Hike Panorama Loop Trail

The Panorama Loop starts deceptively mellow — you'll trudge through a sandy wash that feels more like a dry riverbed than a proper trail, your boots sinking with each step. But once you climb out of the wash and gain the ridgeline of the Little San Bernardinos, the name earns itself. Views open up in every direction: the Coachella Valley shimmering below, San Gorgonio's snow-capped bulk to the west, and an impossibly dense Joshua tree forest spreading across the slopes like something from a Dr. Seuss fever dream. The transition from open desert into pinyon-juniper woodland feels like crossing into a different park entirely. That thousand feet of elevation gain sneaks up on you — nothing steep enough to stop and catch your breath, just a steady, leg-sapping climb that you'll feel the next morning. Hikers who love earning their views without technical scrambling will find this one deeply satisfying.