Wild Lands & Rivers
South Fork San Jacinto Proposed Wilderness
Size: 20,695 acres
Management Agency: San Bernardino National Forest
Location: Riverside County, south of Highway 74, west of Lake Hemet
Description:
The lush South Fork San Jacinto River Canyon is the centerpiece of this wonderfully wild place. Visitors are drawn to the proposed wilderness by the popular South Fork Trail, which accommodates literally thousands of hikers annually. The trail offers a challenging hike to the river bottom with many impressive views along the way. The canyon contains a number of sheltering groves of big-cone Douglas fir trees and the river supports thriving forests of willow, cottonwood and other hardwoods. This rich streamside forest is home to mountain lion, mule deer, mountain quail and even an occasional bald eagle. The South Fork San Jacinto River is also the watershed for the communities of Hemet Valley to the east.
Bautista Creek serves as the southern boundary of the proposed wilderness. It is considered by many biologists to be one of the most ecologically important streams in the San Bernardino National Forest because of the number and variety of rare plants and animals it supports.