Palm View Peak

Palm View Peak, photo by Sharon Moore

Palm View Peak, photo by Google Earth

Palm View Peak, Photo by Sharon Moore.

Peak Name

Palm View Peak

28H

Elevation

7160

feet

Status

active

Region

Desert Divide

Range

San Jacinto Mountains

Nearby peaks

Cone Peak, Pyramid Peak, Pine Mountain #2, Lion Peak

Location

33.6794682,-116.5911278

Description

Palm View features neither palm trees nor much of a view, but it is in fact a peak. If you squint through the forest cover you can sort of see Palm Springs. Combined with Cone Peak, it makes for a nice loop hike where you will get great views of both sides of the Desert Divide.

Route 1 uses the Cedar Springs Trail to connect to the PCT, which follows the crest of the Divide into the San Jacinto Wilderness.

Maps generated from CalTopo.com, reproduced with permission

Downloadable Maps, Files, and Guides

Route 1- Cedar Springs Trail

Elevation Gain

2000′

Navigation Difficulty

Moderate

Distance

8 miles round trip on trail and cross-country

Estimated time

4-5 hours round trip

Route Rating

Class 1, moderate

Leader Rating Required

“I”, normal conditions

Driving route

Go south on I-215 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.
Continue east on SR 74 for 8.7 miles to Morris Ranch Road on the left at a fire station. Turn left.
Go north on Morris Ranch Road for 3.7 miles to an iron gate on the right with a sign “Cedar Springs Trail”. Park off the pavement near this spot.

Hiking route

From your parking spot, hike down the road to the trailhead (5430′).
Go through the gate. (There are several gates on this trail. Be sure to close each gate as you pass through it.) Immediately on the left is another gate. Ignore it. It is another access to the trail for equestrian riders in the area.
Continue up the road past a water tank to another gate. The trail turns left just before the gate.
Soon you come to another gate. Go through this gate. Here you leave the fences behind you as this is the National Forest boundary.
Continue up the road as it becomes a trail and it begins to climb until you come to another gate. This is not a boundary but is part of a cattle drift fence. This keeps range cattle out of selected sections of the National Forest.
Continue up to a saddle at 6800′-. This is the junction of the Cedar Springs Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on the Desert Divide.
Turn left on the PCT and follow it northwest until you reach a point directly between Palm View Peak and elevation 7123′.
Leave the trail and go northeast through trees and brush to the summit.

Route Notes

Printable Route