4. Mount Laguna’s Foster Point

Courtesy of Extreme_Adventures

This viewpoint affords hikers one of Southern California’s most stunning panoramas, and it’s just a short distance off-trail. Most hikers who overnight at Mount Laguna arrive here in the early morning, but the real beauty opens up at dusk when the sun touches the mountain tops and the shadows stretch across the valley floor. Around mile 45 the PCT emerges from the coolness of Mount Laguna’s lush pine forest and sweeping vistas of the Anza-Borrego Desert are readily seen from the trail. Just another 0.3 miles off trail down a well-traveled path, Foster Point boasts views of San Jacinto (up which northbound hikers will soon travel) and San Gorgonio, the two highest peaks in Southern California.