San Bernardino Mountain Trails: 100 Hikes in Southern California

By David Money Harris, John Robinson, John W. Robinson

Book Overview

Discover the best of San Bernardino National Forest with this authoritative guide to 100 unforgettable hikes.

Southern California's highest and most rugged mountains are in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto ranges, in a unique region where wildly varied naturescapes--desert cactus and pine trees, snowcapped peaks and palm oases--are found in close proximity. With the Pacific Crest Trail weaving its way through the mountains and desert, there are endless opportunities to explore Southern California trails.

After more than 50 years in print, San Bernardino Mountain Trails remains the bible for Southern California hikers. This updated guide by veteran hiker and author David Money Harris contains new trips, as well as old favorites. This edition brings John Robinson's classic guide up to date with the latest trail conditions. Eight old trails, especially in areas that have become overgrown after fire damage, have been replaced with recently built or more heavily used trails.

Inside you'll find:

100 hikes that traverse San Bernardino National Forest, the Santa Rosa Mountains, and the San Jacinto Mountains
Details about each hike's features and a description of the trail
At-a-glance information about length, difficulty, and more
"Overview of Hikes" chart that shows which trips are best suited for kids, dogs, mountain biking, and backpacking

San Bernardino Mountain Trails is noted for its comprehensive coverage of the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Santa Rosa mountains and its meticulously researched history of the ranges. Get to know the area before you explore it, and find the best trips for your skill level and interests.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089997807X
• ISBN13: 9780899978079
• Release Date: October 2016
• Publisher: Wilderness Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

San Bernardino Mountain Trails: 100 Hikes in Southern California

Great book! All the hikes are well described with easy to follow instructions. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to hike the San Bernardino National Forest.

An excellent guide

This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys hiking and wants to experience the San Bernardino National Forest. I bought it after a hike to the summit of Mt. San Gorgonio, when I realized I was not very well prepared and needed some good advice. I read the book and realized how little I have seen of the local mountains and all they offer. The book details the location and degree of difficulty of each trail, which is very helpful in planning your trips. I highly recommend it to anyone who ventures into the San Bernardino wilderness.

A must for San Bernardino Hiking

Still the best guide for local hikes in the San Bernardino Mountains, though I'm a little nostalgic about John Robinson's retirement (the original author of the book, that I have carried on many a hike since the early 80's). I like the fact that the new book is slightly larger, which makes the photographs easier to examine. I also like the new map which is in color and on gloss stock, though I do miss the topography lines which have been omitted, making it less useful on the trail. One concern, is about some of the hikes that are replacements for a handful of the originals, as I'm finding it hard to consider them hikes. I would certainly delete hikes that are located in amusement parks, and consider instead more cross country locations and trails utilizing abandoned fire roads, if necessary, to keep the "100". That said, it is still a great book, and David Money Harris is certainly keeping the legacy alive.

Very good book

A revised edition of a classic book on hiking San Bernardino mountains. This new edition of the book includes key GPS way points and multiple tables of the various hikes to make finding a hike that matches your criteria as easy as it could be. Furthermore, the descriptions of each hike are sufficient to permit the reader to determine if the hike would be of interest. The book concentrates on San Bernardino but also covers the Santa Rosa hikes more extensively than I have seen anywhere else.

This is the updated version

I own about 30 hiking guides and this book is the one I use the most often and consult before any hike. John Robinson is one of the gurus of Southern California hiking and his guides are usually dependable, accurate and full of information that will ensure your safety while in the mountains. He provides an adequate history of each hike, driving directions and fairly precise descriptions of where to locate each trailhead. It's important to note that some of his information is outdated; for example, you always must display your Forest Adventure Pass when parking your car in a California National Forest. Robinson doesn't mention this because his guide was written before the Pass became "essential."Another strength of this book is that Robinson usually provides separate descriptions of various ways to summit a peak. He details the standard way of climbing San Gorgonio, as well as three alternate treks to the peak and this is a valuable tool for the experienced hiker. He does the same for San Jacinto, perhaps the premiere hike in Southern California (as well as the most arduous!) The guide is tailored towards seasoned hikers and if you're a neophyte, this probably wouldn't be your best choice. But if you love to hike and live in the L.A. area, the Robinson guide provides indispensible information. Highly recommended.