Location: Riverside County, about 6 miles 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: Palm View Peak 7½, Idyllwild 7½

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

Nearby Peaks: Apache Peak

Distance: 11 miles round trip on trail

Gain: 2500'

Time: 5-6 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, moderate

Navigation: Easy

Original: Ham Barhydt, May 1977

DRIVING ROUTE 2

• Take I-10 or SR 60 east to SR 79 in Beaumont.
• Take exit south to SR 79.
• Go south on SR 79 to the Ramona Expressway. Turn left (east).
• Go east and then southeast on the Ramona Expressway until it ends at SR 74. Turn left (east).
• Go 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 2

• 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 PCT at the Apache-Spitler saddle (6980').
• Turn right (south) and follow the trail as it starts around the northeast side of Spitler.
• About 25 yards past a short switchback, leave the trail and go up the slope to the ridge on your right (west).
• Then turn left (south) and follow the ridge up to the summit.

Note: Turn left (north) at the Apache-Spitler saddle to hike to Apache Peak. Combining the peaks will add 2 miles and 700' of gain to the round trip statistics.