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 Reporter |
Summary: This is a pretty straightforward trail through oak, chinnapquin, chapparal, and eventually a pine forest. You get lovely views all along the trail, and some of the boulders along the way are fascinating. At the top is a fire lookout manned by some friendly people from May-November. You can walk around it to see in every direction. The route starts with some switchbacking, then flattens out for a bit, and for the last mile, the switchbacks are pretty steep, but that's the best part, right? If it seems short - that is because it is. It is only 6 miles round trip up and back. Trailhead: Head south on the 243 from Idyllwild, turn left on Saunders Meadow Road. Turn north onto Pine Avenue (you can only turn north) then turn right onto Tahquitz View Drive, follow it until you see a sign for South Ridge Road. It isn't really a sign for the road, but it lists the trail as an option on the sign. Turn right and follow it to it's completion. The trail begins it's steady climb from here. Be courteous with parking on the weekends, this trail gets a lot of use. (Lat:33.75527 Lon:-116.67707) Trail Guides for Tahquitz Peak - South Ridge Trail: San Bernardino Mountain Trails - 100 Hikes in Southern California by John W. Robinson (Wilderness Press) Day Hikers Guide to Southern California by John McKinney (Olympus Press) California Hiking by Tom Sinestra and Ann Marie Brown (Avalon Travel) Best Seasons: Year-Round User Groups: Hikers, Dogs, Ranger Contact: San Jacinto Wilderness (909) 659-2117 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Allen Riedel, who has posted 123 other hikes on this site. To visit this reporters web site, click here. Trail Reviews Page 1 of 6 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by 83 is the new38 on 2/6/2012 Feb 5 SuperBowl Sunday ran into 5 people. South Ridge trail get sun exposure. has small iced patches. passable on the margins. Tower closed for winter although sign posted HIGH fire danger. Heard that Devil's slide trail was frozen must use crampons. 28F Ranger station 630am. The 1.5 mile drive up to the trail head is all torn up with ruts, soft sand and mud. high clearance 4x4 only, crossover sedans will be stuck and bottom out. Ranger said last week 3 cars were stranded. Weather was switching quickly from overheating warm in the sun to icy cold bone chilling. regulated body temp with zippers and polyester layers instead of cotton.
Reviewed by 83 is the new38 on 10/4/2011 we did a grand loop in the fern valley, chinaquin, and up to Tahq peak, then back to the saddle and down to devil slide humber park. about 11 miles. weather forecast was for thunderstorms, but the forecast was wrong, had great weather and the whole mountain almost to ourselves. ran into 10 people max on the trail. of course the tahq tower had a lot of peeps. great adventure. Ranger on the trail asked for the permit. 
Reviewed by CDO on 5/20/2011 Did this one on 5/14. Weather was much warmer than expected so the occasional blasts of cool breeze were a welcome delight. Large rattlesnake about a mile or so from the trailhead, under a rock, just off the trail. It was gone when we returned a few hours later. Not a lot of views compared to what you get in the San Gabes, but the ones you get are really good. Not a difficult trek, but not especially easy for a 55 year old with too much gear (we'd expected much cooler weather). Summit is a great place to hang for a while, in the tower or on a rock slab. Road to trailhead is horrible, no problem for my Jeep but without clearance you'll park further away and tack on mileage to your hike. All in all, I prefer more views and fewer rattlers.
Reviewed by Dear Mr Riedel on 5/6/2011 We love your books and adventures, but please consider that the mileage is at least 4 miles from the trailhead, which takes an extra mile to reach because the dirt road is inaccessible when the gate is closed in winter or when the ruts are deep for some trucks. That can make it a 10 miles round trip. Also due to the elevation gain, most people are not jogging uphill for those 4 or 5 miles. Realistically uphill 1 to 2 miles per hour. This is a beautiful place to stop and enjoy, not a marathon to complete as fast as possible. Again, we love your work and encourage everyone to buy your books on hiking in social and with dogs.
Reviewed by Dear Mr Riedel on 5/3/2011 Error: Reserved Word Found: update
Reviewed by RodneyOnDaRock on 5/2/2011 Sunday May 1, 2011, solo, since my hiking buddy, is a married wuss and restricted on his outings. Gate on South Ridge trail was just opened, but drive up trail to dirt parking lot was worse than ever seem it, deep trenches muddy and sandy ruts. Need high clearance and 4x4. I drove up half way and walked the extra mile to the trail head. Only saw 10 people. beautiful windy day. Lookout tower was still closed for winter. the hiking trail was in excellent condition. Forest service doing "prescribed fires" was neat to watch safe fire smoke from the tower. so peaceful with birds and squirrels. Window Rock, and the Moon surface rock area always a favorite. It was a little windy, that helped cool me off. views of snow covered San G, Mt B, San Jac
Reviewed by Tarzan on 11/13/2010 Hiked 11/13/10 Done this hike a few times and it's always a favorite. The last mile is no joke! The dirt road to the parking lot is in poor condition in a few spots. 7.2 miles from the trail head per the garmin, a little over 3 hrs. For a longer loop hike I'd sugest Humber Park/Devil Slide, pct, Tahquitz peak, down Sourh Ridge, down the dirt road, connect to Ernie Maxwell back up to Humber for a total of 12-13 miles. 
Reviewed by Karl on 11/12/2010 My wife and I took this hike yesterday. It was cold and windy, but that helped keep us cool while hiking up hill. Beautiful views all along the trail and at the peak. We are not super hikers or anything but we made the 7.4 mile( I used 2 different gps loggers and 1 got 6.9 miles the other 7.8) hike in 4 hours 20 minutes. The last 8tenths of a mile has a 1000' elevation gain so be prepared. We took plenty of breaks and took lots of pictures on way up. The trail head is at Lat33.73543549 lon-116.69617566. As others have said the road requires a truck or 4 wheel drive to get to trail head. I personally would consider this hike strenuous, especially the last mile. But well worth the effort. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: California Hiking, California Trails, California Hikes, Riverside County Hiking, Riverside County Trails, Riverside County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
