6S13 - Thomas Mountain

Did the trail yesterday with the wife and dog in our 4x4 Sprinter. A couple of parts in the first few sections where a bit rough, but very doable. The sections from the Springs to the road was very easy, just a lot of uphill groups with zero etiquette. The "2" rating is right on.

This is a new favorite for me. Caught this trail around trail marker 2 after taking Rouse Hill trail. Amazing scenery and looks to be some good camping, though I believe you must reserve the spots online. A couple of side trails are on the way that loop back around, but DO NO enter any side trails with boundary markings. I hate that I have to say that, but people who leave the trail are the reason they get shut down. Other than that it was a great time! Will run again.

I got a wild hair while camping at Hurkey Creek, and decided to try my hand at this trail in my stock 2wd CRV. There were a few times where I got concerned, but I made it through without any incident. I would make sure that you have decent amount of experience finding the right lines to follow if you are in a stock car. There were a number of ruts that were created from the most recent storm.

Trail closed on 7/9/2023 related to prescribed burn. This not listed on the San Bernardino NF alerts and closures web page, but is on their Facebook page. So, once again I need to remember to check Trails Off-road for updates too. I was here in early June and the trails were open and in good shape.

Prescribed burns throughout the summer. Active burn today, 2023-06-21, has the trail closed.

In reference to the previous review and the use of Yellow Post Camp Sites. I just googled Yellow Post Sites and Adventure Pass, and they do state that the pass is required to use the Sites?

I did this trail on Memorial Day (Monday) and camped overnight at YP #6 near the top. Was expecting more traffic heading down when I was on my way up but I only encountered one Jeep headed down on the North Side. I am relatively new to offroading, have Tacoma Offroad 4WD with a small 1.5" lift and 32" tires for about 2" of lift. I am prety sure a stock would be fine too, even 2WD but might be sketchy in spots depending on experience level. Conditions: - Saw forest service equipment in various points so they have been working on the trail. Fair number of loose rocks from grading and the trail on way up and down was still needing some smoothing out from traffic. - More narrow than I expected. With a long bed and maneuverability this was my main concerns. Luckily only encountered one vehicle. Surprising for the end of a 3-day weekend. - Pull in your mirrors. I hit my passenger side on a branch. Luckily small scratch only. It pushed it in all the way for me so I promptly stopped and pulled in driver's side. The winter has created a lot of grwth. Pinstripping if you aren't paying attention. - The spur to the top is a little rutted. I did not try it solo. I am sure I could make it but I hiked it first and think I would prefer a spotter. - I did try the spur to toolbox springs. less rutted and I made it no issue. - The vault toilets at Toolbox Springs site are #2 are in horrendous shape. I used my portable potty, way way better! If experienced I'd give this trail a 2. At my level I give it a 3 due to how narrow most spots were. I am simply glad I encountered pretty much no traffic. I camped at site 6 and was setup by 1pm on Memorial day and saw exactly 6 vehicles go by the rest of the day. I had the mountain to myself. Saw no one leaving on Tuesday. Camping - Site 6 was great but I spent an hour cleaning up trash. Lots of broken glass, bottle caps, cans. Come on people, clean up after yourselves. Stopped at other sites, some were worse, some were better. I left site 6 in better shape then when I arrived. Do the same. EDIT - FYI the camping profile of this trail says that you need an adventure pass to use the sites. You do not, I confirmed with the ranger station in Idyllwild and I saw no signs anywhere at either entrance stating one was required. Maybe it was when TrailsOffroad did the initial review or it was a mistake.

Trail is open as of 4/28/23, nicely graded trail from what i imagine winter weather cleanup. Would personally rate this trail as easy all the way up til the cell tower at the top which has deep ruts and some clearance will be needed for the last 10min push to the top, otherwise all area starting from the south end are AWD friendly.

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).

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).

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.

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.

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!

I ran this trail from the South. It is pretty spot on on the difficulty, I ran it in 2WD the entire way. Since it was a weekday, we only ran into a couple other people on the trail and the campsites were empty. The peek a boo views of Lake Hemet to one side and the valley on the other were great to see.

Just went up to toolbox yellow post. Very mellow and easy to run in my 2wd sprinter van. Some control burning just occurred so a bit smokey smelling

Great easy trail with lots of camping! Ran from south-north and stopped for a couple nights at the peak of Thomas Mountain. If you're going up for the weekend, do yourself a favor and go to the very peak to see if any of the three Yellow Post sites are available. The trail leading up there will stop most low-clearance vehicles, but if you have a stock SUV or truck, you'll be able to navigate the hill without trouble. The trail itself looked/felt like with was recently graded and was a pleasure to drive through. Only the bit to get to the very peak would prevent a low vehicle from going through, but it's not necessary to run this to do the whole trail. The Yellow Post sites are open and there are toilets at the Toolbox Springs Campground, but better sites can be had nearer the peak (or on the peak!) It's pleasant during the day (80F) at the peak and comfortable at night when camping. The flies that are around don't bite, but they do buzz around your head constantly. Pictures are of Yellow Post 5 and 4 (where I camped), two of the three YP sites at the peak.

