Trail update 18th May 2026

The brief passage of weak low pressure across Southern California in mid May produced pleasantly cool, spring-like conditions on 16th-18th May, but with no significant accompanying precipitation above 5000 ft. Temperatures return to near (or even slightly above) seasonal starting Tuesday 19th May, and are forecast to remain broadly stable for the remainder of May.

High country trails, including the PCT, were clear of snow by the end of April. No traction devices have been required anywhere on the trail system in the San Jacinto mountains since late April.

At this time main springs and creeks are flowing and water availability is not a significant issue for campers or long distance hikers. It is disconcerting however to see all ephemeral and many “perennial” water sources already at low flow rates, and the four very minor precipitation events in April-May did nothing to improve the medium- and long-term water conditions.

The fire lookout at Tahquitz Peak reopened for the season on Sunday 17th May and Black Mountain fire lookout reopens on Saturday 23rd May. Note that the steps and railings at Tahquitz Peak lookout are in urgent need of major repair work, and should not be considered safe at this time.

Forest Service campgrounds at Boulder Basin, Marion Mountain, and Fern Basin reopen by Thursday 21st May. There is no scheduled reopening date for Dark Canyon campground at this time, although Dark Canyon Road (the access to Seven Pines trailhead) has remained open all winter. The State Park Stone Creek campground reopened in early May.

The gate 1.7 miles up from Highway 243 on Black Mountain Road (4S01) is scheduled to reopen on or around Wednesday 20th May. Following superficial grading late in 2025 the road is in better condition than last summer, but remains far rougher than in June 2020, the last time it was comprehensively graded. Picnic benches at many of the yellow post sites were replaced with new, immovable models in March.

Be rattlesnake aware. This year rattlesnakes became active 1-2 months earlier than normal at both mid and upper elevations. Above about 5000 ft elevation, the venom of Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus helleri) in the San Jacinto mountains is predominantly neurotoxic, almost always fatal for dogs and sometimes for humans (see my long read article linked here for further information describing our dogs’ survival after a July 2020 neurotoxic bite). Devil’s Slide Trail, lower Deer Springs and lower Marion Mountain trails, Suicide Rock, near Strawberry Cienega, and trails around Tahquitz Peak are frequent higher elevation locations for sightings, but rattlesnakes have been recorded up to 9350 ft.

Be bear aware. Although rarely reported, 5-6 individually identifiable Black Bears have been observed in the San Jacinto mountains since 2017, and I have personally seen at least one annually for the past seven years. One large, dark chestnut-colored adult with a right ear tag was seen at least six times in multiple locations in Fern Valley and the Willow Creek drainage in July-September 2025 (see my video from 14th September available here, and images from late August in a prior Report linked here). This individual was apparently relocated to the San Jacintos from Indio in May 2017. A smaller, much younger individual was humanely trapped at the State Park Stone Creek campground in April 2026 (prior to opening for the season), fitted with a satellite collar plus colored tags in both ears, and released elsewhere in the San Jacinto mountains. My brief videos from Devil’s Slide Trail in September 2021 (linked here) and one walking through our property in Idyllwild in 2018 (linked here) show two other individuals. There have been no reports of negative interactions with humans in the high country, at or near campsites, or on trails.

Daily survey hikes by the Trail Report year-round in the San Jacinto mountains include multiple routes to the highest peaks including San Jacinto Peak typically 2-3 times per week (but almost daily during and following storm conditions), Tahquitz Peak and area at least once per week, plus a wide variety of other trails on intervening days.

WEATHER

High pressure returned to the region by the second week of May, with temperatures consequently rising rapidly to above seasonal, and were far above seasonal for May on 10th-12th, before dropping markedly on 16th-18th as low pressure again briefly impacted Southern California. Temperatures are now forecast to rise and stabilize roughly around seasonal for the remainder of May under a moderate ridge of high pressure. There is, predictably, no significant precipitation in the forecasts.

