Asbestos Mountain

Overview

Asbestos Mountain is a squat desert mountain in the Santa Rosa Mountains, San Bernardino National Forest at the north end of Pinyon Flat. The sucker kind of reminds me of a stack of pancakes.
This is an easily accessed walk-up hike that can be done in a couple hours. The top is interspersed with rock outcrops the highest of which is the class 2 scramble to the summit.
The top views take in the San Jacinto massif to the north, Santa Rosa Mountain and Toro Peak to the west, Martinez Mountain to the south and Coachella Valley to the east.
The round trip hike is 2.5 miles with a 1,000' gain.
For more better pictures and report see Kathy Wing's >page here.

Getting There

From Palm Desert: At the junction of Hwy 111 take Hwy. 74 south 16 miles as it winds up through the mountainous terrain to Palm Canyon Drive at Pinyon Flat. Turn right (north) on Palm Canyon Dr. go 2.3 miles and turn right again .7 miles to where the road ends. A 4WD road goes directly north a half mile were the hike starts and the summit outcrop is pretty much straight ahead less than a mile.

From Valle Vista: Take Hwy. 74 southest approximately 36 miles to Palm Canyon Drive on the left.

From Aguanga: Take Hwy. 371 20 miles to Hwy. 74 and turn right. Go 8 miles to Palm Canyon Road and go left.

Red Tape

Palm Canyon Drive goes through a quiet high desert neighborhood. At least it was quiet when I was there in 2000. There are no permits needed.

Camping

The Pinyon Flat Campground is just off to the left a tenth of a mile from Hwy. 74 on Palm Canyon Road.

Current weather and forecast

Weather and 5 day forecast for Palm Desert click here. Keep in mind Pinyon Flat is 4,000' higher than Palm Desert so expect more weather up there.

Etymology

"Named for the large asbestos deposits in the San Jacinto Mountains that were first mined in 1888 by John D. Hoff Co. The unusual effects of nearby
'Asbestos (sic) Camp Spring' were noted in the San Jacinto Searchlight (1894) 'Its use generally blanches the face of the workmen to a ghastly pallor and produces peculiar effects in other ways to the human frame.'

Peak was on the original 1946 HPS Peak List"

Images

View Asbestos Mountain Image Gallery - 7 Images