San Bernardino Peak

San Bernardino Peak Trail

Mount San Bernardino, together with its twin peak, Mount San Gorgonio, just five miles away and 900 feet higher, anchors the eastern end of the San Bernardino Mountains. At 11,499 feet, Mount San Gorgonio is the peak by which all other Southern California peaks are measured. Mount San Bernardino, too, is quite a landmark.

In 1852, Colonel Henry Washington and his Army survey party were directed to erect a monument atop Mount San Bernardino. The monument was to be an east-west reference point from which all future surveys of Southern California would be taken.

The colonel's crew took many readings, but heat waves from the San Bernardino Valley below befuddled their triangulations. The surveying party ingeniously solved this dilemma by lighting bonfires atop the peak in order to make their calculations at night.

This trail takes you from deep pine forest to exposed manzanita slopes and visits the old survey monument. The higher slopes of Mount San Bernardino are beautiful and rugged subalpine terrain. A number of trail camps along the way offer spring water and rest. You won't forget this hike for a long time.

High elevation, coupled with a steep ascent, means this trail is best left to experienced hikers in top form. Beyond Columbine Spring the trail becomes very steep.

Camp Angelus trailhead is less visited than others at the edge of the San Gorgonio Wilderness, but it receives a lot of use, especially during summer weekends.

^ top

The hike: The trail begins ascending through a mixed forest of pine, fir and oak, switchbacking up the beautifully wooded slope. You mount a ridge, walk along its crest for a brief distance, then continue climbing. You're welcomed into the glories of the San Gorgonio Wilderness by a wooden sign, two miles from the trailhead. A little beyond the wilderness boundary, the grade grows less severe. As you climb above 8,000 feet, the Jeffrey pine become widely spaced. Shortly, the trail penetrates a manzanita-covered slope. You pass a side trail leading down to Manzanita Springs. Don't drink the water. The side trail continues on 0.25 mile to Columbine Springs Trail Camp, which usually has water later in the season than Manzanita.

^ top

To San Bernardino Peak: A short distance beyond Manzanita Springs Trail Junction, the trail begins climbing more earnestly. The trail ascends in fits and starts over slopes covered with manzanita and homely chinquapin; in 1.5 more miles, it reaches Limber Pine Springs Camp. (Actually, all the shade in the area is provided by lodgepole pines.) Another quarter-mile up the trail is Limber Pine Springs, usually a dependable source of water.

The trail begins a long traverse south, switchbacking up to Camp Washington, a trail camp with plenty of view, but nothing to drink. One hundred yards from the trail is Colonel Washington's baseline monument, which looks like little more than a pile of stone rubble. The trail climbs another half-mile, where it intersects a brief side trail that takes you to the summit of Mount San Bernardino (10,624 feet).

Sign the summit register, enjoy the view, and return the way you came.

^ top