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Mt San Jacinto from North

Mountain·United StatesUnited States

San Jacinto Peak

3,302m

San Jacinto Mountains

Summit weather

Wattewyl · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
3,302m
Prominence
2,536m
Relief
2,358mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
44°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
Jan–AprSee month by month ↓
First ascent
1874
Summit
33.8147°N, 116.6794°W

Mountain in United States of America

San Jacinto Peak is a mountain in the San Jacinto Mountains (United States). Its summit stands 3,302 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,536 m. It was first climbed in 1874.

From the lowest point within 5 km (944 m), it rises 2,358 m. The steepest side is the north face: 34° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 44° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Idyllwild-Pine Cove, 9 km away at 1,653 m: 1,649 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

San Jacinto Peak for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.0/10

Difficulty to the top

Hike

Most path sections around the top are T1 on the SAC hiking scale.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 1.0/2.51 waymarked routes and 20 path sections nearby
  • 0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
  • 1.6/21,649 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.5/1.52,536 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on San Jacinto Peak

At the summit, snow from January to April (some years from November to May). Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit3,302 msnow from January to April (some years from November to May)
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow some of the time
Halfway up2,478 msnow from January to February (some years from December to March)
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the time
Idyllwild-Pine Cove1,653 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

San Jacinto Peak, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 20 °C; on December nights it falls to about -13 °C. In 2 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,380 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, June is the driest month (0 mm) and February the wettest (36 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 3,302 mIDYLLWILD-PINE COVE · 1,653 mJanuary: 3,240 mFebruary: 3,370 mMarch: 3,910 mApril: 4,340 mMay: 5,040 mJune: 5,910 mJuly: 6,380 mAugust: 6,340 mSeptember: 5,860 mOctober: 4,890 mNovember: 3,920 mDecember: 3,120 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CIdyllwild-Pine Cove high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January0-13103,2403557.9
February0-12113,3703668.9
March4-10153,91018510.4
April7-9174,34010312.0
May11-6225,0404113.1
June17-2285,9100014.1
July203316,3808212.4
August203306,3408212.1
September171275,8606211.4
October10-4214,89010210.2
November4-9153,9201528.7
December-1-13103,1203447.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 983 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
3,302 m1,383 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
3,302 m425 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 34°NNE: 25°NEE: 19°ESE: 18°SES: 4°SSW: 12°SWW: 16°WNW: 18°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around San Jacinto Peak

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

San Jacinto Peak seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • —mountain huts and shelters
  • 1cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways

    Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

  • 1ski areas

    Adventure Center

  • 1waymarked hiking routes

    PCT - California Section B

  • —via ferratas
  • 2climbing crags and routes

    Lily Rock, Trough

  • —named glaciers
  • 11viewpoints

    Desert View, Caramba Overlook, Notch 2, Notch 3 and 7 more

  • 47campsites

    Marion Mountain Campground, Round Valley Campground, Tamarack Valley Campground, Boulder Basin Campground and 43 more

  • 19hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Manzanita Cabins, Lily Cottage, Shea-D Pine, Tahquitz Rock Lodge and 15 more

  • 21restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

20 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T3
  • T1 hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Idyllwild-Pine Cove9 km · 1,653 m
  • Idyllwild9 km · 1,601 m
  • Palm Springs12 km · 146 m
  • Cabazon15 km · 559 m
  • Cathedral City20 km · 100 m
  • Valle Vista21 km · 541 m
  • Banning22 km · 716 m
  • Garnet22 km · 217 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Date Palm Orchard in Vista Santa Rosa, California and Mount San Jacinto
Z3lvs · CC0
Indio Hills and Mount San Jacinto
Z3lvs · CC0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average00471117202017104-1
2020+0.9+1.7−3.8−1.2+1.3−1.5+0.1+1.7+2.9+3.0+1.0+1.4
2021+0.1+1.1−2.4+1.8+1.1+2.9+0.8+0.4+0.6−2.4+4.1−0.2
2022+0.6+0.5+1.5+2.1+1.2+2.2+0.1+0.6+0.5+1.1−3.0−0.3
2023−3.6−3.6−6.0+0.8−3.2−5.4+1.6−0.6−3.0+1.0+0.2+2.9
2024−0.4−1.9−4.0−0.7−1.1+1.3+3.2+1.0+1.1+3.7−0.9+5.0
2025−0.1+2.7−1.6−0.4+0.3+0.4−1.2+0.9−1.8+0.2+1.3+5.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q7414344) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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