Trip Date: 6/8/2014

Location: Cleveland National Forest (Trabuco District)

Permit/Pass: Display Day Pass ($5), Forest Adventure Pass or National Parks Pass in car. 

Directions: From CA 241 (toll road) in Rancho Santa Margarita take Antonio Pkwy northeast 1.7 miles to Santa Margarita Pkwy. Turn right, then left on Plano Trabuco Rd. Follow Plano Trabuco for a short distance before it veers left and turns into Trabuco Canyon Rd. Go about a half a mile, then turn right onto Trabuco Creek Rd. Follow Trabuco Creek Rd for about four and a half miles to an open parking area. Some people park here but there is a small public parking section a quarter mile or so up the road to the left that is signed for Holy Jim trail.

Be aware - Trabuco Creek Rd is gravel and dirt, very rutted, bumpy and full of rocks. Its condition changes with seasons and maintenance but expect a difficult and slow ride. The road crosses creek bed several times and is often extremely tight for passing traffic. A high clearance vehicle is recommended, four wheel drive is even better.

Trail sequence: Holy Jim trail / North Main Divide Rd. / Summit spurs / North Main Divide / Holy Jim

Type: Out and back

Distance: 14.6 miles

Elevation: Min. - 1822 ', Max. - 5687'

Profile:

Rating: Difficult-Strenuous (considerations - length, elevation gain, heat, rocky trail)

Synopsis: Santiago, and Modjeska Peak about a mile to the north, make up the recognizable Saddleback feature that lends its name to so many Orange County businesses and organizations. Santiago Pk. is the highest point in O.C. and is one of the more difficult hikes around, making it a prime trip for this area. Holy Jim trail is a classic and beautiful canyon/mountain path, but the Main Divide Rd. part of this trip can be dry, hot and dusty, so pick a cool day for this one.

Santiago Peak - Cleveland National Forest

Turn by Turn:

  -- Head out past the trailhead signs and the volunteer fire station, making your way generally northeast on fairly easy, smooth trail. After about a half-mile you reach a junction with the trail to Holy Jim falls. Take the left turn that sweeps back around to the south to continue on Holy Jim trail.

  -- From here you begin a series of seventeen or so switchbacks for about a mile of climbing up the side of the canyon. Then the trail straightens and head a little west of north for another mile or so before turning to the east and working along the hillside for a little under a mile.

  -- You then turn back north and head up to North Main Divide Rd. Once at the road, there are two choices. A right (east) turn takes you along the road a ways to a junction with Upper Holy Jim trail on the left. A left (west) turn means taking North Main Divide Rd. all the way to the summit. The first option is shorter but steeper, the second dustier, more exposed and shares the road with off-road vehicles. (We went left, next time we'll take Upper Holy Jim trail.)

  -- After about three miles following North Main Divide as it works west, then north, then west again, you switch back to the east, then turn again for the last bit of trail to the top. There are no 360° views available because of all of the communications towers, and you may have to do a bit of searching to find the rocky little mound with the summit marker, but on a clear day you can, with some work, see just about all of southern California.

  -- Retrace your path back to the junction with Holy Jim trail, then head back down the four miles to the trailhead.

Photo gallery: Flickr