Recent snow and rain have caused many trails to be temporarily closed. Please check with the local agencies for the most up-to-date information.

6S13 - Thomas Mountain

4.7/5 (32 reviews)
Anza, California (Riverside County)
Last Updated: 11/13/2020

Trail Information

Highlights

Thomas Mountain is a 6,800 foot peak in the San Bernardino National Forest. 6S13 Thomas Mountain trail is between Anza to the south and Garner Valley to the north. You will have a wide range of plant life in your offroad 2,400 foot climb from the trailhead. Ranging from the scrub brush at the lower elevations to the sage, yucca, mesquite, manzanita, scrub oak, pine and cedar at the peak. Camping on Thomas Mountain is the highlight of this trail with 10-12 Yellow Post Sites dispersed between 6,400 feet and 6,800 feet. Please respect and watch for the critters that make this their home.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.7/5 (32)
100
Open
Visited: 02/22/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

as of yesterday the trail is in decent shape, but very muddy on parts of the trail that are on the north facing slopes. My vote is harder than easy only based on the time of year. I wouldn't recommend this trail in the snow and/or rain. Could get dangerous very quickly. Spring and Summer would be Spot on for difficulty level 2 (Easy).
2400
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 01/06/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

as of yesterday, this trail is filled with deep mud. I ran this trail just last week and the current weather conditions made this significantly more challenging. again, i have a 2wd tacoma with 265s all terrains, so a 4x4 definitely would have had an easier time. that said, at the time of writing this, trail filled with mud and boarderline dangerous - would not advise going during rainy winter season (obviously).
2400
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 12/27/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

This trail was gorgeous. I have a stock 2WD tacoma and did just fine. there was some mud and light snow but nothing crazy. would recommend airing down (i did 22psi). really beautiful and tons of cool camping spots. rating this “harder” because of current weather conditions but again i did just fine in a 2wd stock tacoma.
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 11/01/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

The rating is spot-on. It's not very technical but there are a lot of ruts, narrow areas, and shelf roads along the trail. I didn't find it to be a particularly enjoyable or memorable trail. It is not very distinct from most other California "mountain" trails which meander through chaparral until near the summit and then you encounter a small smattering of pine trees. The yellow post campsites are full of broken glass and bullet shells as you would expect. And yes, there were long-term 'campers' that have moved in to the best sites at the peak on a Tuesday morning in November. Don't forget the 14-day camping limit fellows! I'm sure they'll be packing up on day 13 to allow for other campers to experience the giant cell tower and chainlink fence next to yellow post site 3.
2400
Temporary Closure
Visited: 09/18/2022

Temporary closure due to Fairview fire. See photos for more info. Cal Fire fireman said could be open by Sept 28, signs say Oct 2. Lots of Cal Fire activity and most of the trails in this area are closed as of now. Hopefully will be open soon! Id wait to visit until mid-October, sounds like it should definitely be open again by then!

From the Community

Start a free trial and get this level of detail on every trail guide
Start Free Trial