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You are here: Home : Hiking Last Updated on 08/12/2000    
RATINGS
Diff: Rating 7/10
Scenic: Rating 8/10
Tech: Rating 2/10
Sugarloaf Mountain
         via the Sugarloaf National Recreation Trail (2E18)
Location: San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino National Forest, Southern California
Region: Big Bear/Fawnskin Region
Wilderness: None
Total Distance: 10 Mi
Elevation Gain: 2,700 Ft
Season: April-Nov
Type: Out & Back
Start Elev: 7,450 Ft
Peak Elev: 9,952 Ft
Total Time: 3 hr
Time In: 1.75 hr
Time Out: 1.25 hr


Peak List Peak List
Peak Name Elevation
Sugarloaf Mountain 9,952 Ft

Hike added by
TractorUp
on 08/12/2000
Driving Directions
From Victorville area, take Hwy 18 towards Big Bear to Baldwin Lake Rd, make a left here. This eventually turns into Shay Rd and then meets up with Greenspot Blvd (Hwy 38). Make a left on Greenspot Blvd and drive 3 miles or so to 2N93 on your right. Take this forest road 1.2mi to the signed Sugarloaf National Recreation Trailhead (2E18). Park here and start hiking. Note: a National Forest Adventure Pass is required to park.
Route
Hike up the Sugarloaf National Recreation Trail (2E18) all the way to the peak. There are signs along the way that help to point you in the right direction.
Details
Hike up an old Jeep trail (there is a locked gate at the begining) and after 45min we arrive at a split with a sign that says please stay on the trail or something, we went to the left, but you're supposed to go to the right and take the smaller trail rather than the jeep trail. To the left it was a nicely forested flat area, then it kind of started going slightly downhill so we turned around, walked a little ways, and cut off the trail to our left few hundred feet to another unused jeep trail that goes steeply up the mountain side and meets the foot trail that we should have taken which went to the right. So, after a little ways back on the right trail we see this house shaped sign that says 2N93, 3mi back and Sugarloaf Mtn, 2mi ahead. This is 60min into the hike. So we head up towards the peak, first arriving at one peak, then dropping maybe 200ft, then we head back up, where the trail does a few switchbacks and steepens a little bit. Then we arrive at the peak where you really have to climb a tree to really get a great view. It seemed like a little more than 2 miles from the sign to the mountain top. It was pretty hazy up there but we could see the San Gabriels - Pine Mtn, Dawson Peak, Mt Baldy, Baden Powell, Cucamonga Peak, Wright Mtn, Table Mtn... and a good view of Butler Peak. Big bear lake was pretty hazy but it looks pretty big from up there. On our way out we noticed a good view of San Gorgonio and the mountains of the San Gorgonio wilderness.
Trail Condition
The trail is pretty rocky in most places. Near the beginning, it is muddy in a few spots where tiny little streams run over it. It is not steep except the switchbacks near the peak steepen a little bit. Except for the one drop between the 2 peaks along the ridge, it is pretty much continuously uphill.
Forest Details
The lower forest is quite lush in some spots. There are some huge ponderosa pines, jeffery pines, and western junipers along the trail. There are many kinds of plantlife on the trail including mountain whitehorn, mountain mahogany, manzanita... At the peak there are limber pine, lodgepole pine and even sugar pine. The huge junipers are quite awesome though. On our way out we saw Green Spring which is maybe less than a mile from 2N93 & maybe 200ft from the trail (a little trail goes down to it). This area is pretty lush & flat and there is this huge fallen pine tree near the spring which is cool.
Pictures
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