Best Trails in Mount San Jacinto State Park

Amazing hike! Parked at Museum. The security guy stopped by and told us to park under the light so our car would be seen by the cameras. Slept couple of hours in the car before starting at 1:30am, definitely recommend to start as early as possible to go through the non shaded, hot area. Walking in the dark is fun and awesome views of the city by night. Sunrise midway to the tram to finish with daylight the steepest part. Take your time and with cadence it works. It took us 7h to reach the tram. Break and power nap, water refill and got our permits (free and mandatory). Started the second section, was hard at the beginning to warm up our tired legs again, trail was easy though, gradual and super busy (not so fun.....). It took us about 2.5h to reach the top, light snow there, no need for any gears, just a big patch on top. Views are amazing, only downside is the crowd, very busy.... Took another powernap before going down, took the tram and a Lyft back to our car before. All in all, 15h out there, truly great hike, amazing views and so green! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Loved this trail. A little hard to follow the right path sometimes but just keep your phone handy. Currently patches of snow near the top but definitely doable without crampons. Poles were useful. You can climb up rocks to the summit or can walk up or slide down a long patch of snow.

One of my favorite places to hike.Gorgeous view,great cardio,fresh air!

Trail is well laid out. A few loose rocks but you do not need hiking boots as normal sneakers worked fine. snow was minimal in small shady spots and avoided to the top. the top has the most scenic and beautiful views. Took 5 of us 3 hrs up and 2 hrs down.

Hiked the Marion Mtn trail on Saturday, June 22, 2019. The trail itself is snow-free, with some patches off-trail here and there at higher elevations, and some avoidable snow on the boulders near the summit. Started the hike from the trailhead below the Marion Mtn campground, and my GPS recorded a little over 6 miles to the summit. It's a beautiful trail but rough in places with rocks and roots. There was flowing water at most of the stream crossings along the route, so if you're planning to hike this trail in the very near future you can refill water along the way. Weather was great, wore shorts and a linen button down shirt the whole way. The temperature was low 70s when I returned to the trailhead mid-afternoon.

Hiked this trail today, 6/22/19. Trail was clear for the entire way until the very top. There was a little bit of snow but was easily able to hike around it. No need for spikes.

Doing this hike starting this Saturday (really Sunday morning) night 6/22 at around 12:30am... my originalyhiking partner has been injured and can't go. Looking for some company. Please e-mail Kirawiss1@aol.com if anyone is interested!!

This is an absolutely beautiful hike, and we got extra lucky today since it was sunny and only 62°. I felt like I was hiking in the Sierra Nevada’s, gorgeous boulders and huge pines. There is even a small river for the first half of the hike. There’s a little bit of snow towards the top, but we were able to summit the mountain with a little bit of boulder scrambling through the snow. We started from the tram, it was 12 miles round-trip, and it took us about seven hours with plenty of time for breaks and snacks. If you’ve never taken the Palm Springs Tram, it is a must do!

Very nice trail. Enjoyed the tram and the hike to the top. Left on tram at 10 and got back at 4. Some snow right before the summit but very manageable without poles or microspikes.

Great Hike, the peak has a bit of snow to reach in the end, grade is not that steep and distance is sort long. Overall, not a bad hike, a bit off from expectations

Great Hike! 4 hours up, 2 hours back down. The prettiest hike i experienced in Southern California.

Excellent conditions. Got on the tram at 8:15am and finished before 3:00pm. Temperatures were in the low 60s for the whole hike. Small snow banks are still up there and it’s a couple feet deep for the last couple hundred feet. Spikes not needed, but poles recommended. There is water along the hike that needs to be filtered, if not, bring 2.5L-3L.

Started at 8am from Stone Creek Campground, walked 2mi to trailhead. Trail maintained well and along the way several creeks. I had one hiking pole so very helpful on those steep parts. Summited at 11:30am. There was some snow on the rocks at the top so making scrambling a bit challenging the last 5min. Took pics, had some snacks and went down at 11:45am. Ran mostly down with my trail running shoes. Arrived at trailhead at 2pm. Total 14 miles, 3.5hrs up, 2.5hrs down. This was June 15 and was warm, I had shorts and tank top on, 4.5 liters of water. Overall great hike, I highly recommend it.

