Sand to Snow Monument

The Sand to Snow Monument Hike is a 30-mile point-to-point trek across the federally designated Sand to Snow Monument, located east of Los Angeles in Southern California. This spectacular route takes you from the desert floor up to the San Gorgonio Mountains, gaining almost 9,000 feet of elevation along the way! It is a challenging hike that uses the well maintained, easy to follow, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) through one of Southern California's most biodiverse landscapes. During your hike, you will pass through a variety of ecosystems including the Colorado and Mojave deserts, riparian forests, scrublands, woodlands, Mediterranean chaparral, and coniferous alpine forests. You'll pass through pristine, roadless, terrain within the San Gorgonio Wilderness, an area that provides an important habitat for several species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened or endangered. You can do this trek as a long day trip or as part of an overnight backpacking trip. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a multi-use trail that can be used for trail running, hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding. CONSIDERATIONSThis route is point-to-point and requires a carpool or shuttle to be arranged in advance. Alternatively, you can turn this into a 60 mile out-and-back backpacking trip that starts and ends at the same place. Although this route is entirely uphill, it can be completed in the opposite direction, traversing from "Snow to Sand" instead of "Sand to Snow". WATERFor information about the crowd sourced water report for the Pacific Crest Trail please visit https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/water/pct-water-report/. CAMPING AND PERMITSFor information about regional and/or long distance permits please visit https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/permits/. ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPacific Crest Trail AssociationSand to Snow National MonumentBLM - Sand to Snow Monument Info