Wilderness Permit Gear Checklist
The San Jacinto Wilderness is split between a state park and a national forest, with separate permits, and neither lets you light a campfire. People who have camped there carry a stove, plan every liter around a few known water stops, and pack for snow, ice and wind far beyond what Palm Springs suggests. The trip reports we found are old, so the page dates them and leans on the agencies for rules.
What shapes your gear on San Jacinto Wilderness
- Two agencies, two permits
- State Parks handles permits for four camps (Round Valley, Little Round Valley, Tamarack Valley and Strawberry Junction), up to 56 days ahead according to the Forest Service handout. The Forest Service issues permits for the Chinquapin, Skunk Cabbage, Tahquitz, North Rim and Desert View zones, up to 90 days ahead. Camping in both needs separate applications.
From USDA Forest Service
- Cost and group size
- The state wilderness camping permit costs $5 per person. The Forest Service wilderness permit is free, covers groups of up to 12, and is needed for day hikes as well as overnights.
- Fires and stoves
- Campfires are not allowed in the wilderness. In the state wilderness the only cooking allowed in designated campsites is a portable stove with an on/off switch.
- Reliable water
- A 1996 Sierra Club trip report found dependable water at both Round Valley stops, and a 2010 backpacker filled bottles from a piped spring at Round Valley.
- Snow and ice
- The park says wet winters can drop several feet of snow while dry ones leave a few inches, and it highly recommends microspikes or crampons in the wilderness. For trail conditions it points to the phone line at the Long Valley Ranger Station.
- Storm warnings
- On Memorial Day weekend 2011 rangers at Long Valley told a group of backpackers that winds would pass 90 miles per hour overnight and that all the campsites were full. The group took the tram down, returned the next morning, and then turned back from an icy storm on the Desert Divide.
From Backpacking Light forums: 3rd Annual BPL San Jacinto Loop: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
What the agency requires on San Jacinto Wilderness
The right wilderness permit
The state park requires a permit to enter its wilderness, with a $5 per person camping fee. The Forest Service requires a free permit for day or overnight use in its part of the wilderness, and a state permit is not valid there.
A portable stove with an on/off switch
For cooking in state wilderness campsites the park allows a portable stove that has an on/off switch, and nothing else. Wilderness areas ban campfires and barbecues.
A plan for human waste
Inside the state wilderness, the park points hikers to the campground pit toilets. On national forest land, dig a hole eight inches down and stay 200 feet or more from drainages, trails and camps.
Dishwater kept off the water
Keep dishwashing and dirty water 100 feet or more away from streams, springs and faucets.
No dogs
Except for trained service animals, dogs are not allowed in the wilderness areas of the state park.
What hikers carry on San Jacinto Wilderness
A stove and fuel
With fires banned, every party cooks on a stove. A 1996 group carried a white-gas stove to cook for the whole party. A 2010 backpacker cooked oatmeal on a small cone stove.
From Hundred Peaks Section, Sierra Club, PopUpBackpacker and California State Parks
More water than the map suggests, with purification
One 2010 walker drank all 4 liters before reaching the Long Valley Ranger Station and refilled there, then treated Round Valley spring water with tablets. A 1996 party carried only a quart or so between the two Round Valley stops and packed a filter for the rest.
Traction and snow skills for the high camps
The park highly recommends microspikes or crampons. After a record-snow winter a 2010 group dropped the summit because it might need an ice axe and crampons, then crossed miles of snow in light racing flats, kicking steps, and carried plastic bags as emergency waterproof socks.
A forum reply from 2010 warns to pack for ice, not just soft snow, because the snowpack turns icy fast after a storm.
From California State Parks, PopUpBackpacker and Backpacking Light forums: San Jacinto (Backpacking Light forum)
Warm layers and a hat for wind
The 2011 party prepared for heat and found a cold, windy winter storm in May. A 1996 party carried a pile jacket, polypropylene underwear and a wool hat. A 2010 trip logged nights in the 30s Fahrenheit.
From Backpacking Light forums: 3rd Annual BPL San Jacinto Loop: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Hundred Peaks Section, Sierra Club and PopUpBackpacker
A paper map, compass and your permit in an easy pocket
A 1996 party carried the 7.5 minute topo map and compass, and two rangers stopped them on the trail to check the permit while the leader hunted for it in his wallet. In 2010 a missed PCT junction cost a 6 mile round trip.
A trowel for the forest side
A 2010 gear list marks the trowel as required by regulations. The state wilderness uses pit toilets, but the national forest zones need a hole 8 inches deep.
From PopUpBackpacker and California State Parks
A light shelter plan that fits the forecast
Ultralight parties here left the rain fly in the car or slept under the sky, which worked in calm weather. In 2011 rangers told a party that only a very strong tent would do in the forecast winds, and the trip ended in a bail-out.
From Hundred Peaks Section, Sierra Club, PopUpBackpacker and Backpacking Light forums: 3rd Annual BPL San Jacinto Loop: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Going as a group? Split this list between you so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on San Jacinto Wilderness
Packing only for heat
The 2011 party set out expecting heat and met freezing air, ice on the plants and almost no visibility the next day. They wrote that they were ready for hot weather and not for a cold, windy winter storm.
From Backpacking Light forums: 3rd Annual BPL San Jacinto Loop: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Burying the permit
A 1996 leader could not remember where he had put the permit when two rangers asked for it on the trail, and found it only after emptying his wallet.
A single water carry on the Skyline
A 2010 walker on the Desert Skyline finished all four liters before the tram area. A marker rock on the route warns of no water for 8 miles.
From PopUpBackpacker
Skipping the map at trail junctions
The 2010 party missed the junction to the Pacific Crest Trail while talking, and lost about 6 miles to the mistake.
From PopUpBackpacker
Gear questions for San Jacinto Wilderness
Do I need a permit for the San Jacinto Wilderness?
Yes. The state park requires a permit to enter its wilderness, and its camping permit costs $5 per person. The Forest Service requires a free permit for day and overnight use on its side. The two agencies issue separate permits.
Can I have a campfire in the San Jacinto Wilderness?
No. Both agencies prohibit campfires in the wilderness. The state park allows only portable stoves with an on/off switch at designated campsites.
Where can I get water in the San Jacinto Wilderness?
Older reports found reliable water at Round Valley and Little Round Valley, and one 2010 walker refilled at the Long Valley Ranger Station. Sources vary by year, so ask the ranger station before you go and carry extra.
What do I need for snow in the San Jacinto Wilderness?
The park highly recommends microspikes or crampons. A 2010 group turned off the summit rather than carry an ice axe and crampons through heavy snow, and a forum reply stressed ice after storms.
From California State Parks, PopUpBackpacker and Backpacking Light forums: San Jacinto (Backpacking Light forum)
Sources
- Mount San Jacinto State Park · California State Parks · Agency
- Wilderness Visitor Permit Application, San Jacinto Ranger District · USDA Forest Service · Agency
- San Jacinto Peak, Tahquitz Peak (LO), 13 July 1996 · Hundred Peaks Section, Sierra Club, Richard J. Hughes · Trip report
- San Jacinto Loop (2010) · PopUpBackpacker, Nick · Blog
- 3rd Annual BPL San Jacinto Loop: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly · Backpacking Light forums · Forum thread
- San Jacinto (Backpacking Light forum) · Backpacking Light forums · Forum thread