Over Thanksgiving weekend I wanted to get some fresh air and burn off a few holiday indulgences, so…read moreI found this great trail to hike with an excellent view of the Quartz Hill/Palmdale area. This is also a trail that memorializes a local hero (Sgt Steve Owen of the LA County Sheriff's Dept) that was gunned down and then executed by a parolee with a stolen gun during an attempted robbery. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sergeant-steve-owen-killed-20161006-snap-story.html The trail begins along the Palmdale aqueduct (a section really popular with runners and dog walkers) and then veers off to the right at about the 0.5 mile mark to begin the ascent to the first memorial bench on top of a lookout point. The out and back hike in total is short at 3.5 miles, with all of the elevation gain in little over a mile, so consider this more of a mini peak hike to get some morning exercise and take in a great view of the AV. There's ample free parking across the street from the trailhead and a porta potty. If you don't want to hike the hill, there's also the paved side of the Palmdale Aqueduct trail that's also accessible from this trailhead.

Nice little hike. Lots of trails. Good place for dogs. Watch out for snakes during seasonread more

This review is for the Indian Canyon North Via Pacific Crest Trail which was a ~4.5 mile round trip…read morethat took ~2 hours to complete. Trail entrance is across the street from the parking lot. The first ~0.5 miles was a bit overgrown and washed out. In addition, there was one large stream crossing with a lot of water. For this particular stream, it was somewhat ankle deep otherwise you can cross by using the logs and trees. Once you cross the railroad tracks to another part of the PCT, it becomes a steady incline / flat trail for the remaining duration of the hike. Plenty of wildflowers and views throughout the hike. Unfortunately, nothing exciting at the end of the trail. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/DyMKtjR5YZk

A decent trail and hike. No trees just bare hills. Would be pretty in spring but rather lackluster…read morein late summer/fall. No bikes or motorcycles allowed. Parking is easy and there's a restroom at the parking lot. The trail connects to the PCT so you can make it a longer hike if you want.

Great park located on the fringes of Lancaster, California…read more To be honest I was there trying to catch fire fighting aircraft flying from the adjacent Fox Field. However, the park had plenty of open space, clean bathrooms, and lots to do for humans both big and little. That being said: if its a hot day its pretty brutal during peak hours. In addition the nearby airfield can cause noise, but its not super busy Aside from that plenty of parking and nice place to stretch your legs

My place to enjoy working out on my STREETSTRIDER 2-3 times per week…read more A beautiful serenity in this place. A REAL GEM! To be enjoyed by all ages.

Wonderful hike to the top of Parker Mountain where there is the foundation of an old fire lookout…read moretower. We only saw one other person on the hike today. Beautiful views at the top!

A nice, easy hike on a pretty decently maintained dirt road. 2 mikes uphill outgoing and 2 miles…read moredownhill back. Nice views and the foundation left of the fire watchtower. No shade so not advisable on hit da.

It is so beautiful and amazing. The view is surreal. When…read moreyou go into the nature center and visit the snakes and beetles it's cool but then you walk out to an observatory type deck and it's breathtaking!

This hike was ok but extremely hot! 4 of us hiked to the Devil's Punchbowl in the springtime. The…read morehike is just ok, with no shade. Go early in the morning when it's cooler, and bring lots of water, snacks, add electrolytes to your water, and bring a water filtration system just in case. The highlight was the little river that we came across to cool off. That was a game changer! The Devil's Punchbowl view was highly over rated in my opinion ... view of the desert . Would I do it again? Definitely a big NO! There was a shorter trail, near a little river, that I would have preferred to hike instead. One in our group wanted to hike the Devils Punchnowl so we hesitately agreed. I did t know anything about the hike and relied on the persons in our group that knew more about the hike. We were instructed to drink 1 bottle of water before the hike, and to bring 2 standard bottles of water, and told that would be enough. We should have had a least 2 gallons of water per person! We conserved on drinking water, especially since one person in our group lost a bottle of water in a ravine, due to a not fully closed backpack. Always do your own research on how long the trail is, consider the temperature conditions, and bring lots of water! Don't depend on anyone else regarding your water needs.

I stopped celebrating New Year's Eve years ago because of the loud fireworks that affected all my…read morepets, and started a tradition of exploring a new trail every January 1st with my pups. This year, we headed toward Lake Elizabeth and began exploring the canyon trails. These trails were perfect! We started on Forest Road, right by the lake, and got onto Pacific Crest Trail. The trails are slightly bumpy in some spots and sandy in others, but overall, it wasn't too rough for my dogs. We spent about 1.5 hours trail driving before stopping for a hike. It was incredibly quiet, safe and peaceful. Some areas of the trail are quite narrow, but others have extra space to park and enjoy the view. It's a fantastic spot for hiking, off-road driving, and a picnic. The views of the mountains and lake are beautiful ! This review is not specific to the Grass Mtn but it is in this area and these trails will get you there. I loved this trail, will definitely be back and recommend it for any outdoor or off-road enthusiast. Happy New Year, everyone!

