Mt San Jacinto State Park is only 2 hours from either Los Angeles or San Diego. The entrance is located just outside of the town of Idyllwild, CA. There are two drive-in campgrounds located near this town. The California State Park System claims that these campgrounds will only accommodate RVs that are 25 feet or less in length. Mt San Jacinto Park is made up of magnificent granite peaks with fern bordered meadows breaking up sub-alpine forests. This is a great place to view a scenic high country wilderness area. The temperature up here can be at least 30 degrees cooler than the hot Los Angeles basins in mid summer. Mount San Jacinto is 10,834 feet tall. This is the second largest mountain in Southern California. The tallest mountain is Mt San Gorgonio (Old Greyback) ... it has a weathered summit of 11,499 feet above sea level. Old Greyback can stand out. I have seen it from as far away as the San Fernando Valley just North of L.A. (That's like 122 miles!) Needless to say, it was one of those clear days that Los Angeles gets just after a good (but rare) rain... blue skies and white puffy clouds. You can also find the 2,650 mile long Pacific Trail running through Mt San Jacinto State Park. The Pacific Trail is considered to be the crown jewel in America's scenic trails system... it covers our three western coastal states between Mexico and Canada.
The Pacific Trail also passes through four other California State Parks... Castle Crags, McArther-Burney Falls, Silverwood Lake, and Anza Borrego Desert State Parks. There is access to the Palm Springs area via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Actually, if you are not wanting to camp in the Idyllwild area, this is a great way to get to the top of Mt San Jacinto.
From Chino Canyon near Palm Springs, take the tram up to the top and use the Round Valley Trail. This is an 11 mile in/out hike that will take you approximately 6 hours to complete... but the views of the desert floor are spectacular. If, however, you want to stretch your legs... there is the Cactus to Clouds Trail that has a 10,400 feet of elevation gain. This is something I would have tried... 30 years ago! At the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tram right next to the San Jacinto State Park is the Long Valley Ranger Station. This is a picnic area with barbecue stoves and restrooms. You will also find a ski center and a self guiding nature trail. We were here in February, and there was too much snow to do any hiking. But the view from the tram was spectacular. Oh, yeah... the tram does close in August for repairs. Return To Top Of Page
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