San Diego County Highpoint Trip Report
Hot Springs Mountain (6,553 feet)
Date: July 24, 2009
Author: Garrick Meeker
The reservation has reopened after being closed since Labor Day,
2004. The information in previous trip reports is mostly valid but
Suttle's trailhead is not reachable. Here is the current information.
Contact
www.loscoyotes.info
760-782-2790 (check-in station)
760-782-0711 (tribal office)
(See the web site for fax, address, etc....)
Fees
Day use: $9
Camping: $16 per night
With horse:
Day use: $13
Camping: $26 per night
Parking fee: $5 (not sure what this is)
Camping is only allowed in the main campground, not at Suttle's trailhead.
No water, but they are working on it. Bicycles are also allowed.
Hours
Fri-Sun (and holiday Mondays)
8:00am to 5:00pm
7:00am to 3:00pm on the last day (Sunday or Monday)
I heard different times when I talked to them on the phone, so you may
want to call if this is an issue. For day use, you must be out by
5:00 so I recommend showing up early. My total time on the
reservation was 3:15, but driving further would reduce this considerably.
WEBMASTER NOTE: As of 2010 the Park is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Roads
The last 2.5 miles before the reservation is being paved and is
currently a gravel road (suitable for any car). The sign says this
should last until September 30th, 2009. Inside the reservation,
offroading is no longer allowed but the woman at the entrance
confirmed that they allow driving on the dark roads on their map,
however she wasn't sure about the current road status. These are Hot
Springs Mtn Rd (labelled Lookout Rd on their map) and the main road
leading to the campground and then eventually joining the summit
road. Both have been recently graded. They also show a short spur
leading to Nelson's Camp, which is the trailhead in Suttle's book.
This road seems to be currently blocked by trees and hasn't been graded,
so Suttle's route doesn't seem possible at the moment.
Approach
About 0.1 miles from the gate, there is a sign intersection for
Hot Springs Mtn Rd. This is dirt and recently graded but seemed to be closed.
There are a number of intersections leading to houses, so I
could have missed the correct route, however I would recommend
following the main road instead, if just to avoid disturbing the
occupants of the houses.
On the main road, there is a cattle guard and gate 1.0 mile from the
check-in, and the road turns to dirt. At 2.4 miles, the main
campground will be on the right across the creek. Park here for a 5
mile one-way hike (to the summit lot) or keep driving. Take the first
left turn. The road ascends steeply but low clearance is fine.
My economy class car couldn't make it up the hill at the 4.5 mile mark.
(After that last hill, it flattens out for several miles, until the
final climb.) A little further the road joins the summit road and
continues to the top. The summit lot should be at about the 7.5 mile mark.
(Of course, there's another 0.2 miles on the use trail to the
true HP.) The last 0.3 miles of the road is pretty rocky so you
probably need high clearance and maybe 4WD if you want to drive to the
very top, and you might have stop even earlier with low clearance.
There are numerous pullouts, so you can select whatever length of
hiking you like.
Hike
From the 4.5 mile mark, it was about 6.4 miles and 1140' round trip.
That's 3 miles of graded dirt road and 0.2 on the use trail, each way.
It was only 860' of gain to the top but there's some uphill on
the way back. A week earlier I tried to hike from the campground but
had arrived too late, so between these hikes I've done the whole route
from the main campground. Driving the first few miles cuts out most
of the effort. It took me about an hour to hike to where I parked the
second time. From the summit lot, follow the use trail and climb the
boulder as described elsewhere. I was the fourth person to sign into
the register this month (two people from a San Diego hiking club and
fellow cohp'er Eric Geissinger). The previous entry was 2003,
well before the closure.
After waiting for five years to climb this, I only cared about
reaching the HP, but I was surprised that I really enjoyed the hike.
It was only in the high 70's at the top and was full of trees, not the
desert environment I expected. The summit boulder was fun too.
However, it was 90 degrees the previous week, so bring plenty of water
during the summer or visit during the fall. Please thank the tribe
for reopening and show them your support by visiting!