
Difficulty: strenuous

This is the shortest and one of the steepest ways to the top of Mount San Jacinto. The trailhead lies at Marion Mountain Campground. To reach it, take Highway 243 to Idyllwild from I10 in Banning Pass. At the Alandale Ranger Station, turn east by Stone Creek Campground and go another 3.0 miles to the Marion Mountain Campground. The first part of the trail steeply climbs a forested ridge to its junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. Follow the Pacific Crest Trail about 1.0 mile to the Deer Springs Trail, which takes you to the summit via Little Round Valley Camp —a good overnight site for those who want to make this more than a day hike.

Day Hike - Spitler Peak Trail - Desert Divide

One way length: 5 miles
Low and high elevation: 5,000 to 7,200 feet
Difficulty: moderate

The Spitler Peak Trail accesses the rarely visited southern end of the San Jacinto Wilderness and provides great views of the Mojave Desert from the Desert Divide. To reach the trailhead, find your way to Idyllwild and proceed south on Highway 243 to the intersection with Highway 74. Turn south on Highway 74 to Apple Canyon Road, where you'll turn east (left) and reach the signed trailhead parking in less than 2.0 miles. The hike starts in oak woodland and chaparral, then climbs higher to Jeffrey pine and Coulter pine forest. The trail steepens the last 1.0 mile before the divide, climbing rapidly by switchback to the Pacific Crest Trail, which follows the rocky ridgeline north and south. The views are good from boulders that dot the divide.

Day Hike - South Ridge Trail - Tahquitz Peak

One way length: 3.6 miles
Low and high elevation: 6,400 to 8,846 feet
Difficulty: moderate

The granite dome of Tahquitz Peak, the site of a fire lookout, offers a variety of views: the rocky spine of the San Jacinto Range running south toward the Santa Rosa Range, and those west into the Los Angeles Basin, sometimes visible through the smog. The shortest route to the peak is via the South Ridge Trail. To access its trailhead, drive south of Idyllwild and take Saunders Meadow Road. When you reach Pine Avenue, turn left, then right on Tahquitz Drive. As the name implies, this trail basically follows a ridge up to the granite summit of Tahquitz Peak.