Top of Saddleback Mountain (Santiago Peak)

The day had finally come to hike to the top of Saddleback Mountain. Santiago Peak sits at an elevation of 5,687 feet and is the tallest point in the Santa Ana Mountains. We hiked up to the top of the mountain starting out at the Holy Jim Trail head. The Holy Jim Trail runs into the Main Divide road which goes to the top of Saddleback. This is a must do hike for any Orange County Hiker! For more pictures make sure to check out our Facebook Page!

Directions to Trailhead: Via the Holy Jim route to the top of Saddleback: From Cooks corner take Live Oak Canyon Road heading toward O'Neil Regional Park. Keep going until you pass Trabuco Creek, after which make a left and head up Trabuco Canyon Road (a bumpy dirt road), if you keep going on Live Oak Canyon Road you will run into the back of Rancho Santa Margarita and have gone too far. You will reach the parking lot and trailhead in approximately 4.5 miles on the dirt road (You will cross Trabuco Creek several times), the trailhead parking area is just past the volunteer fire house. I would recommend a truck with good clearance as some parts of the road are a little rough and I would not use this road anytime after heavy rains. A Forest Adventure Pass is needed to park at the trailhead as it is located in the Cleveland National Forest.

Description of Hike: The trail is 16 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of around 4,000 feet. Santiago Peak is the highest point in Orange County and sits at 5,687ft. It is the best view in all of Orange County. The trail starts out in Holy Jim Canyon. The first mile and a half is in the canyon where there is lots of shade and usually water in the creek. However, once you split off from the trail and head towards the main divide road, at approximately the one mile mark from the official trailhead sign, there is not as much shade available (There is a sign at the split, you make a left to head up to the top of saddleback mountain or a right to go to Holy Jim Falls).  Make sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen as this hike can get deceptively hot, especially during the summer months. The trail is well maintained and most likely when you go you will see someone on the trail. From the split it will be about 4 miles to the main divide road where you make a left and follow the road all the way to the top and enjoy the views. This hike will be about an 8 hour hike for most. It all depends on how long you enjoy the views at the top.

Further Thoughts: Ashley and I were both prepared for this hike. We had plenty of water and were physically fit from the other hikes that we had done over the past couple of weeks. I would recommend that you do some training before doing this hike as it is strenuous. Possible training hikes might include Sitton Peak or Los Pinos Peak. When we hiked the trail on July 6, 2008, we could not have asked for better weather. It was a perfect 70 degrees when we started hiking. This was a welcomed change from the hot temperatures from only a couple of weeks ago.

The canyon part of the Holy Jim Trail is awesome and is a welcomed escape from the urban landscape of Orange County. The canyon is covered in dense woodlands (mostly oak trees) and when we were there the stream still had plenty of running water in it. Both Ashley and I were surprised to see that amount of water still present in the canyon in July. On the way up the mountain, several of the springs also had water in them as well.

During wet years, these springs might be a place to filter water from, however I would consider them unreliable sources of water. Bear Springs is located at an elevation of about 3,900 feet and will be located on the rights side of the trail before you reach the main divide road. Bottom-line is it was nice to see all of the green flora that was still there on the mountain. There was also quite a bit of pine forest on the mountain as well.

The one thing we liked about this hike is that for the majority of the hike you can see your goal, the top of the mountain. Once you hit the main divide road and you head up the back side of saddleback, you are rewarded with great views of the Inland Empire. You can clearly see Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. San Antonio (Mt. Baldy), and Mt San Gorgonio (Which is the tallest mountain in Southern California at 11,501 ft).

We enjoyed the view at the top of saddleback and ate lunch overlooking Orange County. There are multiple good locations to sit at the top and enjoy the view. It was a beautiful day and we could see for miles in all directions. It is always neat seeing the radio equipment up close and personal that we see, only at a distance, everyday in Orange County. The only bad thing about the hike was that we could see all of the smoke from the fires burning up near Santa Barbara. Also we wanted to note that during years when there has been a good rainy season in Southern California there can be a lot of bugs in the Santa Ana Mountains so it is a good idea to bring some type of insect repellent.

We did this hike in good time. It only took us 7 hours to hike to the top and back down to the trail split in Trabuco Canyon, so we also decided to go look at Holy Jim Waterfall. Even in July there was still plenty of water at the fall. You will find, most years that rain has been average or above average, there is still water in the falls late into summer and the fall months. This is a great hike and it is very popular with other hikers. When we did this hike to the top of saddleback mountain we saw about 15 people on the trail. This is a must do hike for any hiking enthusiast and both Ashley and I highly recommend it.

As always bring your camera as the views are breathtaking and you also have a good chance at seeing wildlife.


Rating: Elevation Gain: 4,000 ft. (Strenuous), Distance: 16 Miles Roundtrip (Strenuous).

Time to Complete Hike: 6.5 - 8.5 hours. (It took us 8 hours, with a stop at Holy Jim Falls and a stop to have lunch at the top)

MORE TRAIL WRITE-UPS ON SADDLEBACK MOUNTAIN

June 28, 2008 (This Post)

October 20, 2013

Map Highlighting Turn to Trailhead

View Top of Saddleback Mountain in a larger map

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