Location: Riverside County, about 6 miles east-southeast of Idyllwild, 114 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Riverside County, Los Angeles and Vicinity

Forest Service: San Bernardino National Forest, San Jacinto Wilderness

USGS Topo: Idyllwild 7½, Palm View Peak 7½

HPS: Route(s), waypoints and explanation of usage

Nearby Peaks: Spitler Peak

Distance: 12 miles round trip on trail and a short, brushy cross-country segment

Gain: 2700'

Time: 6-7 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, moderate

Navigation: Easy

Original: Ham Barhydt, May 1977

Note: Apache Peak together with Spitler Peak by Route 1, Spitler Peak Trail, is 13 miles round trip and 3200' gain.

DRIVING ROUTE 1

• Take I-10 or SR 60 east to SR 79 in Beaumont. Exit right (south) on SR 79.
• Drive 6.5 miles south, where SR 79 heads left to Gilman Hot Springs. Do not exit here. Continue straight for 1.5 miles on Sanborn Avenue to Ramona Expressway. Turn left (east).
• Drive 8.5 miles east and then southeast on the Ramona Expressway, which acquires the name Mountain Avenue, until it ends at SR 74. Turn left (east).
• Drive 15 miles east on SR 74 to Mountain Center (junction with Idyllwild Highway - SR 243).
• Continue east on SR 74 for 3.5 miles to Apple Canyon Road (paved) on the left. Turn left.
• Pass the entrance to the Hurkey Creek Campground on the left and continue 2.6 miles to a large parking area on the right. Park here. This is the parking area for the Spitler Peak Trail.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• The Spitler Peak Trail, 3E22, begins at a square post at the north end of the parking area (4940').
• Hike 5 miles up the trail to where it meets the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) at Apache-Spitler Saddle (6980').
• Turn left (north) and follow the PCT 0.6 mile to a trail junction (7340') with a side trail to Apache Spring heading right.
• Leave the PCT on the left side at this junction, following a small gully northwest by the most convenient paths until reaching a high saddle (7460') between the two summits of Apache Peak.
• The register is located on the western, higher summit. Turn left at the high saddle and scramble through easy brush and rocks to the summit.

NOTE

Turning right at Apache-Spitler Saddle goes to Spitler Peak, which would add 1 mile and 500' of gain to the round trip.