Desert Peaks List
Generated on 10 Aug 2024 - see revision history - please send updates to the webmaster
Richard Carey has lots of data on these and other peaks, and his SPS and DPS sections are good places to start browsing. These pages are distinct from the DPS website.
The Vulgarian Ramblers maintain a list of all CA 13ers, based on the best available USGS field survey and DEM data. For more details on DEM data, see the "Some Notes on Data Accuracy", "Column Descriptions and Color Usage", and "Even More Technical Information" sections of their web page.
This list was prepared as a convenient reference to many of the major peaks of the southwestern desert, by combining the official DPS Peaks List (published by the Desert Peaks Section, Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club) and some corrections and extra data (like all the waypoints) from Gary Craig, plus a bunch that I may add because I've been there or someone asked me to add them. It is hoped that this list will aid people both in choosing a peak to climb and in planning the trip.
IN GENERAL, "EMBLEM" peaks dominate the area by their bulk or the amount of terrain that can be seen from the summit, but since there are only seven of them the criteria aren't always clear. Obviously, there are worthy climbs not on this list - and there are also peaks on this list that have trails to the top! The peaks are grouped into 9 geographical areas. The names of the 7 emblem peaks are marked with 'E' between the region number and the peak name in the regional listings. Peaks not on the official DPS list are labeled with 'XX' so they can be found and deleted to recover the official DPS Peaks List.
The climbing class (difficulty rating) indicates the difficulty of the easiest route on the peak, but this is not necessarily the most commonly climbed route. The classes are summarized here, but a detailed description of ratings is online:
Useful Links: