Temperatures generally above midsummer averages have been consistent since 4th July. A challenging heatwave is forecast starting Thursday 23rd July, with temperatures well above seasonal persisting for the remainder of the month. Overnight low temperatures in particular are expected to be 10-15°F above seasonal at mid elevations.
Hikers must be prepared for hot weather, even at higher elevations, from 23rd July into early August. Please give considerable extra thought to route choice, start time, clothing, sun protection, and hydration requirements (the latter especially if your planned route does not intersect with known water sources).
Monsoonal and/or tropical precipitation is tentatively forecast for the region on 23rd-24th July at least. Hikers should be prepared for the possibility of rapidly changing weather conditions in the high country in summer during tropical or monsoonal rains, the latter generally most prevalent in the afternoons. Thunderstorms with lightning, intense precipitation, and rapid temperature drops may occur in the high country even when such storms are not forecast for lower elevations.
At this time main springs and creeks largely continue to flow (many example photos below) and water availability is not generally a major issue for campers or hikers. Ephemeral sources are now all functionally dry, while “perennial” water sources are at low flow rates for the time of year. Key sources such as Wellman’s Cienega, the pipe in Round Valley, the Deer Springs and North Fork crossing of Deer Springs Trail, and the creek in Little Round Valley, are flowing, and are expected to continue to do so into August (at a minimum). Water is flowing reliably in Tahquitz Creek at PCT Mile 177 and again further downstream at the north end of Little Tahquitz Meadow (although it is dry between those two locations). Strawberry Cienega is damp but with no reliable water source from which to filter. Middle Spring on Devil’s Slide Trail continues to just trickle. On the Desert Divide, Live Oak, Cedar, and Apache springs are all flowing gently.
Be rattlesnake aware. 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 the unprecedented survival of our dog Anabel 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 as high as 9350 ft on Wellman Trail.
Be bear aware. Although rarely reported, up to six individually identifiable Black Bears have been observed in the San Jacinto mountains in the past decade, and I have personally seen at least one annually for the past seven years. Of these, one with an ear tag has been here since 2017 and was seen repeatedly in 2025 (see, for example, my video from 14th September 2025 linked here). Another individual was fitted with a satellite collar in April 2026, and in just one month ranged remarkably widely from 8500 ft on the north side of San Jacinto Peak south into the Santa Rosa Mountains (thank you to CDFW for this information). There have been no reports of negative interactions with humans in the high country, at or near wilderness campsites, or on trails.
Dark Canyon campground will not reopen this year due to staffing/budget issues, although Dark Canyon Road (the access to Seven Pines trailhead) has remained open all year.
Following superficial grading late in 2025, Black Mountain Road (4S01) is in better condition than last summer, but remains far rougher than in June 2020, the last time it was comprehensively graded. South Ridge Road is in poor condition (although not as bad as 2019) and generally requires a high clearance or AWD/4WD vehicle to reach the South Ridge trailhead at the top of the road.
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
Following relatively cool weather for the first couple of days of July, temperatures have been seasonal or above seasonal at all elevations since 4th. A notable heatwave is forecast starting Thursday 23rd July, with temperatures well above seasonal likely to persist into the first week of August. Overnight low temperatures are expected to be 10-15°F above seasonal at mid elevations for the last ten days of the month.
Monsoonal and/or tropical precipitation is tentatively forecast for the region on 23rd-24th July (at least). Light monsoonal rain on Monday 13th July generated 0.16 inch at San Jacinto Peak, 0.15 inch in Little Round Valley, an impressive (but highly localized) 0.35 inch at Wellman’s Cienega at 9300 ft, but only 0.06 inch in Idyllwild (at 5550 ft).
The air temperature of 64.6°F (18°C) recorded at San Jacinto Peak on Thursday 9th July was the warmest day recorded at that location in 2026 to date, and is tied for the sixth highest air temperature ever reliably recorded at the Peak.
At San Jacinto Peak (10,810 ft/3295 m) on Monday 20th July 2026 at 0820 the air temperature was 53.5°F (12°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 49.6°F (10°C), 78% relative humidity, and a light ENE breeze sustained at 3 mph gusting to 6.5 mph, under almost completely cloudy skies (with a cloud base near 11,500 ft).
At the Peak on Friday 17th July 2026 at 0800 the air temperature was 51.7°F (10°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 46.6°F (8°C), 72% relative humidity, and a steady SW wind sustained at 6 mph gusting to 9.1 mph.
At the Peak on Thursday 16th July 2026 at 0825 the air temperature was 63.8°F (18°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 55.1°F (12°C), 63% relative humidity, and an occasionally gusty SSW breeze sustained at 1 mph gusting to 12.2 mph.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
The Pacific Crest Trail and all high country trails were functionally clear of snow by late April.
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 clear of blowdowns from this past winter. Brush trimming work is scheduled on both the USFS and State Park sections of the trail in the last week of July.
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 perhaps 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 several hundred 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 is marked with cairns (and subtle flagging to aid USFS work crews) and 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.
East from Laws the old Caramba Trail is initially heavily obscured by blowdowns and thick regrowth, but the easternmost 1.5 miles closest to Caramba camp is often well marked with cairns placed by myself and others. Much of the old trail rock work is visible in places. The first mile east of Laws is currently marked largely along the former trail route with orange flagging (for use by USFS work crews), although it is not recommended to follow this in some areas as it goes directly through blowdowns and obstructive vegetation, not around them.
Work to rehabilitate the original Caramba Trail started in June this year – combining the Trail Report, other volunteers, and Forest Service employees – almost exactly 13 years after it burned in the Mountain Fire. Unsurprisingly it is proving to be a very slow process and it is possible that a couple of years of work may be required to fully rehabilitate the old trail route. Please do not remove, move, or (as described above) attempt to follow, flagging in this area which has been placed to guide USFS work crews.
The Trail Report “adopted” Seven Pines Trail as a priority for maintenance work due to a disproportionate number of lost hiker rescues (with the agencies evidently no longer maintaining the route). In the past seven years we have removed 101 downed trees and the trail is largely trimmed and cleared annually. Thankfully only two large blowdowns affected the trail this past winter, and both now have very easy workarounds. Although our work has restored this delightful trail to its best condition in well over 20 years, Seven Pines remains a genuine wilderness trail very unlike the wider, bare, obvious routes of, for example, Devil’s Slide or Marion Mountain trails. Cautious navigation remains invaluable for those without extensive experience of hiking this trail.
Spitler Peak Trail is clear of treefall hazards, despite having been decimated by about 65 new blowdowns in 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 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.
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