The Quick and Dirty:
Location: San Jacinto Peak is located within San Jacinto State Park on Highway 243, the nearest city to the state park is Idyllwild. 
Distance: 10.4 miles round trip to San Jacinto Peak via Marion Mountain Trail
Terrain Type: This 5.2 miles one way trip to San Jacinto Peak is a steady 4,600 ft elevation climb.
Difficulty:  Strenuous
Best Time: Year round
Duration: 6 hours and 30 minutes. It took us 3.5 hours going up and 3 hours coming down.
Permits: Wilderness permits are required for both day and overnight hikes. The day use permit can be obtained at the ranger’s station in Idyllwild or at the Long Valley Ranger Station, there is no quota limit on day hikers. Overnight permits will be accepted up to 8 weeks in advance. See link below for the Wilderness Overnight Permit. Ranger station hours are daily from 8AM-4PM. 
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/636/files/dpr409.pdf
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed in the State Park however, there are many campsites around the area that belongs to the National Forest and allow dogs. We plan to explore this area more with Dakota on our next trip.

Beautiful view of San Jacinto Peak

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