Region
Highlights
- Highest peak in southern California and the 7th most prominent in the contiguous US (8,294 ft prominence).
- Only mountain in Southern California with a summit a significant distance above the tree line
- Longest recorded line of sight in the contiguous United States; it is plainly visible from the summit of Mount Whitney, 190 miles away
- Several trails lead to the broad summit of San Gorgonio Mountain. Most routes require well over 4,000 ft of elevation gain.
- San Gorgonio is the highest point in San Bernardino County.
Routes
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117 summits • 19.9 mi • 5,320 ft gain • 9 hr 30 min
2 summits • 21.0 mi • 4,410 ft gain • 13 hr 42 min
1 summit • 15.9 mi • 4,596 ft gain • 10 hr 36 min • Class 1
Latest summits
"May 9, 2020. Rinse and repeat from last weekend. The snow is melting fast. I carried my snowshoes again and microspikes and did not need them. Booted it to the summit with minimal post-holing. The switchbacks after High Creek Camp are accessible now, no more strait shot up to the saddle. My third San Gorgonio summit. " — runningvegan • May 9, 2020
"May 2, 2020. My second San Gorgonio summit. Started at 8:15 am and finished at 5:30 pm. Patchy snow/ice starts on the northern sections of the trail around 4 miles in, but it was very minor and these sections will probably be melted by next week. More serious snow starts at High Camp. High Camp had a lot of flowing water over parts of the trail. I brought crampons and snowshoes and I only used my snowshoes. They came in handy once above the tree line and I was glad to have them. Other people did summit with microspikes or bare boots, but they had to struggle with some post-holing (about knee deep). If I do this hike again soon, microspikes will probably be the only traction needed. FYI, Yucaipa Police were ticketing people who were parked along the roads at the trailhead when I got back. Main hiker trailhead is not open yet, so I parked at the lower trailhead; plenty of space when I got there. " — runningvegan • May 2, 2020
"I am sometimes asked what my most difficult hike has been. Right now I can say it was this one! over 18 miles, with over 1 MILE in vertical gain. But it was a great day for a long hike. Started out an hour late because of a marathon in the area had the highway blocked! And starting about 6 miles into the hike, it was take 25+ steps, then stop and huff n puff! All the way to the top. And as you might expect, spectacular views from 11,500'. On the way out, made a couple of quick layovers to San Gorgonio West Peak, and then later to Peak 10131. Not long after that, the sun set, so the final 2+ hours of my hike was by flashlight. " — marc • Nov 9, 2019
"I started at the Vivian Creek Trailhead at 7:45 am and made it to the peak after 4 hours and 45 minutes. Back down by 4:25 pm. The weather was perfect. This trail and trailhead are well maintained. This was my final peak of the SoCal 6-Pack Peak Challenge. Garmin stats: 19.5 miles; 5,289 feet of elevation gain; 7:31 moving time; 8:34 total time. " — runningvegan • Oct 6, 2019
"Private outing day-hike with two trusted climbing partners. 12 hours of trail talk, complaining about switchbacks, and a little bit of snow travel at the summit ensued. Note: despite what most trip guides say, the Vivian Creek trail is actually 19.2 miles round trip, not 17; a few switchbacks were conveniently cut/left off of the 1995 quad..." — ctrain2018 • Oct 21, 2018
"Took a lot of years of avoidance, but my time finally ran out. The day came to climb San Gorgonio for the first time. I started out at daybreak and wound up stumbling through the darkness on the way back (good thing I still packed my head lamp from the Mt Whitney trip). I don't look forward to another long hike on the Vivian Creek Trail, but I know that day will come again, especially since there are so many other HPS summits up there. There was light foot traffic on a Friday and the hike was rather straightforward and uneventful, other than seeing some sights for the first time. I made it all the way up and down without even a stumble. However, with about 500 feet to go back to the parking lot, I stepped in a hole in the darkness and turned an ankle. I went down like a ton of bricks and slowly got back up to limp my way to the imaginary finish line like a conquering hero." — MikeTeeples • Oct 19, 2018
"It could not have been a more spectacular day to hike Old Greyback. It was sunny but crisp and cool. We arrived at 6:30 am and already had to park in the bigger lot. We were on our way by 6:45am. That first mile up from the vivian creek trailhead is no joke but it was even worse thinking that would be one of our last miles down! We took it slow and were on top of the summit by 1:20pm. It was so nice! Bright blue sky, great views, slight breeze. We ate lunch and headed back down around 2:20pm. We were lucky to see some beautiful deer around basecamp. We hit the dreaded steep mile down with very tired legs and were back in the parking lot just as the sun was setting at 6:45pm. " — yosinalissebeck • Sep 24, 2017
"This was a two-day backpack with a planned camp on the summit. My buddy and I had to pause for nearly an hour on the switchbacks above High Creek Camp, when thunder began booming overhead. We weighed our options and decided to head back to High Creek Camp, try to find a campsite there, and delay our summit until the next morning. But the thunder eventually died away, so we reverted to the original plan and headed up to the summit. No wind, full moon, beautiful night! We had some rain in the final hour of the descent, but we were warm (and dirty) enough that it didn't really bother us.
This was my third ascent of San Gorgonio, but it was the hardest by far, since I hadn't previously needed to carry camping gear all the way." — HikerMark • Jul 8, 2017
"Got to the trailhead parking lot late Friday and pitched a tent right next to the car. We were up and on the trail around 4:30 am and summitted around 11. Great hike and amazing views" — jakeshurer • Jun 4, 2017
"There was more snow than expected. I did not have all the proper equpiment for the climb. My boyfriend was a great guide (OzzyTheGuide) we made it about 8,500 feet before we were unable to go any further. We camped out instead. Great camping trip. We are attempting to summit again this weekend. :) " — Parker33845 • Mar 4, 2017
Awards
Challenges
About peakery awards
Log successful summits on peakery to earn awards:
Peak Badges: Earn a special badge for each unique peak you summit. See all of your badges on your Badges page.
First Ascent Award: Only 1 available per peak. Goes to the first peakery member to log a successful summit of a peak. Snag this award and the peak will forever bear your name.
King of the Mountain Award: Only 1 available per peak. Summit a peak more times than any other member. Beware: this award can be lost!
Summit Steward: Summit a peak at least 5 times to become one of its Summit Stewards. As Steward of a peak, you’re encouraged to keep that peak’s info up-to-date on peakery and spread goodwill on your future climbs up the peak.