the trail is in good shape and leads up to some nice remote yellow post sites. the ramona campground (yellow post #9) has great views. also there are vault toilets at the toolbox springs campground. so far the bugs weren't that bad and thankfully didn't encounter mosquitos. about 80-85 degrees during the day (when 100+ at the bottom of the mountain)

Great trail and the views are awesome. It’s a good trail to explore but it’s long and bumpy. We planned to spend the night at a yellow post but the bugs in this area were no joke. Within seconds of stepping out of the vehicle, we were swarmed with bugs. Not sure if it was just the time of year but we ended up not staying. Too bad cause the yellow post camp sites were actually available and looked nice. Ended up heading to another trail not too far away and was a lot better. Any off road vehicle can make it.

The views and the campsites on this trail were awesome. It wasn't a challenging trail, but my buddy cut the sidewall on his mud terrain tire on the way up... so basically the closest campsite was the only ticket for that night! So I would add that you better have at least some All Terrain tires if your going to make it up.

Gate is open at both ends. Trail is a bit rutted but very minimal mud or snow, so anything with halfway decent clearance would be fine. There was a BMW sedan up there camping, probably came in from the South Gate since the trail was a little smoother on that end.

Ran the trail in reverse yesterday starting off from pyramid peak road. Trail was mostly easy, some fairly rutted out spots and some huge mud puddles. There was even some snow left up top. Only saw a few jeeps on my way out otherwise it was smooth sailing.

Trail is open! Great day up to the snow on the highest point today 01/23/21. 1 inch of snow at the top... boooo.... very cold but a fun run !!!! one of the best places for local snow when we have a foot or so at the top or deeper. Traction is great when wet and the trail is wide. bathrooms were open!

Great winter snowy ride from the north reaching Little Thomas Mtn. We then proceeded onto Thomas Mtn. My gf and I loved the snowy views. It was muddy, snowy and rutted with deep puddles in some areas. I aired down and put it in 4HI. I did slip and slide when facing downhill in some spots. I followed the GPX file from the TrailsOffroad crew. Waypoints were exact. Thank you very much Trail Crew.

A fun run with great views. There are a few deep long erosion ruts in the road here and there, but they are easily straddled. We took our Rubicon about 9 miles up the trail to the campground area. I now see on TrailsOffRoad that you can go further and come out on the hardtop, making it a through trail - another website had incorrectly indicated that the trail ended close to where we stopped for lunch and turned around. I was glad we turned around though because the views going down were a lot more amazing than the views going up. When we there in November, because of the fire threats, overnight camping was not allowed. You were also not allowed to use any kind of camp stove.

Coming up the south side of the mountain from Cottonwood and Hog Lake trails we connected to Thomas Mountain to descend the other side of the mountain range. The trail was damp from the storm 10 days ago with puddles and patches of snow. In sections, it was a bit slippery. Towards the bottom you get nice view of Lake Hemet.

Nice easy trail. One of us was in a 90's Subaru Outback and made it fine. But: the spur to the summit of Thomas Mtn definitely requires high clearance & 4wd and some of the other spurs might be dicey in a regular SUV. We stayed two nights at Yellow Post site #6 and enjoyed perfect cool, shady summer camping. There were a few other groups camping up there but there were also empty sites available (mid-week, August, during a pandemic).

My friend Robert was my trail backup when I lived in California. I’m now mapping trails in Idaho. Robert is doing an excellent job of running the trails and providing much needed Trail Reviews, check out this review from 7/30/20

Very easy trail. We entered at the southern most end. Mostly 2 cars wide, flat and well maintained. We saw a couple small SUV but mostly pickups. For a weekday a fair amount of traffic suggesting its popularity. We passed a large group of sheriffs and volunteer vehicles practicing search and rescue. Utility trucks going the opposite direction. About 1/2 to 1/3 of the yellow post campsites were occupied with overnight campers. We stopped at the first yellow post camp site which has a pit toilet. My wife was pleased that it was well stocked with TP. Good job forest service! We were hoping to escape the 112F heat in Hemet and I suppose 95F helps at the highest elevation we got to but still very warm.