The shortest path to Grass Mountain is via the Pacific Crest Trail. The starting point is 0.6 miles…read moresouth of San Francisquito Canyon Pass on San Francisquito Canyon Road. We didn't take this route. Instead, we opted for the slightly longer and less steep version that starts at San Francisquito Canyon Pass where Leona Divide Fire Road intersects then heading 2.8 miles northwest with a 900' elevation change. Getting to the top is easy to follow due to the eponymous grassy field, pine and juniper trees, and cell towers at the summit. The buried power line in the road is another clue due to dozens of Edison pull boxes in the trail and the separate fire break that the soft and sandy road skirts. The wide fire break and unground electrical conduit shows a major effort to limit forest fires in this area. Perhaps authorities are being extra cautious to avoid another disaster in the same canyon where the St. Francis dam collapsed in 1928 resulting in 400+ fatalities. The treeless trail meant repeated views of the wind farms in the western Antelope Valley and San Francisquito Canyon with the town of Green Valley as the centerpiece. I'm interested in going back in the spring to see if color patches of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve are visible. The peak was windy on our visit which I'd guess that is common. An unexpected bonus were the uplifted rock formations where the bulldozing that created the road exposed swirls of sedimentary layers. The open gate allowed access for vehicles to drive to Grass Mountain but passing could be tricky since the road is mostly the width of one big truck. We crossed paths with only one pickup truck which meant for a peaceful and undusty hike. Just barely within the boundary of the Angeles National Forest, a $5 Adventure Pass (or equivalent) is customary when parking on National Forest land.

Beautiful hike near the intersection of the 2 and the 39. Parking lot and pristine trails are…read morewell-maintained. Well worth the drive up from the Los Angeles basin. Check traffic, weather and fire status; the forest is extremely flammable at the moment. Bring water, snacks and first aid kit. An Adventure Pass is required to park within Angeles National Forest. Be prepared for a work-out and some beautiful views.

This is a strong 4 star hike...near Mount Baden-Powell and similar in many ways. Use the All Trails…read moreapp to get directions. Parking and the trailhead is on Hwy 2. We took the 210 to the 2 Hwy near La Canada Flintridge and it took us about 50 mins and 40 miles of twists and turns while sharing the road with motorcycles and high performance cars that are testing their cars handling. You will pass the parking area for Switzer Falls (see my review for that one) and you will pass the Red Box parking area you can use to do the Strawberry Peak hike (see my review haha) and still will need to continue on Angeles Crest Hwy for about 25 more minutes. If you want you can continue tpass the main parking area for the Islip saddle about one mile to the east and find some parking on the side of the highway that will allow you to take a shortcut trail that connects with the main trail but is about .4 miles shorter, so .8 miles RT...you can see the start of the trail near the metal barrier blocking any traffic on the access road. The first .6 miles is pretty steep and then you connect to the main trail and head left to the Little Jimmy Campground which is 1.1 miles and pretty flat. When you reach the campground it gets a bit confusing with intersecting trails. Don't stop here, continue on for about 1.5 miles to reach the Mt. Islip peak. The 3rd mile is the steepest and you will gain about 550 ft and pass the 8,000 ft elevation level and come to a fork in the trail that is well marked and you will make a right to go about .2 miles to the peak. It was 3.2 miles to the peak and 6.4 miles RT using the shortcut starting area that I mentioned in the first paragraph. At the top is the ruins of a small structure, some concrete squares, and a plastic and metal box with some notebooks. There is no sign with the name and elevation of the peak but it is about 8,250 ft. above sea level. There are some great views, not quite as great as Baden-Powell. This is a moderate hike, definitely not hard. We completed the hike in 2.5 hrs with no running. There are parts that are exposed to the sun, but equal amounts that have shade. I loved that we only came across 6 total people while hiking. I just hate that it takes so long to get here and especially the amount of driving the incredibly curvy Hwy 2.

August 2021: I have now completed this hike twice since May 2021 and more than likely this will…read morebecome a once a month to once every other month adventure. It is demanding but, still good for newcomers who want to bump their, say - Griffith Park adventures up a few notches and not drive to the Sierras.

This is actually called Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak. But you can really bag quite a few peaks in…read morethis route. Just google map Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak and it should take you to the correct location as it worked for me. It's nearby Vincent Gap area to hike to Baden-Powell. You need an adventure pass when parking and there is no restroom in this area. So plan accordingly. The trail to Throop Peak was nice and short. It's light traffic so you won't see a lot of hikers like you would on the Baden-Powell hike. Most people will make it a nice 6 mile round trip from Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak, then to Mount Hawkins. But you can also add more miles and connect to Mount Burnham and Baden-Powell. So you can definitely make this a short hike to a long hike pending which route you want to take. I think you can even go further out to like South Mount Hawkins and Mount Islip if you have time. The trail is straightforward. Once you reach the ridge, you will see a PCT sign. If you go left, that is to Mount Burnham and Baden-Powell. You want to go right towards Little Jimmy Campground. You will see a split with no posted sign. Go right to Throop Peak, if you stay left, that's PCT to Little Jimmy Campground and to Mount Hawkins. The view from Throop Peak is beautiful. Once done, someone mention there is a trail that will meetup back on PCT. But I could find it, so i went back down the same trail and hop back onto the PCT trail. The trail is easy to follow till you get to another split. The trail going right and downhill, that's PCT. The trail going left up the hill, that's to Mount Hawkins. The view at Mount Hawkins is nice, there isn't a plaque like Throop Peak has, but I found a pile of rocks that previous hikers posted when on top of Mount Hawkins. You will hike back down the way you came up for a nice 6 mile RT. I would suggest a map of the area, just in case. I like naturalatlas.com As always pack accordingly to the weather and have fun.