Distance: 1.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3474' (highest point on trail)
Elevation Gain: 330'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.3
Round trip time: 40 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at San Bernardino National Forest parking lot
Difficulty: Easy
Just south of Highway 138 near the intersection with I-15, the San Bernardino National Forest maintains an interpretive trail around the massive rock protrusions known as Mormon Rocks. They are quite prominent traveling on I-15 northeast of LA. I've admired them a hundred times and finally took the time to check them out. The largest rocks are on the north side, but I only visited the lower rocks on the south side. They were still very impressive. To actually get on the rocks, I had to leave the official trail, but there was a well defined use trail. The largest rock on the south side rose more than 100' above the surrounding terrain. Conglomerates were cemented in the white sandstone from extreme heat and pressure. I found a chute on the north side at about 40 degrees that got me about half way up. There was another chute on the south side that went up the rest of the way, but it was class 4 with severe exposure. While the sandstone was unexpectedly grippy, I wasn't feeling the death chute. I did climb a lower rock with a 20' class 3 face. After, I completed the trail which gave me better views of the northern rocks. The Mormon Rocks felt as noteworthy as the more famous Vasquez Rocks. Cool geology and fun to climb. I'd like to visit the north side rocks in the future.
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