Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

[Paul]

Had the day off, the weather was good ... and I needed to get off road.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

In the Massey/Wilson book the trail is South Coast #19. The trail is rated a difficulty rating of 2 out of 10, and a scenic rating of 9 out of 10. The total length of the trail was 16 miles with elevation changes from 2000 feet up to 6200 feet. The road was a nice easy blue square trail (moderate) which turned into a green ball (easy). There was a black diamond (most difficult) trail that spurred off but I couldn't find it on my maps so I staid off of it. Looked really nice though. The trip takes you from the 74 east of Hemet up thru the San Bernadino National Forest and then into Pine Cove and the California 243. About 3 hours of nice easy driving with a bit of a lunch break and some time in the waterfall.

The weather started off nice and cool with actually a few drops of rain. Come afternoon it was toasty hot and partly cloudy with a nice breeze. We saw lots of wildlife.

Climbing Bee Canyon we saw lots of bees and plenty of flowers are still in bloom even this late in the season.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

A snake - the first we've seen in three years off-road.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

The view looking back northwest toward Hemet.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

And north towards San Bernadino.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

There are a couple of springs up there and you find ferns and wild grasses among the desert dwelling plants.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Nice views.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Looking down Bee Canyon at the trail.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

The trail has plenty of ruts but no challenge to those with enough ground clearance. I did put it in 4WD in a couple of places to save wear on the trail but this thing is passable in 2WD.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

About 10 miles along the road and up 3000 feet the trees get thicker. Good shade for lunch and we found three designated dry campsites - one was already occupied and as we passed the second and third we ran into people who looked destined for them.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

We came to Stone Creek and crossed it and played in the waterfall a bit.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

Butterflies!

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

And lizards - nice red head.

Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road

This is only about 30 minutes from my house and I want to run it again earlier in the season when the flowers will be better and the weather cooler.

[FrankB]

Some great photos there Paul.  Looks like a good route, I'll have to try it sometime.

[4x4forfun]

Very nice pics. It has been many years since I was in Bee Canyon. Did you notice if they still had the shooting area open? I know a fire started there and burned all the way up to Idylwild

[Paul]

Very nice pics. It has been many years since I was in Bee Canyon. Did you notice if they still had the shooting area open? I know a fire started there and burned all the way up to Idylwild

I noticed a lot of trash from shooters down on the Hemet end. There was a guy cleaning up the cartridges to recycle them. If there was a designated area I didn't see it. Near the top I found someone had set up targets with their backs facing a very large canyon - no hillside backstop. Driving around past that point I could see that the shooters had been firing shots through their cardboard backing and into the valley below - which was filled with trails. It's fools like this that ruin it for others who are clever enough to know that their bullets can fly through cardboard and sail thousands of feet beyond.

[4x4forfun]

I agree. I hate irresponsible shooters. They are the ammo for the anti 2nd amendment crowd. They use to have a nice box canyon site that was a free to the public shooting range. I would always collect my brass for reloading.

[GUANO]

butterflies and lizards and snakes....  OH MY!!!!

[Phall92139]

Looks like another fun place to put on my list of places to wheel.  And again, absolutely gorgeous photographs, Paul.  I admire your eye.

[Paul]

I had no idea that the place was so close. I live east of Riverside so it's about 40 minutes away. We have a good friend down in Hemet so we've always driven by those mountains and I've look long and hard at them. Once you get a bit higher and north of Hemet the trees start. It's too dang hot this time a year but for much of the year that looks to be good stomping area. There are a number of campgrounds (fee) and a few campsites (free). We wanted to check out the two campsites near Stone Creek Trail and they were nice and could hold five trucks or so before getting crowded.

[superslidestyle]

I didn't know there was a trail that close either.  Nice weather to be out and about.  Paul, it would be nice to do that one again later on this year with the club.

[GhostX]

I ran this trail in late August, and then spent the weekend in Idyllwild.  This is a great run, and Alex and I did lots of geocaching (12) along the way.  Some beautiful vistas and it goes from the scurb of the Hemet area to the alpine climate of the mountains.

[Bobby B.]

Looks like a nice little day trip.

[Alex]

The views look to be nothing less than spectacular. I've seen the trail on maps, but I didn't know if it was open or gated. Thanks for the photos.

[Paul]

Being in the Inland Empire try coming following a nice windy day or after a rain - the IE collects Los Angeles' pollution like a 70 year old lady collects ceramic figures.

[Impact619]

This totally sounds like the kind of run I'd be up for...  get the new car out in the sticks without getting it all dinged up already... ; D

-T-

[Oz]

Awesome picts!