This trail is extremely fun but also insanely difficult. if you have not done anything like this before or are not an experienced hiker, this is a very dangerous and stupid idea. It took me 11 hours to do it with one of my friends and I'm 17 and a mountain bicyclist. Don't mess around, and get to the higher elevations as fast as possible. It truly is an amazing hike, and it's really incredible to see the terrain change through 5 different ecosystems throughout the hike. I will say that the last 2.5 miles on the skyline trail right before the tram is INSANELY steep, and you have to be prepared to spend over 2 hours or probably more on the last 2.5 to the tram station. Overall, it's ridiculously fun, but if you are going to do it in summer you have to start super early, like between 12-4 am, depending on how fast you are. But amazing and super fun! There is absolutely no shade until about mile 8, and even then, shade can be spotty. I would recommend stopping at least 30 minutes at the tram station to eat and recover before heading up the last 5.5 miles to the summit from there. Once you get to the tram, the hardest part is over, and the trail is much more gradual from the station to the summit than the skyline trail.

Another great hike! Very limited snow. Easy to do in tennis shoes or boots. No spikes or poles needed. Views are incredible as usual!!

we did this hike june24. mid summer in shorts and no shirt my girlfriend loved it... last year 2018. we are doing it again on june17 2019 we did it starting in idywild walking to the tram it took 7 hours what a great place nice walking trail then we rode the tram

6/8/19: Hiked from tram to summit. Live around sea level, and left tram around 10:15 and got to the summit around 2:45, back to tram by 6:00pm. Beautiful hike, not too difficult with regard to elevation. Some trouble here and there staying on trail due to intermittent snow pack. This was worst between Round Valley and Wellman’s Divide. Not too bad after the Divide, but the last 100 or so feet of elevation gain is tough as it is covered in snow pack and is quite slushy and slippery after the sun is out. Brought my spikes, didn’t use them, but would have helped on that final push. Amazing view at the top and could see all the way to the Salton Sea and Joshua Tree.

Perfect to get away from the desert area heat. We took the 8am tram on a Sunday to get permits to Hidden Lake. I believe only 20 permits are given out and only on weekends. Worth it!!

Only slightly disconcerting aspect is the quantity of snow still at the summit, making the last 300' pretty slippery for those without poles. But should be gone in a week. There still are snowdrifts that obscured the trail at shady spots in the forest that may stick around well into June. Although we saw many carrying mini-spikes on the sides of their packs, nobody was wearing them, even in the slippery snow at the summit.

Hiked to the peak on 6/8/19. Portions of trail were difficult to find due to snow coverage. Did not have special equipment and made it to the peak in trail runners. Hiking poles were helpful. Used All Trails GPS to stay on trail. Very rocky and slushy snow. Spectacular view from the peak. Arrived at 0745 am and got on 830 tram. No reservation. Temperature was around 70 degrees. Beautiful shorts and tee shirt weather.

Nice fun hike.

Started at midnight to catch cooler Temp. Used a solid headlight and encountered a baby rattlesnake rescue box 2 and a scorpion at mile 1. Went with my same friend from last year and we preferred more night time to peak earlier and not see some of the horrid inclines. Snow still on the peak but we didn’t use our tools, not needed.Over growth is burning off on desert floor but many cut logs in round valley caused obstacles.

Exhausting, beat the heat and start early.

What a great hike! Challenging but beautiful. We started at 8am and made it up around 12:45pm and back to the MM Campground by 5pm. Still some big patches of snow. I only used my microspikes because I brought them on the way down from the summit for about 50 ft. There is some thick sharp brush so I wouldn't wear shorts. Also trail is not clear so GPS of some sort is a good idea.

Super tough! For me at least... Beautiful trail, beautiful views. I got lost a few times so I would recommend some type of GPS source. Microspikes needed for the last .2 miles

Beautiful and difficult trail. Snow obstructs some portions of the trail and had to navigate through the snow. Met some wonderful people on the trail. Highly recommend. The view from the top is breathtaking.

Start at 4am to hike. This is one of the most Beautiful hikes I've ever done!. thrails are petfect. Some Areas are very steep, but its okay. i definitely recommend Mt. San Jacinto the best Mountain to hike. i give it a 5 Star.