Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

So, I'm thinking about hiking to Sugarloaf Mtn this coming Saturday. What's open on Hwy 38? Can I park at Onyx Summit? Wildhorse trailhead on Hwy 38? On the north side of the mountain, is Wildhorse Road open? (and is Wildhorse Road passable to a standard sedan?) See map for locations.

HJ

I went up the day they opened the 38 and there was no limitation to access north of the 38. It was actually kinda odd in that from the 38 you could see there was zero damage directly visible except for that way back on the higher elevations. Nothing near the highway had any damage at all. Wildhorse and Sugarloaf were completely open for business. By the time you go up they may even have Jenks Lake Loop open. When I went up there was no significant traffic and the news story has all but disappeared so it'll probably re-open soon. If so, I'd love to hear some good news about how the wilderness actually fared!

z

And no parking restrictions posted along Hwy 38? I'm considering parking at the old Wildhorse trailhead and going straight up the drainage to the ridge and then cutting west along the ridge to Green Mtn and Sugarloaf Mtn. If I feel ambitious, I may try for the Sugarcube too (the little peak to the west of the Sugarloaf).

HJ

I actually parked at the Wildhorse trailhead and went along the trail a bit. I had thought about going up quite a way but it was very smokey and seemed like it was too soon to hike it enjoyably. If it was open a week ago Saturday, I'd bet it's totally open now. And it felt good to see that part of the mountains was untouched. Have fun. If you wanna drop by my work in Redlands on your way and borrow my super zoom for pics from Wildhorse, you're more than welcome to it. Actually, if you're passing by during business hours we could maybe grab some lunch together. LMK.

z

At this point, I'd be heading up early Saturday morning and coming back late Saturday afternoon/evening. I'm not known to be a particularly fast hiker.

HJ

Well, scratch that -- for now. Some friends of mine are going backpacking over by Mt. Wilson, and they've invited me along.

HJ