Location: Riverside County, about 12 miles southeast of Idyllwild, 120 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Riverside County, San Jacinto Mountain Area

Forest Service: San Bernardino National Forest

USGS Topo: Butterfly Peak 7½

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

Nearby Peaks: Butterfly Peak

Distance: 4 miles round trip on road and cross-country

Gain: 720'

Time: 2-3 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, easy

Original: Warren E. von Pertz, August 1967

DRIVING ROUTE 1

• 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 east on SR 74 to Mountain Center (junction with Idyllwild Highway - SR 243).
• Continue east on SR 74 for 10.1 miles to Toolbox Springs Road on the left. Turn left. Note your odometer and go as follows:
• At 0.6 mile, fork. Go left on Butterfly Peak Road.
• At 0.8 mile, fork. Go right on Table Mountain Road.
• At 1.0 mile, a narrow dirt road on the right, marked "Private Property". All vehicles must park here along Table Mountain Road.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• From the parking area (4560'+), hike southeast on the private lane to a T-intersection in front of a house, about 150 yards.
• Turn left and hike along a fence. After about 1/8 mile, the road turns sharply right at a locked gate, and goes uphill.
• Keep right at a fork and continue on to another fork just southeast of Gold Hill (on topo), about 1 mile from the cars. This is the turnoff for Butterfly Peak.
• Take the right fork, follow the poor jeep road south about 3/4 mile to a clearing. (The last 1/2 mile of this road is a well-travelled footpath/horsetrail.)
• From here, the peak is visible to the south. There may be a stake in a rock cairn to mark the start of the route, with a second stake in about 50 yards. Also, at the start of the route on your right side (west) is a pile of wood boards.
• Head toward the summit along a shallow stream bed, looking for a ducked route that leads off to the left (east). Follow this route to the summit. It is not necessary to climb the large class 5 summit block. The register is below the summit block.