Keller Peak rises to 7,882 feet, towering over the Inland Empire, and it forms a high point along the Santa Ana River Valley as it drops into San Bernardino Valley. Thus, it is a strategic vantage point over the southeastern area of the mountains. A lookout tower was constructed in 1926 to watch for wildfires. The tower is still operational today, and is the oldest original lookout tower in this national forest.
The tower is staffed throughout most of the summer, but remains open to the public. You can enter the tower from May to November. Outside of these months, it is boarded up for the snowy winter, when the road to get here is also closed.
Views from the tower are truly grand. You can see some of Southern California's highest peaks like San Bernardino, San Antonio, and San Gorgonio. On an exceptionally clear day, you can even see all the way to the Catalina Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
While exploring the top of Keller Peak, walk 200 yards west to find a plaque marking the spot of a B-26 Bomber crash from 1941. If you search carefully you can still see pieces of the wreckage.
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