USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Location: Riverside County, about 11 miles south of Palm Desert, 129 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Riverside County |
| Forest Service | San Bernardino National Forest |
| USGS Topos | Martinez Mtn 7½, Toro Peak 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps |
TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| | Viewable PDF file - Approximately 3.3 megs |
| | GPX file or Google Earth KML file to
download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files) |
| | Routes as shown on
CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo) |
- Nearby Peaks: Sheep Mountain
ROUTE 1 - Cactus Spring, Gully Route
Seasonal Closure: Sheep Mountain and Martinez Mountain are subject to a voluntary seasonal closure to protect bighorn sheep habitat, except for the months of October, November, and December. This seasonal closure may become permanent at some time in the future.
- Distance: 16 miles round trip on trail and cross-country
- Gain: 4300' total, 3500' out plus 800' on return
- Time: 8-9 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, strenuous
- Navigation: Intermediate
- Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions
- Route: Possible rock fall problems in the gully
Original: Roger Mitchell, August 1967
DRIVING ROUTE 1
From the west:
- Take I-10 or SR 60 east to SR 79 in Beaumont.
- Go south on SR 79 to the Ramona Expressway. Turn left (east).
- Go east and then southeast on the Ramona Expressway until it ends at
SR 74. Turn left (east).
- Go east on SR 74 to Mountain Center (junction with Idyllwild Highway
- SR 243).
- Continue east on SR 74 for about 21.5 miles to a paved road
(7S06) at a sign "Cactus Spring Trail". This is just
across from the entrance to Pinyon Flat Campground.
- Go south 1/4 mile to the (paved) "Sawmill Trailhead" parking lot.
From the north:
- Travel east on I-10 to its interchange with Monterey Avenue
near Palm Desert. Exit right (south) on Monterey. Reset
your odometer.
- At 6.0 miles, Monterey crosses 111 in Palm Desert and becomes
SR 74. Continue straight.
- At 21.3 miles, turn left (southeast) on a paved road (7S06) at
a sign "Cactus Spring Trail". This is just across
from the entrance to Pinyon Flat Campground.
- Go south 1/4 mile to the (paved) "Sawmill Trailhead"
parking lot.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- From the parking area (4040'), hike east along the road to an
intersection.
- Continue straight ahead at the beginning of the Cactus
Spring Trail. This is shown as a short road segment on the topo. Hike
along the trail as it goes right at a fork and descends to a road near an
old dolomite mine.
- Turn left (east) on this road and follow it past the
mine to where the trail leaves the road. This is the old trailhead.
Continue east on the trail as it goes over several rises and then descends
to Horse Thief Creek near BM 3492.
- Follow it across the creek as it climbs
over a hill to avoid a waterfall and then descends back into a wash.
- Follow it east along this wash to Cactus Spring (usually dry), about 2 miles beyond
Horse Thief Creek.
- Continue on the trail as it follows a wide wash.
- Soon it leaves this wash on the right, just north of bump 4996'.
- From here, Martinez can be seen straight ahead. It has three saddles.
A large gully descends from the saddle on the right. This is the one to
aim for.
- Leave the trail and continue up the wash. Follow the wash around the
left side of a low ridge and up this gully to the summit ridge.
- Turn left (north) and go up to the prominent summit block. It can be climbed
from the southeast side. Elevation 6562', shown on the map, is not
the summit.