Blog

Trailhead: Switzer Falls Trailhead, 701 Angeles Crest Hwy, Tujunga, CA 91042 Parking: Parking lots down by the trailhead, halfway down the road, and up at the turnoff on Angeles Crest Highway. An Adventure Pass is required to park. Distance: About 4 miles out & back Difficulty: Moderate Switzer Falls is a popular waterfall hike in the Angeles National Forest. It's a fun trail that has a couple of different environments as you go along. The first thing to note though is the pa

Trailhead: Mt Wilson Trail, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 Parking: free street parking on E Mira Monte Ave. Distance: 3.6 miles out & back Difficulty: Challenging The Mount Wilson Trail is actually a longer, 7.25 mile trail up to Mount Wilson (14.5 mile round trip). But this shorter hike is a good starting point to gauge the trail's difficulty and still enjoy some views from the National Forest. The parking for this trail is just street parking, but it was not that difficult to find

Trailhead: Millard Trail Camp, 4041 Chaney Trail, Altadena, CA 91001 Parking: There is a parking lot at the camp that requires an Adventure Pass. Distance: 3 miles loop/out & back This trail is one of many that start from this area at the Millard Camp and Mt. Lowe Trailhead. In fact, we've been here before to hike to the Dawn Mine. When we arrived, it was a lot busier than the last time. The parking lot was full and so we had to park along the road a little ways up from the l

As 2021 comes to a close, The Wanderer Hiking Blog celebrates a year of existence! Technically, our 1 year anniversary came at the end of November, but close enough... With the end of the year closing in fast, it's time again to share with you my top 5 trails of 2021. This year we went to four national parks! We also ventured to quite a few more trails in the Los Angeles area. So it was definitely hard to pick, but here they are: 5. Echo Mountain via Sam Merrill Trail Maybe i

Trailhead: Vincent Gulch Divide, Pacific Crest Trail, Azusa, CA 91702, at CA-2 Parking: Parking Lot at Vincent Gulch Divide. Adventure Pass is required to park in the lot. Distance: 3.7 miles out & back. After a bit of a hiking hiatus, we're back! And to ease back into the trails, we decided to do a hike that I've been wanting to do for a while now, the Big Horn Mine in the Angeles National Forest. It's not that long of a trail and it's relatively easy. But it is a bit of a d

Trailhead: Strawberry Peak Trailhead, CA-1, Palmdale, CA 93550 Parking: Red Box Picnic Area, Forest Rte 2N24, Palmdale, CA 93550. Adventure Pass Required for parking. Distance: 7.2 miles out & back Strawberry Peak is a great hike if you are looking for a bit of a challenge. Its length, its numerous peaks and valleys, and the steepness of some of those inclines all make it a bit more difficult than some other hikes in the Angeles National Forest. But if you are up for the chal

Trailhead: Deukmejian Wilderness Park Open Field, Glendale, CA 91214 Parking: Free parking in the lots at Deukmejian Wilderness Park. Distance: About 11 miles out & back This hike is a long one but it's worth the time and effort for the rewarding view at the end. The trail starts at the Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Crescenta Highlands. On the weekend, it seems to be a popular place to go so finding parking was a little tricky. Even the overflow parking lot was just about ful

Trailhead: Hoyt Mountain Road at CA-2, Tujunga, CA 91042 Parking: Free parking at the turnout on CA-2 at Hoyt Mountain Road Distance: 4.5 miles out & back This trail starts at a turnout on CA-2 in the Angeles National Forest. There is space in the turnout to park; although if it's busy, you might end up at the narrow end and I'd advise you to take caution as you'll be kind of close to the road with cars zooming by. The trail starts by heading up Hoyt Mountain Road to the left

Trailhead: Lewis Falls Trailhead, State Rte 39, Azusa, CA 91702 Parking: Free street parking on Rt. 39 next to trailhead Distance: 1 mile out & back The Lewis Falls trail starts at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it trailhead on a hairpin turn on Rt. 39 in the Angeles National Forest. The only evidence that a trail starts there was the cluster of cars parked along side the road. If there aren't any parking spots right at the turn in the road, there were some open spots just past the

Trailhead: Mt. Lowe Trailhead, Altadena, CA Parking: Depends on gate access but the closest parking is a tiny lot right in front of the trailhead. The next closest is a bigger lot at the Millard Trail Camp. Parking pass is required. Distance: 6 miles out and back Parking for the Dawn Mine Trail depends on a couple of factors. There is a gate on Chaney Trail that apparently has been closed at times during the pandemic. If that is the case, you'll need to park down on W. Loma A

Trailhead: 5267-5265 Jessen Dr, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011 Parking: Free street parking on Solliden Lane Distance: 7.2 miles out & back Starting in a little, unassuming neighborhood, this trail ends with a 360° view that is quite spectacular. Parking near the trailhead was a little difficult because the road the trail starts on is narrow and only allows parking on the north side. It's not that long of a road either so all of the available parking spots were taken. We ende

Trailhead: Josephine Peak Road; Across the street from the US Forest Service Clear Creek Fire Station Parking: Free parking along the roadside just next to the US Forest Service Clear Creek Fire Station Distance: 8.6 miles out & back Josephine Peak is an easy to get to trail that is just 30-ish minutes from LA in the Angeles National Forest. The trail is a wide fire road that allows for easy passing of other hikers and the elevation gain is consistent but never too steep. The