Barring a highly improbable and very late snow, winter 2025/26 will set a new low record for total snowfall for San Jacinto Peak, at a paltry 62.75 inches. Most regrettably, this breaks the prior record of 72.60 inches set just the previous winter 2024/25. For reference, average annual snowfall at San Jacinto Peak in the past eight winters has now been 104 inches. Average annual snowfall in Long Valley (at 8500 ft) was 119 inches in the 1970s (data for 1969-1980), at which time snowfall at San Jacinto Peak was likely 180-200 inches annually (sadly insufficient definitive data exist).

At San Jacinto Peak (10,810 ft/3295 m) on Monday 18th May 2026 at 0820 the air temperature was 33.2°F (1°C), with a windchill temperature of 23.5°F (-5°C), 47% relative humidity, and a light WSW wind sustained at 3 mph gusting to 7.6 mph.

At the Peak on Thursday 14th May 2026 at 1730 the air temperature was 49.2°F (10°C), with a windchill temperature of 41.9°F (5°C), 41% relative humidity, and a light NNE wind sustained at 4 mph gusting to 9.1 mph.

TRAIL CONDITIONS

The Pacific Crest Trail and all major high country trails are clear of snow. This includes the often-treacherous 0.4 mile section of South Ridge Trail from Chinquapin Flat to Tahquitz Peak which is completely clear of snow and ice.

The East Ridge Trail [surveyed 18th May] route from near Miller Peak to San Jacinto Peak, traditionally the last of the established trails to clear of snow, is now functionally clear, with just four tiny icy snow drifts persisting from February.

Deer Springs Trail from the trailhead to Little Round Valley has already been cleared of the handful of blowdowns from this past winter by the Trail Report.

Trail maintenance work by USFS and State Park volunteers this spring has Willow Creek Trail almost clear of blowdowns from this past winter. The final four trees remaining on the State Park side are expected to be removed this week.

Spitler Peak Trail is clear of treefall hazards, despite having been decimated by about 65 new blowdowns in strong winds that accompanied mid February storms. In February-March the Trail Report cut almost all of these, bringing to 235 the number of trees we have removed from this trail in the past seven years. The remaining four large cedars were removed by Forest Service at the end of March.

The Caramba Trail from near Reeds Meadow through Laws Camp and on to Caramba, and the Cedar Trail from Willow Creek Trail to Laws, are euphemistically (and arguably dangerously) described by the Forest Service as “not maintained”. In reality both trails have been abandoned for more than a decade and no longer exist. They are so heavily overgrown, largely with dense whitethorn which obscures dozens of downed trees, that hikers should not attempt to follow them (regardless of how much you may trust any particular app).

An informal use trail to Laws is much more direct, generally well maintained, and avoids the bushwhacking of the abandoned trails (some local Idyllwild hikers dubbed it the “King Trail” when I established the route in 2019). It leaves Willow Creek Trail exactly 1.0 mile from Saddle Junction, 0.46 mile from the Skunk Cabbage turning (trailhead at N 33.7796, W 116.6590). The route descends following former deer trails for 1.2 miles, meeting Willow Creek about 0.15 mile upstream from the site of the historic Laws Camp (the remains of which were destroyed by the 2013 Mountain Fire and subsequent flood and treefall damage). Blowdowns from this winter have already been removed by the Trail Report, and the huge pine tree that fell in late 2024 was kindly removed by Forest Service volunteers in May 2026. There is some optimism that work to rehabilitate the Caramba Trail may start in 2026, so if you see any flagging in this area please leave it in place.

The San Jacinto Trail Report celebrates ten years of operation in 2026. The Report has helped tens of thousands of hikers, and saved multiple lives, both directly and indirectly. Since the Report became established online, snow/ice rescues in the San Jacinto Mountains have dropped 82%, with an additional benefit of saving Riverside County hundreds of thousands of dollars. While all time is volunteered, the Report uses small private donations to help cover operating costs. Donations keep the Report available to all, free from advertising or paywalls, and independent from agencies. If you have found this Report useful, please consider using this link to the Donate page. Thank you very much for your support.