Paragliding Thomas Mountain, CA

Thomas Mountain offers a unique hike & fly experience with a launch elevation of 1796 meters and a height difference of 400 meters. This site is known for thermalling opportunities, although no flight logs have been found to date. Mike Harper shared his experience on June 13, 2006, noting that landing at the provisional LZ is not yet feasible. He landed in a field just west of the High School in Anza. Both landing spots are on San Bernardino National Forest land. To reach the LZ, head up Hill Street in Anza, which has a slight jog at Mitchell Street. Hill Street is paved up to the National Forest. Where the pavement ends, there is a small house with a retired couple living there. Just north of their driveway is the corner of the National Forest. Walk up onto the LZ (about 20 feet) and head northeast. You will see a very rough LZ. At the far side of the plateau, there is an area that could become a 150-foot wide by 500-foot long LZ. The area has only a few small trees and knee-high weeds. The launch is straight up in the bowl. To get to the launch from the LZ, go back down Hill Street to Mitchell and turn left. Then turn right on Kirby and go back to Highway 371. Turn left on 371, which will take you up to Garner Valley. At the intersection of 371 and 74, turn left. Then go 3 miles to Pyramid Peak Road and turn left. Then go to Hop Patch Spring Road and again turn left. Hop Patch Spring Road will curve around to the right and become NF 5S15 (Thomas Mountain Truck Trail). From where the pavement ends, it is 4.5 miles to the launch. At 4.5 miles, there is a culvert for water runoff towards the Garner Valley side. Park here and walk towards Anza. There is a stick sticking up in a pile of rocks, and just below is the launch. The dirt road is bumpy but manageable for any car. The launch is not visible from the road; you have to walk over the edge to find it. There is only room for two gliders at this time. Be cautious of rattlesnakes. For weather forecasts, the closest soaring forecasts are Warner Springs and Julian. The best wind direction is southwest. The wind often switches from downslope to upslope, which happens regularly at Thomas Mountain. For wind information, visit: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryFx?s=anz Mike Harper also mentioned that if you are looking for places to fly near Idyllwild, you might check out Thomas Mountain. He and Justin cleared a takeoff area at coordinates 33.599911, -116.653854. There is an area just below the launch to land on forest land that needs to be cleared of some vegetation at coordinates 33.585042, -116.663961. The best place to land if you get up would be Garner Valley at coordinates 33.629535, -116.634438. It is a 100+ acre area of forest land clear of trees with a dry stream to land in, much like Soboba without the trees. The best wind direction is southwest, which occurs in the early afternoon. By late afternoon, the wind usually shifts to the west, making it cross. For wind information, visit: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryFx?s=anz