We followed the same route as listed. We are beginners, and thought this was a really easy trail for my Chevy Silverado 4WD. This was a pretty well graded trail. There were some ruts about 6-8 inches deep that you had to cross. There are a few rocky areas in the beginning. This would be no problem for any stock SUV or truck. A crossover could handle it with care. A friend joined us with a low clearance car, made it to the top, and it was very, very sketchy. That car did not attempt the final spur to the peak. A regular clearance car should not attempt the trail from waypoint 1. There are plenty of spots to pass. Most of the road is 1.5 lanes wide. It took about 1 hour to get to the top. The spur going to the peak, and Yellow Post 3, 4, 5 is a different story. It was heavily rutted, and you need to be careful about tire placement. Only a higher clearance vehicle should take that spur. You can easily walk it to determine what your vehicle can do. The sunsets are AMAZING at the top of the mountain! If you are camping at the peak on the weekend, the best spots are snapped up pretty early on Friday morning. We arrived mid-day Saturday due to kid activities, and every spot was taken. Sunday night we were completely alone. Remember that you are camping at 6800 feet which is significantly colder than where you live. The weather can change quickly too, with wind or temperature drops. Plan your gear accordingly, and be very careful with campfires. Bring many gallons of water to make sure the fire is completely out. There are several other yellow post camping spots along the trail. You can find solitude, or be around people as you wish. Between the last two waypoints, there were a lot of mud tracks. In wet weather this would be a problem area. You can tell there were some 50 yard long mud bogs that would be a lot of fun or fear depending on your vehicle and gear. Everything was totally dry and hard packed for our trip. Driving up "backwards" starting at the final waypoint would be much smoother. A regular car could probably make it up to the top (not the last spur). We were in a high clearance 4x4 pick up, so I don't have a good judge of regular cars' abilities. Lots of great camping along the road!

This is a gorgeous easy trail with fields of wildflowers that are in peak bloom right now.

Great trail. Did this in a stock Nissan Frontier with no problems. Places to camp and great view and hiking.

We had 8 rigs & 27 friends drive up to the top of Thomas Mountain, My wife & I recommend this trail especially for kids & families or if you have friends that only have AWD and want to do a nice trail (as long as the trail is dry). We drove it as a half loop, starting from the North trailhead entrance (nearest Lake Hemet) to the south trailhead entrance/exit in Garner Valley. We did not air down, we could have but it wasn’t necessary. I did get a campfire permit for the campfire, which is required. We had 1 AWD Subaru in our group with higher clearance that had no problem driving the trail. It even snowed while we were parked at the campsite. Would definitely run this trail again.

I ran this trail from the west side coming up through 6S16 Cottonwood to Hog lake to Rouse Hill (partly) then to Thomas Mountain. It was a nice smooth trail in comparison to where I came through. I’ll definitely be returning to camp with my family to enjoy the beautiful scenery and create some memories. I only ran into one other car as I was exiting the trail.

Had a great time running this trail!! We ran it as intended ( North to South ). It was an easy trail and a nice length as well. Some awesome views throughout and great places to stop and take pictures and have lunch. Airing down would be recommended cause it does get rocky now and then and there are some minor ruts but nothing major. I'm pretty sure any vehicle can run the route with not much problems. Just take it slow on blind corners because it is a popular route and can be busy with on weekends. We ran into probably around 10-12 cars running the route in the opposite direction.

The trail was good and pretty calm little more intense due to the recent rain storm and taking the trail just about sunset time so mid way light bars where turned on . just note that there was a rain storm that took place couple weeks ago caused some mud slides and caused some boulders to fall in the path of the trail I made it threw no problem with a 3rd gen 4runner 4wd my friend in a highlander also made it to with no 4wd but due to the rain storm leaving it muddy in some parts and snow at the top he needed a little tug once or twice also note that part of the trail has been washed out so higher then stock clearance would make the trail alot more easier to compensate for those deeper ruts

All trails in the San Jacinto Ranger District are under a fire closure until 08/31/18

My friend and I drove a big loop down Bautista Canyon to check on Blackburn Ridge (Closed) and Cottonwood TT (Open) from there we checked out the Santa Rosa TT off of Hwy74 for a future run and ended up stopping for lunch at the Thomas Mountain trailhead near Lake Hemet, we went to the first yellow post site on the trail for a nice stop.

A friend and I on BMW R1200GSAs rode Tripp Flat Road, Cottonwood Truck Trail, Hog Lake Truck Trail, short distance on Rouse Hill and Thomas Mountain roads. The rain on January 8 & 9 settled the dust and the sand. No significant rutting from the rain and only a few mud holes to ride around. There was one snow icy spot riding up to the now gone Thomas Mountain Lookout Tower foundations and some small snow patches riding down the east side of Thomas Mountain.

Entered from the North end around noon. Beautiful day. Trail was good with very few drainage ruts. Only saw a dozen or so other vehicles on the trail, a few people on horseback, and a few campers. Camping sites might be worth a return visit. Views were spectacular all around, from views of Lake Hemet when entering to views of Anza Valley exiting. We only stopped a couple times for a few moments and the whole trip to approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes. As we were going solo, and given my 4WD inexperience, we did not attempt the short spur to the peak of Thomas Mountain ... the ledge at the bottom seemed a bit deep with sand.

First time on Thomas Mountain. Great place to go off road and camp. Camped at Tool Box Springs Campground two nights; Saturday and Sunday. Of the 8 sites there, four of them were occupied Saturday. I was the only one there on Sunday. Saturday was busy with quite a few vehicles passing by the campground, and some stopping in to use the restroom. There was a group of boys that belong to a mountain biking club/team, and they rode the trails a lot. I believe the main trail is called Ramona Trail. They, and their dads, were having a great time. No campfires were allowed due to the dry conditions. But it was nice and warm, but not hot; in the 50's overnight.