California's Pacific Crest Trail
648 Miles
This section offers the best selection for short hiking trips. Overnight, weekend or weeklong backpacking trips can be planned without too much difficulty. All other sections tend to require weeklong trips.
The southern section is one of the warmest in the summer. Unless it was an unusually wet year, most of the available water on some parts of the trail begins to dry up by late spring.
Check with area personnel for advice on water availability as the conditions change from year to year.
Summer temperatures can hit triple digits along the lower elevations as you are in the desert. The higher elevations however, can be quite comfortable in the middle of summer.
The southern trailhead is about 50 miles East of San Diego off State Highway 94 near the small town of Campo. It starts at the elevation of 2,620 feet and heads north from here. Over the next 20 or so miles you will pass Morena Reservoir and go on to Interstate 8. That makes for a short overnight hike and a lot of fun.
The trail goes on from here over the Laguna Mountains and then descends into the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
This is the largest State Park in California and the second largest in the US. The park features wildflowers in the spring and summer, palm groves, cacti and beautiful views. You may have the chance to see roadrunner, golden eagles, kit foxes, mule deer and bighorn sheep. Also found in the park are iguanas and the red diamond rattlesnake.
As you continue on, you will enter the Cleveland National Forest and cross State highway 74. This could be either a terminus or starting point for you in either direction. Continuing north through the Cleveland forest, the elevation increases from 4,900 feet at Hwy 74 to about 9,000 feet in the San Jacinto Mountains.
The trail runs along the spine of the San Jacinto Mountains. It contains numerous species of flora and fauna that cannot tolerate the triple-digit heat of the surrounding valleys.
Since the dawn of Hollywood, film directors have commonly come out to shoot films around these mountains and the surrounding area.
From here it is downhill to the lowest point (1,190 feet) on the PCT as you cross under Interstate 10.
At the Interstate you are right between the cities of Banning and Palm Springs. The straight line distance from the Mexican border is about 90 miles. The trail naturally is much longer. This point is also great for a stop/start point as the access is easy.
While you are trudging through The hills and valleys, your support people can spend time in Palm Springs, visit the Morongo Indians Casino and Hotel as well as shop at Desert Hills which is right on the I10 within sight of the trail crossing. Both the casino/hotel and shopping center are quite visible as you descend down a steep hill via a switchback trail.
The next segment will take you from the lowest point in the state to near Big Bear Lake which is at 6,752 feet and Lake Arrowhead at 5,174 feet. The trail is a little above the lakes so you will be over the 7,000 foot mark at some point.
Big Bear is a resort town with good skiing in the winter and other recreation in the summer. Arrowhead is also a resort town and offers many aquatic activities like kayaking and water skiing. They nestle in the San Bernardino National Forest by State Highway 18.
There are Brown Bears in this area so guard your food at night and never, never snack in your tent. It is a great way to make friends with a 350 pound brown lump of fur with a big appetite. Dear are common and if you pay attention, you might catch sight of a Big Horn Sheep.
From this point in the mountains the trail descends again to Cajon Pass and it will cross Interstate 15 in the vicinity of the great San Andres Fault Zone. This is a major Interstate heading out of the Los Angeles Basin to the East going through Las Vegas, Nevada.
You will parallel the fault for a while heading up into the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest. As you descend once again you cross Highway 14 at Agua Dulce and head into the edge of the Mojave Desert where it will be rather dry for a while.
At Agua Dulce you will find a scenic area along with the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park. You will have seen these angular jutting rocks in many movies, some commercials and at least one episode of Star Trek that I can remember. You might even be able to do some bouldering while you are there.
From here you will be heading a little to the West now, crossing the San Andres Fault. The fault is 800 miles long and goes into the sea in the San Francisco Bay area. It is the boundary of two tectonic plates. On the West is the Pacific Plate which is trying to move north. To the east is the North American Plate.
The Tehachapi Mountains is the next section and near the end of the southern section. The range forms a barrier separating the San Joaquin Valley to the northwest and the Mojave Desert in the Great Basin to the southeast.
The Tehachapi Mountains, though not a long or high range as California ranges go, are regarded by many Californians as the dividing line that separates Northern California from Southern California.
At State Highway 58 begins the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This Southern section ends at Walker pass at State Highway 178. You are now at 5, 250 feet and on your way into Central California.
| Califonia PCT | ||
| Pacific Crest Trail Pt. 1 |