Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness
Mt. San Jacinto State Park · near Idyllwild / Palm Springs · California Desert
Hiking · Mountaineering
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 16 miles
- Elevation gain
- 2,600 ft
- Time needed
- overnight · multi-day
- Best season
- June–October
- Grade
- nontechnical
- Elevation
- 10834
- Best season
- May–October as a hike; winter for a snow ascent
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Mt. San Jacinto State Park wilderness permit ($5/person for overnight, designated campsites), reservable up to 8 weeks ahead by mail or in person at Idyllwild. State and federal permits honor each other. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway offers a dramatic high-elevation start.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Second-highest peak in SoCal (10,834 ft) · Ride the tram to the trailhead · Round Valley & Little Round Valley camps · John Muir called the view unmatched
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Palm Springs Aerial Tram or Idyllwild trailheads · Free wilderness permit required · State park & national forest lands · John Muir called the view unmatched
- Best for
- A desert-island alpine summit above Palm Springs
- Features
- Towers over Palm Springs · Reached easily via the Aerial Tram · Boulder-pile granite summit · Legendary 10,000-ft north escarpment
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Hazards
- Winter snow & ice on the upper mountain — real skills needed · Altitude gained fast via the Tram · Afternoon storms; exposed granite summit · Fire and seasonal closures possible — check status
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 1–2
- Resupply
- None needed. No bear canister required; store food from critters. Water at designated camps is seasonal.
- Intl tip
- Starting from the tram is the easy, scenic way in, but purists climb the Cactus-to-Clouds route from the desert floor (one of the biggest single-day elevation gains in the country) — that's an extreme undertaking, not a casual overnight. For a mellow trip, take the tram both ways and camp at Round Valley. Water at the camps is seasonal; confirm before you go.
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- scrambling
- Style
- walk-up
- Altitude
- 1
- Route notes
- A granite alpine island rising straight out of the desert — a non-technical class-1/2 walk-up to a boulder-strewn summit (easiest from the Palm Springs Tram), while its north face plunges over 10,000 feet to the desert floor in one of the great escarpments on Earth
- Beta note
- ~10,834 ft; Class 1–2 walk-up (Tram or Idyllwild); winter snow ascent possible; permit required
- Intl tip
- An alpine island in the sky — a pine-clad granite summit rising straight from the Sonoran Desert, its north face dropping over 10,000 ft to the floor near Palm Springs in one of Earth's most abrupt escarpments. Refreshingly non-technical: from the Palm Springs Aerial Tram you can walk to the boulder summit at class 1–2, or earn it the long way from Idyllwild. Muir reputedly called the view one of the most sublime on Earth. Winter brings a modest snow ascent. Free permit required; check for closures.
- Directions note
- Fastest access via the tram to Long Valley; hikers' alternative is Marion Mountain trailhead near Idyllwild
The guide
Mount San Jacinto rises over 10,000 feet almost straight up from the desert floor at Palm Springs — one of the most dramatic es…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.8145, -116.679